Original: When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening decided to go in another direction, and hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, naming the characters after members of his own family.
Simplified: After he had decided not to do his "Life in Hell" cartoon series, he quickly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, with Homer being named after his father.