Carlos Grangel at CTNX 2011 reveals insights into his character design process for films such as Corpse Bride, Shark Tale, Kung-Fu Panda, How To Train Your Dragon and more.

In Part 1 we looked at Grangel’s design process, his thoughts on artistic development, as well as his insight on running a niche market creative studio. Here in Part 2 we’ll take a look at some key features he worked on and highlight some interesting facts and quotes from his discussion with animation industry veteran and workshop moderator Jill Culton.

(From CTNx’s Website)
Carlos Grangel, character designer and studio owner
Carlos Grangel (IMDB) is a Spanish-born character designer for animated films. Carlos started as a character designer at Amblimation-Universal Pictures in London, and worked on “We’re Back: A Dinosaur’s Story” and “Balto”.In 1995 he started designing characters for DreamWorks movies “The Prince of Egypt”, “The Road to El Dorado”, “Spirit”, “Sinbad”, “Shark Tale”, “Madagascar”, “Flushed Away”, “Bee Movie”, “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your dragon”. He owns Grangel Studios along with his brother Jordi.

Original creator with Tim Burton for the characters on “Corpse Bride”, also worked on “Pirates” and “Hotel Transylvania” for Sony/Aardman Pictures and “Why I did (not) Eat my Father” for Pathé/Boreales, he contributed designing characters for various shortfilms like “Alma”, “Passage”, “The ClockWork Clone” and “The Periwig Maker” that was nominated for the Academy Awards Best Animated Short.

Moderator Jill Culton, writer and director
Originally from Ventura, California, Jill Culton (IMDB) is a graduate from the California Institute of the Arts where she was one of only five women in the character animation class of 1990. Now, twenty years later, Culton has a thriving career in the field of computer feature animation. Having worked as an animator, character designer, concept artist, storyboard artist, Director and Executive Producer, Culton is one of the foremost talents in her industry today. She has worked for ILM, Pixar, and Dreamworks where she is currently.

FEATURES
Corpse Bride:
In their discussion on features they talked out of chronology beginning with Corpse Bride (IMDB) because of Grangel’s early collaboration with Burton on the designs for the film. Burton called Carlos on Spain asking him about designing the characters for his new film. Carlos thought it was a joke. They arranged a meeting in London and met for 3 hours. Burton had worked on some preliminary designs using a thin pen and watercolor. Carlos thought they were beautiful and asked why Burton wanted his help. Burton insisted that he wanted to collaborate.

During trip to NY to pitch our IP’s in February of 2011 I had a chance to visit Tim Burton’s exhibit at MoMA and one of the things that I’ll never forget (aside from the amazing variety of mediums he has worked in) was the Tim Burton Chronology wall. It showed all of his key projects, MOST of which never saw the light of day. I wrote a post on it (http://timbuktoons.com/2010/03/fail-often/) and was reminded again during Carlos’ talk that artists need to continually produce and hone their craft regardless of whether the concept ever gets “green-lit” or not. Perseverance is key!

Carlos pointed out that good directors will trust the designer. He said that Tim Burton was very laid back and trusted his approach. For Corpse Bride (and most of his projects) Carlos also custom designs a type face for each character to help sell the idea on the character presentation boards. This helps further convey personality of the character and the tone of the story. Carlos also sketched on the insides of cereal boxes to get some of the petina and texture. He said, “I’m Uncle Scrooge so I’m trying to reuse everything.” Burton liked the idea and said to keep doing it. Tongue-in-cheek, Grangel pointed out that Burton added, “Then we can sell them later.”

Prince of Egypt:
For Prince of Egypt (IMDB) (and a few subsequent Dreamworks assigments) Grangel lived in the US for 2.5 years while his brother kept things running at the studio in Spain. This was Grangel’s real breakout film in terms of recognition and the other opportunities it led to.

Moderator Jill Culton pointed out how different Corpse Bride and Prince of Egypt were. Grangel said, “Being a designer you have to adapt and you have to bring the very best for that movie. “You have to be a chameleon to find the tone.” Continuing, he said, “For POE we broke rules of proportion. It wasn’t too cartoony or realistic. It was very subtle. If you miss on small thing, it’s not the right style.”

He said it was different working for a big studio. Katzenberg wanted to see lots of things including many takes on all of the characters from several different designers.

The Road to El Dorado:
Using a character line up from The Road to El Dorado (IMDB), Culton noted how every character sketch Grangel designed told a story. That’s what I love about character design. A character designer IS a visual story teller.

