Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1109293
5 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 9 1 4 P E R S P E C T I V E | M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 9 A. THE AWKWARD YOUNG HICCUP FROM THE FIRST FILM. B. HICCUP AS THE ADULT DRAGON WARRIOR. C. THE VIBRANT DRAGON- VIKING UTOPIA OF BERK. DIGITAL PAINTING BY PIERRE-OLIVIER VINCENT. D. PIERRE-OLIVIER VINCENT'S PRELIMINARY BLACK MARKER SKETCH OF A VIKING HOUSE. E. EARLY VISUAL DEVELOPMENT ART FOR BERK'S ARCHITECTURE. DIGITAL PAINTING BY PIERRE-OLIVIER VINCENT. F. ENTRANCE TO THE GREAT HALL, EXAMPLE OF STONE CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETAL IMPORTANCE. DIGITAL PAINTING BY KIRSTEN KAWAMURA. G. PIERRE-OLIVIER VINCENT'S CONCEPT PAINTING FOR THE CALDERA, ENTRANCE OF THE HIDDEN WORLD. B C Early in the process, I established a rule for myself: all locations or characters having or developing a strong interaction with dragons would become more fantastic and whimsical. For example, in the first movie, Hiccup is just a small Viking boy. There is nothing special about him, aside from his smaller frame that is juxtaposed against a big, brutish Viking world. Enter Toothless. Little by little, Hiccup's appearance evolves into this incredible dragon rider, culminating in Hidden World, where he dons his dragon-flying armor. The same is true for the locations. In the first film, the village of Berk was a pretty grim monochrome location before dragons moved in. They turn it into a vibrant, funky, slightly dysfunctional, dragon- Viking utopia. As artists at DreamWorks, we don't have to abide by or follow a strong house style, which in turn allows every movie to find its own graphic identity. This allows me to focus on what the movie truly needs—instead of trying to influence every project with my personal signature. Both approaches are valid, but I love the idea of reinventing myself with every new project. Coming from Flushed Away, which was a very analytical movie where I drew everything with a mechanical pencil for greater precision, I felt the approach of a big, brutal and monolithic Viking world should be different. I choose my biggest black marker and started sketching. It helped me just work on the raw-shape language, heavy and unrefined. The structural large timber frames of buildings were kept visible from the outside, making them feel heavy and solidly anchored to the ground. A