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Rubber Hose Cartoon
▶ Demo clip: https://youtu.be/mIMmMPOeFqI
Group: New in v2.2 · Fits: 1930s black-and-white cel
See all styles: Existing presets reel · v2.2 new styles reel · Full playlist
Type: custom, tested in production (pass)
- Medium phrase: "Black-and-white cel animation film still in the early-sound-era rubber-hose style, widescreen 16:9, with visible film grain and a soft vignette." Video anchor: "Early-sound-era black-and-white rubber-hose cel animation: bold black ink outlines, flat black and white fills, noodle limbs, pie-cut eyes, a hand-painted grey wash background, heavy film grain and a soft vignette, smooth fluid hand-drawn motion, drawn and inked, not rendered."
- Character design: original characters only (no look-alikes of known mascots; the first test design read as one and was redesigned). Round bodies, pie-cut pupils, long thin rubbery limbs with no elbows or knees, white four-fingered gloves, big round shoes, a wide thin closed smile. Describe the whole design so it cannot default to a famous one.
- Materials / rendering: bold clean ink outlines, flat fills, simple flat grey for shadow; a hand-painted soft grey wash background of wobbly, rubbery, off-square buildings; heavy fine film grain, faint scratches, soft corners, dark vignette. Only black, white and greys.
- Light: flat even cartoon lighting, no cast shadows.
- Motion: unlike the handmade styles, this one wants smooth fluid motion: a bouncing walk with the whole body rising and dipping, arms in loose arcs, ears flapping. One tracking move.
- Stability line: "Strictly black-and-white hand-inked cel animation over a painted grey wash background, bold clean ink outlines, flat fills, smooth fluid motion, heavy film grain and vignette visible throughout, stable line art, consistent character drawing."
- Guards: no colour, no 3D shading, no photorealism, no realistic fur, no modern smooth digital look, no live-action look, no extra limbs or ears, no mouth opening unless dialogue is planned, no lettering on signs.
- Known failures: the first character design was too close to a famous studio mascot and was replaced with a long-snouted hound in a striped jumper before testing; keep designs clearly original.
Source: rubber-hose-cartoon.md · Shared image recipe, video pattern and consistency rules: styles README · Style catalogue · Back to Home