The Animated Series’ Distinctive Look Is The Result Of One Simple Art Trick

“Batman: The Animated Series” is one of the best DC animated TV shows, and its distinct look is a huge reason why. From the opening tones of its iconic theme song, the vibe of a dark bristling Gotham radiates across the entire series. But, one simple art trick embedded the show’s look into an entire generation’s imagination.

In a Vulture interview with voice director Andrea Romano, it was revealed that the choice of canvas for “Batman: The Animated Series” ended up being the secret weapon for the Kids WB favorite. Romano explained, “The backgrounds were created very differently: They were done on black paper, which gave it that very dark style. Nothing had been that dark.” 

In addition, background painter Eric Radomski added that their margin for error was very slim, noting that few others had attempted such an approach in the past. “What we were doing was literally trying to interpret the night with an impressionist style,” Radomsky elaborated. “If we did it wrong, it was going to look like the black-velvet paintings that were popular in the ’60s and ’70s.” Safe to say, the team made the right move. 

With so many different animated series on the airwaves, you need any little edge to stand out. For “Batman: The Animated Series,” a small but mighty team of artists carried out the task. Background artist Don Cameron spoke to ArtInsights about the process, with around six people designing the Gotham backgrounds and another four getting them ready for production. They had to think on the fly because there weren’t that many examples of how to achieve this heightened “Dark Deco” effect in animation.

“It’s so different now, but we were drawing on the old animation wheels and we would draw on animation paper, and then they would take those drawings and transfer them onto black board, and then they would airbrush the final image onto the black board,” Cameron recalled. “To have 4 people making all those backgrounds, that’s impressive. Batman backgrounds, when you see them in person, are pretty spectacular.”

A lot of folks watching at home would agree with Cameron’s assessment. The choice to make those backgrounds dark lended “Batman: The Animated Series” an air of prestige when placed against other Warner Bros. Animation shows in the afternoon lineup. Combine that with the ever present popularity of The Dark Knight, and you have a recipe for one of the best superhero cartoons of all time.