Rubber Hose Style Reference Prompt Analysis: Cuphead Style

Living Surrealism, the Rubber Hose Style

Rubber hose animation is one of the oldest and most surreal styles, marking the golden age of American animation in the 1920s. As its name suggests, its most prominent feature is that characters’ limbs are fluid and bend freely, much like rubber hoses. This movement, free from the constraints of bones or joints, enabled unrealistic and exaggerated slapstick comedy, offering audiences of the time immense novelty and amusement.

This style reached its zenith with characters like ‘Koko the Clown’ and ‘Betty Boop’ from Fleischer Studios, a pioneer of animation before Walt Disney. However, due to limitations in production methods and the rise of more realistic animation championed by Disney, it gradually faded from the mainstream. Yet, its unique charm never disappeared and has been successfully reinterpreted in modern times, notably in the game ‘Cuphead’ and various other animations, continuing its legacy today.

ai.imagenerate’s ‘Rubber Hose’ Reference Prompt

To consistently implement this charming style, we use the following reference prompt. This prompt plays a key role in determining the ‘art style’ and ‘DNA’ of the images to be generated.

A vibrant rubber hose cartoon illustration, reminiscent of the game Cuphead. Characters are composed of simple, bouncy shapes with rubber-hose style, flexible limbs that bend without visible joints, featuring large pie-cut eyes and expressive faces. The illustration is on a clean white background, suitable for a clip-art.

Detailed Prompt Analysis

A vibrant rubber hose cartoon illustration, reminiscent of the game Cuphead.
This clearly defines the style, directly mentioning the modern success story ‘Cuphead’ to guide the AI in interpreting the style more accurately. The word ‘vibrant’ adds energy.
Characters are composed of simple, bouncy shapes with rubber-hose style, flexible limbs that bend without visible joints…
This specifically instructs on the core visual elements: ‘simple, bouncy shapes’ and ‘flexible limbs that bend without visible joints,’ defining the basic structure of the style.
…featuring large pie-cut eyes and expressive faces.
This emphasizes a classic feel by specifying ‘pie-cut eyes,’ a symbol of characters from that era, and requiring expressive faces to bring the characters to life.
The illustration is on a clean white background, suitable for a clip-art.
The keywords ‘clean white background’ and ‘clip-art’ are crucial for usability, instructing the AI to create a standalone object separated from a specific scene, making it easy to use in various designs.

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Prompt Combination Examples

By keeping this reference prompt fixed like a prefix and only changing the ‘design prompt’ that follows, you can create infinite results while maintaining the same style.

A Dapper Hot Dog Jumping with Joy

디자인 프롬프트: A cheerful, anthropomorphic hot dog jumping with joy, tipping its top hat made of a bun.

This image was created by adding the design prompt “A cheerful, anthropomorphic hot dog jumping with joy, tipping its top hat made of a bun.”, depicting ‘A Dapper Hot Dog Jumping with Joy’ in the rubber hose style.

A Spooky, Flickering Jack-O’-Lantern

디자인 프롬프트: A spooky, anthropomorphic jack-o'-lantern with a flickering candle inside.

This image was created by adding the design prompt “A spooky, anthropomorphic jack-o’-lantern with a flickering candle inside.”, depicting ‘A Spooky, Flickering Jack-O’-Lantern’ in the rubber hose style.

a Mischievous, Spreading Ink Blot

디자인 프롬프트: A mischievous, anthropomorphic ink blot, spreading on a piece of paper.

This image was created by adding the design prompt “A mischievous, anthropomorphic ink blot, spreading on a piece of paper.”, depicting ‘a Mischievous, Spreading Ink Blot’ in the rubber hose style.

Rubber Hose Style Reference Prompt Analysis: Cuphead Style

Living Surrealism, the Rubber Hose Style