I can’t be the only one who feels like ever since Calling All Villains was revealed Mr. Puzzles’ SMG4 design has just felt… off to look back on. Like don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good design, but the CAV look is so clean and neat that seeing original one just makes it VERY clear I’m looking at an older version of him.
I think the biggest things things that stand out to me are
1, the colors: Before I was never really into adding color to Puzzles’ outfit cuz I like the old black and white cartoon aesthetic. But the new red bow tie, darker shirt, and purple tint to the black parts just make him a lot more fun to look at. The brighter colors DO make him look less villainous, and the monochrome design can make him look more spooky at times, but let’s be real, they stopped trying to make puzzles a true villain and more of an under-dog/anti-hero a LONG while ago.
2, the shapes: the way his pants flare outwards at the bottom with the new design just make the old one’s pants feel way flatter and shorter. Similar thing with the shoulders where the old model looks flat,
Also gonna be completely honest, seeing Mr Puzzles animated with a higher budget sorta wrecked how I view SMG4’s animation style. Like, yeah there were definitely some moments with good animation, but those were only saved for big important moments. Most of the time we were seeing him and the other characters, they were just bobbing up and down in specific poses (I saw someone compare it to a marionette, and I cannot unsee it now). Seeing THAT and comparing it to Puzzles being animated with constant fluid motion, a smoothly animated face that’s not a bunch of GIFS, and better lighting that’s not in the Source engine is just night and day. It really makes me want to see what the rest of the SMG4 crew would look like animated on a higher budget.
Also to be clear, I do not want to diss any of the SMG4 animators. They were still clearly passionate about their craft, and they had to animate episodes weekly, so it would’ve been physically impossible to do constantly smooth animation. All I’m saying is that seeing Puzzles animated with better tech and a higher budget really highlighted a lot of issues with SMG4’s designs and animation.
One thing I WILL give the old model credit for over the new one though: The new one doesn’t have nearly as many “wrinkles” drawn into the faces as the old one. I liked the face wrinkles. I liked the implication that Puzzles was on the older side compared to the crew.
I agree。
