Ed Benedict

Early Hanna-Barbera cartoons have had a big influence on my drawing style. I had assumed that Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera designed their own classic characters, but they didn't. This amazing cartoonist named Ed Benedict designed most of them, including the Flintstones, Yogi Bear, and Huckleberry Hound. Ed's characters incorporated design concepts you still see in cartoons today: The delineated beard growth on Homer Simpson and the stubby hind legs that anthropomorphic dogs and cats chase each other with are evident in the earliest sketches Ed made for H-B way back in the fifties.

To celebrate my new discovery of this old pro I wanted to show you a tribute to his creations from another hero of the cartooning world, John Kricfalusi. John K is best known as the creator of Ren & Stimpy. He now runs a blog dedicated to the craft of animation and is often quoted in articles about Ed. In fact, Ed is listed as layout artist in the opening credits of this short. Check it out:

A Day in the Life of Ranger Smith


You can see some of Ed's original sketches of Fred, Barney, and Yogi Bear at John's blog. This particular article is one I have studied heavily to help me understand what is working and not working in my own cartoons.