Editing Batman: The Animated Series (section)

===Animation and character design===
For the first 65 episodes, [[Warner Bros. Animation]] outsourced the series to several animation studios around the globe. These studios included [[Spectrum Animation]], [[Sunrise Animation|Sunrise]], Studio Junio, and [[Tokyo Movie Shinsha]] in Japan; [[Dong Yang Animation]], [[Koko Enterprises]] Ltd., and [[AKOM]] in South Korea; Jade Animation in Hong Kong; Blue Pencil in Spain; and Network of Animation (NOA) in Canada. Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS) also animated the opening credits for the first season. However, AKOM was fired due to inconsistent animation quality in several episodes, such as "[[Cat Scratch Fever (Batman: The Animated Series)|Cat Scratch Fever]]" and "[[Moon of the Wolf (Batman: The Animated Series)|Moon of the Wolf]]."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World's Finest - Batman: The Animated Series |url=https://dcanimated.com/WF/batman/btas/backstage/animato/ |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=dcanimated.com}}</ref> 

Much of the short film ''The Dark Knight's First Night'' was reused for the series introduction. Its final shot, showing Batman overlooking Gotham City with a lightning bolt behind him, evokes both the cover of Frank Miller's ''[[The Dark Knight Returns|Batman: The Dark Knight Returns]]'' (1986) and the closing scene of the 1989 ''Batman'' film.<ref name=":4" /> The credits omit the series title, as Bruce Timm and Tom Ruegger believed Batman's iconic nature made it unnecessary. This decision reflects the creators' intent to tell a story through visuals alone, avoiding expositional dialogue. Similarly, each episode features a unique intertitle, typically designed by Eric Radomski, which conveys themes or significant events without the use of words, staying true to the series' visual storytelling approach.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":522" />

For season 2, titled ''The Adventures of Batman & Robin'', the twenty episodes were primarily animated by Dong Yang, with exceptions including "[[A Bullet for Bullock]]," "[[Avatar (Batman: The Animated Series)|Avatar]]," and "[[Baby doll (batman the animated series)|Baby Doll]]," animated by Studio Junio, and "[[The Terrible Trio]]," animated by Jade Animation. The opening credits initially display the season's name before showing several scenes from season one, retaining only the bank explosion from the original credits.<ref name=":5" />

Bruce Timm described feeling frustrated by having to realistically draw animated characters in his previous projects: "I knew that at twenty-four drawings per second, each little line had to be drawn thousands of times; the more lines on a character, the less time an animator has to draw those lines correctly, especially on a television budget and schedule. The result: bad animation."{{sfn|Dini|Kidd|1998|p=169}} As a result, the characters were simplified to facilitate animation—everything had to be reduced to the essentials.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 5, 2024 |title=Kevin Nowlan lifts the cowl on his Batman animated designs |url=https://13thdimension.com/kevin-nowlan-lifts-the-cowl-on-his-batman-animated-designs/ |access-date=January 18, 2025 |website=13th Dimension |language=en-US}}</ref>{{sfn|Dini|Kidd|1998|p=169}} For example, instead of Two-Face's plaid shirt, he wears a suit with one side white and the other black to emphasize his internal conflict.<ref name=":522"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Leon |date=2019-05-13 |title=Batman: 10 Best Changes BTAS Made To The Comics |url=https://www.cbr.com/batman-changes-animated-series-comics/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=CBR |language=en}}</ref> Poison Ivy does not wear a leaf-covered costume; instead, she dons a simple one-piece outfit.<ref> A conversation With Bruce Timm - Pretty Poiso, 2018, Blu-ray</ref>

During preproduction, character designer [[Kevin Nowlan]] stated that his challenge was to convey as much as possible using as few lines as possible.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-05 |title=Kevin Nowlan lifts the cowl on his Batman animated designs. |url=https://13thdimension.com/kevin-nowlan-lifts-the-cowl-on-his-batman-animated-designs/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture |language=en-US}}</ref> He also mentioned that real people served as inspirations, such as [[Rhea Perlman]] for Jesse and George Will for [[Ventriloquist (character)|The Ventriloquist]]. Initially, Nowlan designed [[Penguin (character)|The Penguin]] and [[Riddler|The Riddler]] based on the 1966 ''Batman'' series, but his designs were ultimately rejected. Instead, The Penguin's appearance was modeled after his depiction in the film ''[[Batman Returns]]'', featuring deformities and slicked-back black hair. Similarly, Catwoman adopted [[Michelle Pfeiffer]]'s blonde hair.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kevin Nowlan dévoile ses designs originaux pour Batman: The Animated Series {{!}} COMICSBLOG.fr |url=https://www.comicsblog.fr/28130-Kevin_Nowlan_deevoile_ses_designs_originaux_pour_Batman__The_animated_Series |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=www.comicsblog.fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kendall |first=Gene |date=2019-06-16 |title=Could Batman: The Animated Series Exist Without The 1989 Film? |url=https://www.cbr.com/could-batman-the-animated-series-exist-without-the-1989-film/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=CBR |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-05 |title=KEVIN NOWLAN Lifts the Cowl on His BATMAN Animated Designs |url=https://13thdimension.com/kevin-nowlan-lifts-the-cowl-on-his-batman-animated-designs/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture |language=en-US}}</ref> Bruce Wayne was inspired by [[Walter M. Baumhofer]]'s ''[[Doc Savage]]'' and ''[[Dick Tracy]]'', created by [[Chester Gould]].{{sfn|Dini|Kidd|1998|p=169}} The appearance of the Gray Ghost was largely inspired by the hero [[The Shadow]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gelman |first=Samuel |date=2024-09-21 |title=Batman: The Animated Series: The 20 Best Episodes Ever, Ranked! |url=https://tvline.com/lists/batman-the-animated-series-best-episodes-ranked/double-talk-the-new-batman-adventures/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=TVLine |language=en-US}}</ref>  Other character inspirations include the [[George Metesky|Mad Bomber]], who was based on Bruce Timm, while Charlie Collins was based on [[Alan Burnett|Alan Burnet]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Padnick |first=Steven |date=2012-12-16 |title=Batman: The Animated Series Rewatch: "Joker's Favor" & "Vendetta" |url=https://reactormag.com/batman-animated-series-rewatch-jokers-favor-and-vendetta/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=Reactor |language=en-US}}</ref> Harvey Bullock's appearance was inspired by one of the criminals Batman fights in the short film ''[[The Dark Knight's First Night]]''.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Tom Ruegger {{!}} BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES |url=https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/tom-ruegger-batman-complete-animated-series/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=[[Starburst (magazine)|Starburst]] |language=en-GB}}</ref>