Wednesday 4 July 2012

The Human Side of Character Design


Although the film would be focused on the hero cat, a few human beings would significantly impact on our feline's life and would be important figures in the telling of the story. As such the two main ones, a pet shop owner called Jap, and his assistant Sam, required special attention and at the beginning of the year concept art revolved around them in addition to a secondary character, the Meatman, who would feature at the start of the film.

In addition to the descriptions given in the book of these characters, the director had a very particular view on how the characters should look. The concept artists at the start of the year were given reference to old Russian cartoons and films such as Disney's The Aristocats. Maggie wanted a careful balanced between a stylized and realistic look, a stimulating visual that could be taken seriously. I was drawn to the painterly watercolour backgrounds of the reference material, and my key piece of concept art was rendered with this effect over my original penciling.

Each character presented their own challenges beyond the descriptions provided within the book, as Maggie had an eye for subtle details within the characters and there were also time period considerations to take into account. Jap was originally and briefly described as a money-pinching cockney with a face round enough to turn his eyes to slits, but over the arc of the concept work the director was drawn closer towards a man with a greedy look in his eyes and a block-ish head. This makes him easier to recognize as a man not to be trusted with your welfare, or at least that of your cat! Although there isn't a definite mention of him being fat, one certainly gets the impression of a large character.

Sam was to contrast Jap's wide size with a tall and thin frame, and needed to look somewhat simple yet kind, and clearly in the beneath the former in terms of status. His clothing is a labourmans, whilst Jap wore something a little smarter for business and the like. Although Sam's body was firmly established in the first few drawings, his facial features and head shape needed a lot of work to get looking the way the director wanted.

The Meatman, finally, was based on a picture that Maggie liked which was originally intended to be Jap, but suited this character more. In the original picture the Meatman is plump and fat, closer akin to a stereotypical butcher. Upon request we tried a version of him as almost emaciated, and we found that this wizened image worked better for the man who could remember every cat he ever met and which ones he was supposed to give food to.

After this a character sheet of each character was given to the sculptors to work with. A few other parts of concept art followed this, such as props relating to the characters and a clothing change for Sam. Although I am still doing a bit of the concept art for props, my main attention has now turned to storyboarding for the film. There's still quite a bit to do, but I'm sure that's a post for another time.

Thanks for reading! Peace out, and avoid getting eaten by lions.


~ Julien