Chuck Jones Quotes on Characters

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"If you start with character, you probably will end up with good drawings."

"As you become acquainted with a character you are creating, you add parts of yourself that are pertinent to that character."

"Each character represented a trait that resides in me."

"I have come to know Bugs so well that I no longer have to think about what he is doing in any situation. I let the part of me that is Bugs come to the surface, knowing, with regret, that I can never match his marvelous confidence."

"The whole essence of good drawing—and of good thinking, perhaps—is to work a subject down to the simplest form possible and still have it believable for what it is meant to be."

~Chuck Jones, director, animator, cartoonist, and cocreator of characters we know today as the Looney Tunes





I got trolled last year about how you should not pour traits of people you know or yourself into your characters. It makes it too personal, they said. It's unprofessional and stupid, they said.

I am telling you right now that this is false. If you ever get someone online or in real life who is not a professional telling you that you shouldn't pour yourself or people you know into your characters, they have no idea what they're talking about. Chuck Jones often said that Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck were representations of himself, in a more comical way. Bugs Bunny was his more optimistic side, only with a touch more confidence.

Glen Keane, a longtime animator for Disney who is known for animating several characters including Ariel, said that he begged to animate the mermaid because she reminded him of his wife. He poured his wife's quirks and actions into Ariel, giving her the personality we know today.

So if anyone tells you that your characters are too personal, stamp a Chuck Jones quote on their foreheads.

Because characters like those ended up going down in history.

Just Ask Bugs Bunny.


words of encouragement so you don't go through the same confident bust I did.

~Ash