Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/747534
P E R S P E C T I V E | N OV E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6 69 I grew up with a crazy, ugly-cute, anti-Barbie Troll. All of us kids loved it for its long colorful hair which we would twirl incessantly while playing with it on our shag carpets. Who knew its chimp-like features, rounded stubby shapes, and six-inch height would be so attractive to so many children? I began design exploration for this film by embracing these same elements of the doll. I've always been a fan of ugly-cute and I wanted the movie characters to have that same feeling, especially since the story was being developed around a female lead, Poppy. I wanted her to have real and interesting physical character traits, quirks, contrast and strong appeal. I didn't want her to be perfect. I thought about Pippy Longstocking, the Muppets and Bjork— all appealing and strong characters, but odd. Art Director/Character Designer Tim Lamb called her Punky Brewster-esque. One of the challenges with the doll is that it either looks like a really old man, or a baby, but nothing in between. The film's characters were in the 18- to 25- year-old range, right in between. I hired character designer Craig Kellman early on the project. He started sketching a hyper, super-expressive female Troll and a grumpy, grungy, survivalist male Troll. When Tim Lamb came on as Art Director, he took Craig's initial designs and reworked them with an edgy underground comic-like style, fun and awkward shapes, quirky expressions and bright graphic colors. Poppy's design became emblematic of an exploding volcano, like her big, slightly manic personality. In contrast, Branch (the male lead Above left, top to bottom: A digital exploration of the Bibbly character by artist Craig Kellman, along with a fi nal render of the character. A similar digital exploration by Mr. Kellman, along with a fi nal render of the King Gristle, Sr. character. Top right: Various development drawings of the Chef character, also by Mr. Kellman. In each case, the fi nal rendered character is created by a team of DreamWorks Animation artists. Bottom: Cloud Guy character development by Timothy Lamb, along with a fi nal render of the character.