Spirit:
Culton commented on how beautiful Grangel’s horse studies and designs were for Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (IMDB). He pointed out that these sketches Culton was showing were after 3 months of studying horses. Grangel said, “Two things I had to learn how to draw were bikes and horses. If one thing is wrong on a horse you notice it.” During this discussion Grangel mentioned that he turned down a couple of sci-fi movies because he doesn’t do well with robots, vehicles, and aliens.

Shark Tale:
It was obvious that Grangel was least proud of Shark Tale (IMDB). What I admired was that he could have blamed others but he took ownership of it along with the rest of his collaborators on the film. He said, “When you make mistakes early, you pay for them later.”

Grangel’s early sketches looked more like fish instead of human faces stuck on fish. “I was not happy with the results.” (Probably a nice way of saying management made them do it that way for non-artistic reasons.) He continued, “We have gotten better at doing movies, but this one? We didn’t crack that thing.”

Madagascar:
Grangel was on Madagascar (IMDB) early while waiting to work on Corpse Bride and he designed the four main characters. He made sure his contacts at Dreamworks were aware of his opportunity with Corpse Bride so that when Warner Bros was ready for him to come, Dreamworks would be okay with it. Paraphrasing Grangel’s comments, he pointed out that It’s always good to be up front with studios and tell them before it happens so it does not negatively impact the studio. The fact that Grangel has not burned any bridges is a testament to his customer service and business savvy.

Other Films:
Grangel was also the lead character designer early on in Kung Fu Panda (IMDB) for three months and worked on Bee Movie (IMDB) as well. Half-joking with Culton, Grangel said, “The reason I have so many movie credits is because I never finish one thing” He usually works 3-6 months on a project, then moves on to another project.

Culton shared some concept art for a cave man movie Grangel was currently designing characters for. Grangel pointed out that there are three cave man movies in development, including one at Dreamworks. Carlos had to turn down the Dreamworks film because he’s working on a French film that is about cave men called “Tribes”.

In addition to features, Grangel has also worked on a ton of shorts, which he said he really enjoys. Keep an eye on this designer. I’m sure there will be more great designs in key feature films from Carlos and his company!

Carlos Grangel at CTNX 2011 reveals insights into his character design process for films such as Corpse Bride, Shark Tale, Kung-Fu Panda, How To Train Your Dragon and more.

I’m a character designer and concept artist before I’m an animator or producer, so I was thrilled to write a post about character designer Carlos Grangel’s CTNx workshop.

I love his approach to designing characters and the collaborative effort of everyone at his studio.

A huge bonus in this session was that it was moderated by Jill Culton (see credits below) who knew just what to ask to ask Carlos to draw out statements packed with amazing insight.

(From CTNx’s Website)
Carlos Grangel, character designer and studio owner
Carlos Grangel (IMDB) is a Spanish-born character designer for animated films. Carlos started as a character designer at Amblimation-Universal Pictures in London, and worked on “We’re Back: A Dinosaur’s Story” and “Balto”.In 1995 he started designing characters for DreamWorks movies “The Prince of Egypt”, “The Road to El Dorado”, “Spirit”, “Sinbad”, “Shark Tale”, “Madagascar”, “Flushed Away”, “Bee Movie”, “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your dragon”. He owns Grangel Studios along with his brother Jordi.

Original creator with Tim Burton for the characters on “Corpse Bride”, also worked on “Pirates” and “Hotel Transylvania” for Sony/Aardman Pictures and “Why I did (not) Eat my Father” for Pathé/Boreales, he contributed designing characters for various shortfilms like “Alma”, “Passage”, “The ClockWork Clone” and “The Periwig Maker” that was nominated for the Academy Awards Best Animated Short.

Moderator Jill Culton, writer and director
Originally from Ventura, California, Jill Culton (IMDB) is a graduate from the California Institute of the Arts where she was one of only five women in the character animation class of 1990.  Now, twenty years later, Culton has a thriving career in the field of computer feature animation. Having worked as an animator, character designer, concept artist, storyboard artist, Director and Executive Producer, Culton is one of the foremost talents in her industry today. She has worked for ILM, Pixar, and Dreamworks where she is currently.

Rather than list the questions Jill asked Carlos, I categorized key elements of his answers into 4 key categories: Process, Artistic Development, Studio/Business, and Features. There was so much here that I had to split it up into 2 posts. The first covers the first 3 categories and the second post will be dedicated to the key feature films Carlos has designed characters for.

PROCESS
Here are some facts and quotes regarding Grangel’s design process.

