Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
When you look at our world, everything is also designed with straights against
curves and pushed proportions. It also has what we call a “whack” factor—sort of a
cartoony design element. Let's say you had a building. You would never design a
straight, linear-shaped building. You would do what we call “whack,” which means
you would angle the sides, the tops and windows off kilter to each other. Additionally,
every leaf on every tree—all the vein patterns, the bark on the jungle trees—everything
is stylized the same way.
In most other fi lms, jungles have been mysterious, disorienting, claustrophobic, and for
our fi lm we couldn't have that. Our jungles needed to be cheery and fanciful and slightly
childlike, because our characters were new to this environment—like children seeing it
for the fi rst time.
The director said, “Well what about Henri Rousseau? His jungles have that oversized, child-
like, naive quality. They have primary colors everywhere.” So, we combined Rousseau with
our stylistic concept to get that childlike, beautiful, sweet jungle out of
Madagascar
.
Q: So, when you design, a lot of what you choose is based on the
point of view of the characters in the story—what and how they would
see things, correct?
Kendal:
Yes. Try to put yourself in the character's shoes, and then move through the
story. In
Madagascar
, we wanted the characters—in the moment they hit the beach—to
feel like they were in a world unlike anything they had experienced before.
In New York, we tried to make everything feel very manmade. The plant life is very
manicured and contained within metal chain-link fences because we also wanted the
feeling of containment. Not trapped necessarily, but that our characters were contained
within this atmosphere. So even when birds fl y up, they can't get out of the surrounding
cityscape. You never see them escape. We also took out the sun, moon, and stars, even
though we have night and day. Everything is linear and straight. There are few curves
in that world. We tried to strip all of nature
out
.
So when we hit Madagascar, it was all nature
in
. Madagascar is all about curves, the
sun, the moon, the clouds, the stars, and the bounty of nature. We wanted the audience
to have the same experience that our characters had when seeing Madagascar for the
fi rst time—complete awe.
These designs, then, are character-driven and that is very important.
Kathy Altieri
has been working in the animation industry for more than 25 years. She
began as a background painter in television animation and then went to Walt Disney
