CHARACTER DESIGN
behind the scenes PRE-production!
PRODUCTION DESIGN
I was the character designer of our tiny little actors. Working with such iconic characters posed some interesting design challenges and opportunities. We wanted to create fresh interpretations of classic monsters,
while keeping very respectful of audience expectations. Our puppets were designed with complete 3D printed replacement faces. This is common in stop-motion feature films, but is unique to broadcast productions of this
scale! Once we had our character designs, I created the zbrush digital sculpts for every emotional expression and dialogue phonemes as per the script. I engineered a system for interlocking the faces with the skulls to ensure perfect registration from shot to shot. We 3D printed over 300 replacement faces!
Dawn Brown was not only director but production designer of House of Monsters. Ever mindful that the sets share a great responsibility in the storytelling, Brown designed the production with efficiency and clarity. Each set is multi-functional. There are small alleys and nooks for intimate moments, and big open spaces for dramatic moments. The monster world has a cool color palette, the human world has a warm palette. Worlds collide for dramatic moments! Each set piece is fully built and jockeys to camera as needed. It's an efficient system
for getting different looks out of small sets and a small budget. Brown designed and physically built all the sets and props. The included artwork shows her and my concept illustrations, computer models, in-progress work, and final on-screen images.
