What is "off-model"

a. (context animation of a cartoon character English) Somewhat deviant from the original source material or model sheets.

Off-model is a cartoon character drawn out of par with the original source material or model sheets. Off-model drawings are the products of artists or by cartoonists wishing to parody another franchise but not wishing to incur a lawsuit or commit copyright infringement by actually drawing someone else's trademarked characters. They may also be the result of sloppy work, where the character has noticeable differences in appearance throughout different episodes.

However, off-model can also be an intentional choice on the part of an animator. John Kricfalusi argues that off-model animation allows originality and can help a scene come to life, as strictly sticking to poses and expressions as dictated in model sheets can be too restricting.