1930s Chess Set
April 2023
Early drafts of my final characters with quick notes
These digital chess pieces were created to push my skills when drawing in an unfamiliar style. The world of 1930s animation was known for the "Rubber Hose" style where the the majority of limbs would be drawn as flexible tube shapes—hence "rubber hose." Other defining characteristic included rubber gloves with four fingers.
One set is sepia toned while the other is in full color. While many of the cartoons of the 1930s were shot in grayscale/black and white, I wanted to convey age and add color to the finished characters. Grayscale was accurate, but felt dull compared to the yellows and dark browns of the sepia tone version.
The full color set uses primary colors, skin tones, black, and white. Many cartoons of this era played with these colors for their characters (i.e. Popeye, Mickey Mouse).
Pawn: based off of short protagonists of 30s cartoons. Short with big, rounded boots, baggy clothes and big gloves, the pawn can be an unassuming but effective underdog in chess much like 1930s protagonists. The gloves are yellow in reference to the infamous coloring mistakes of 30s animation where objects meant to be white were occasionally filled in with yellow.
Rook: instead of personifying the rook, I decided to go with a living object similar to slapstick humor where objects would spring to life and react to another character's actions. I gave the rook cracked bricks, one tooth and a mustache to show that this tower is old and seasoned. The yellow eyes reference creatures in these old cartoons that would typically have similar eyes to emphasize their monstrous aspects.
Knight: the horse rides the knight as a reference to the absurdist nature of these old cartoons, it is also simply adorable. Many animals, particularly horses were drawn with bunny ears and wheat-shaped tails.
Bishop: Many of the snooty characters hold a higher—but not the very top—position in the power structure. I made the bishop gaunt, with hooded eyes similar to the "know-it-all" archetype. The long nose adds to their personality—turning their nose up to anything undignified.
Queen: I based the queen loosely on Princess Toadstool from "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!" and "Betty Boop." The curvy figure is derived from the typical style of drawing women at the time, mixed with rubber hose traditions and the wild style of Betty Boop's hair. The freckle under the eye is a reference to Marline Monroe, who Betty Boop was also based on.
King: Inspired by Yosemite Sam from "Looney Tunes", [Peg-Leg] Pete from Steamboat Willie, and Bluto/Brutus from "Popeye." The antagonist is cocky, short, wide, and selfish. The king moves one tile at a time. To emphasize this slowness, the pawns are hoisting him up with a struggle. Critically, the king is the tallest piece and 1930s antagonists are taller than their protagonists (the pawn).
Pawn, Bishop and Rook scanned drafts
Knight scanned rough draft
