His most significant work was for the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, where he was crucial in the creation and evolution of famous animated characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Droopy, Screwy Squirrel, The Wolf, Red Hot Riding Hood, and George and Junior.

He was an inker, inking cels for animated short films in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series; the character had been created by Walt Disney.

Some speculate it was his lack of depth perception that gave him his unique look at animation and bizarre directorial style,[6] but it did not stop his creative career.

Part of the typical crude horseplay at the Universal studio was using a rubber band or a paper spitball to target the back of a colleague's head.

[4] According to Martha Sigall, Avery was one of the few directors to visit the ink and paint department — where he would answer questions and was always in good humor — as he liked to see how his cartoons were developing.

Daffy was an almost completely crazy "darn fool duck" who frequently bounced around the film frame in double-speed, screaming "Hoo-hoo!"

So, Avery went back to the "hunter and prey" framework, incorporating Jones's Elmer's Candid Camera gag for gag and altering the new design of Elmer Fudd, polishing the timing, and expanding the Groucho Marx smart-aleck attitude already present in Porky's Hare Hunt; he made Bugs a kind of slick Brooklynesque rabbit who was always in control of the situation.

During this period, he also directed a number of one-shot shorts, including travelogue parody (The Isle of Pingo Pongo, which is the second cartoon to feature an early character that evolved into Elmer Fudd); fractured fairy-tales (The Bear's Tale); Hollywood caricature films (Hollywood Steps Out); and cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny clones (The Crackpot Quail).

In Avery's original version, Bugs and the hunting dog were to fall off a cliff three times, making it an early example of the wild take.

[9] On September 2, 1941, the Reporter announced that Avery had signed a five-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he was to form his own animation unit and direct shorts in Technicolor.

His cartoons became known for their sheer lunacy, breakneck pace, and penchant for playing with the medium of animation and film in general that few other directors dared to approach.

MGM also offered him larger budgets and a higher quality production level than the Warner Bros. studio; plus, his unit was filled with talented ex-Disney artists such as Preston Blair and Ed Love.

Droopy (originally "Happy Hound") was a small, calm, slow-moving, and slow-talking dog who always won out in the end, whatever difficulties he faced.

[27] Other MGM cartoons directed by Avery include Bad Luck Blackie, Cellbound, Magical Maestro, Lucky Ducky, Ventriloquist Cat, and King-Size Canary.

The newer, more stylized look reflected the influence of the up-and-coming UPA studio, the need to cut costs as budgets grew higher, and Avery's own desire to leave reality behind and make cartoons that were not tied to the real world of live action.

[28] Avery took a year's sabbatical from MGM beginning in 1950 (to recover from overwork), during which time Dick Lundy, recently arrived from the Walter Lantz studio, took over his unit and made one Droopy cartoon, as well as a string of shorts featuring Barney Bear.

Fred Quimby spoke of bringing back the unit, but in December of that year, Walter Lantz announced that Avery would be working for him.

[29] Avery directed four cartoons for Walter Lantz Productions in 1954–55: Crazy Mixed Up Pup, Sh-h-h-h-h-h, I'm Cold, and The Legend of Rockabye Point, in which he defined the character of Chilly Willy the penguin.

Avery also produced ads for Kool-Aid fruit drinks starring the Looney Tunes characters he had once helped create during his Termite Terrace days.

[30][31] During the 1960s and 1970s, Avery became increasingly reserved and depressed due to the suicide of his son and the break-up of his marriage,[32] although he continued to draw respect from his peers.

[34] From 1979 until his death, his final employer was Hanna-Barbera Productions, where he wrote gags for Saturday morning cartoons such as the Droopy-esque Kwicky Koala.

Disney's "cute and cuddly" creatures, under Avery's guidance, were transformed into unflappable wits like Bugs Bunny, endearing buffoons like Porky Pig, or dazzling crazies like Daffy Duck.

Even the classic fairy tale, a market that Disney had cornered, was appropriated by Avery, who made innocent heroines like Red Riding Hood into sexy jazz babes, more than a match for any Wolf.

[38] Avery's style of directing encouraged animators to stretch the boundaries of the medium to do things in a cartoon that could not be done in the world of a live-action film.

[43] Avery's influence can be seen in modern cartoons such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Animaniacs, The Mask, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Tex Avery, unlike most Warner Bros. directors, kept many original title frames of his cartoons; several were otherwise lost due to Blue Ribbon Reissues.

In 2008, France issued three postage stamps honoring Tex Avery for his 100th birthday, depicting Droopy, the redheaded showgirl, and the Wolf.

Notable recipients include Henry Selick,[54] Pete Docter,[55] Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders for How to Train Your Dragon,[56] John Kricfalusi for his contributions to the animation industry,[57] and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller.

"[60] In February 2020, Warner Archive released Tex Avery Screwball Classics Volume 1 on Blu-ray containing 19 of his MGM cartoons.

[61] According to Jerry Beck, most of MGM's pre-1951 cartoons had their original negatives destroyed in a 1978 George Eastman House fire, causing great difficulties in terms of restoration.