Stage 1: Shape Language and Silhouettes
In this first stage Grangel said that he looks at shapes, proportions, and costumes and how they interact.
In the sample he showed it seemed to be 40-50 designs. Grangel pointed out that he works from the outside in, focusing first on the negative space and silhouette, before adding the key inner details.

Stage 2: Medium Stage
In this stage he showed many detailed versions of a character.

Stage 3: Final stage
Grangel usually provides a few similar versions of the final character, but he shows the client/director the whole process to explain how he arrived at the finals. Hey pointed out that many times the director ends up choosing an earlier version.

Other comments included:

• “I switch techniques a lot and I try to pick the best medium to present designs for that movie.”For example, he developed some Po (Kung-Fu Panda) studies in Chinese ink on Chinese rice paper, basing the style on Chinese art.
• “I like to start with a mid tone.” (Hence the use of cereal boxes for Corpse Bride.)
• When asked how long it takes to do one of the character shape line ups Grangel replied, “About a week.” Continuing, he said, “You have to let it (the batch of loose/rough sketch designs) cook in your brain a couple of nights, then your brain will digest everything. Then it will come natural. I don’t see the first day. I’m to close to the paper, but the day after some of the more interesting designs are going to pop out.”
• Regarding his thought process, Grangel explained, “I try to put passion in everything I do.” He also mentioned that, “You create the very best where you are most happy. You have to find your space.” (this also tracked with some of Vignali’s statements (http://timbuktoons.com/2011/11/marcelovignali/) about getting into the zone.)

ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT
When asked how someone should become a character designer, Grangel replied, “I don’t know what to tell you. I didn’t start out wanting to be a character designer.” He also pointed out that he developed into a character designer as those opportunities arose. Now it is his specialty.

Other insightful comments about artistic development included:

• “I wanted to work with anyone at the studio who would make me better. If you are a sponge you will get better.”
• “Don’t copy things. The best way is to find your own way.” (This tracked with Vignali’s statements [15 Things I Learned From Marcelo Vignali] about not following convention.)
• “I study from real life and observe a lot and I look at a lot of art books.”

Grangel pointed out that he is influenced by nature/reality as well as art in general.

• “I didn’t go for comics or illustration. I went for everything: photography, paint, sculpt, architecture…”
• “I went to museum or art exhibit every week. It was mandatory. (personal note: I did this at the Corcoran school of Art and Design in Washington, DC. I had one class where we went to a studio or museum every week, and one class where we worked in a different medium every week. I appreciate those classes much more now, I didn’t appreciate what a great opportunity that was.)
• Grangel continued saying, “I wasn’t into animation that much.”

Grangel also pointed out the collaborative nature of animation and how it helps artists develop. Hey said, “There is individual achievement in illustration, sculpting or painting, but animation is collaborative by nature.”


STUDIO/BUSINESS
Carlos owns a studio with his brother Jordi called Grangel Studios in Spain. They have been in business for 22 years with great success in the US as well as in Europe (particularly in Spain). His brother runs the commercial side including, merchandising, mascots, commercial side. He is also a great sculptor and supervised modeling on Corpse bride.

His brother and the rest of the team help with: research, sketching, preliminary studies, logo design, presentation, adding texture, and producing commercials.

Grangel said, “I do the final transformed style to be presented. The better you can present the better you can sell your designs.”

Because of their holistic treatment of character development and branding, Grangel Studios has also had the opportunity to design several posters for Dreamworks movies.

When asked about the advantages and disadvantages of owning a studio, Grangel replied, “I would suggest not to grow too much. I never fire anyone. I don’t like that. Just keep it small and try to achieve the best quality you can. The clients will keep coming.”

So much about Grangel’s work process and business philosophy synced with my thoughts and how we do things at Timbuktoons. One of my favorite quotes is from Disney/Pixar’s John Lasseter who said, “Quality is the best business plan. period.”

As far as disadvantages or difficulties, Grangel said, “If you have a gap and you have to pay your staff, that is the worst situation you may have.” Many of the studio heads in the CAO workshop (Chief Artist Officers Workshop: Part 1) commented on this as well.

During a discussion on preliminary studio meetings, Grangel stated comically, “I will say that after 3-4 weeks of all these meetings that I could scream and kill someone. So it’s better for me to stay 2-3 weeks over here then go back to Spain to work quietly in my cave. I like to produce. I like to be on the table.”

About longevity and enjoying his career Grangel said, “I don’t work weekends anymore.”

For more information go to: http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/carlos-grangel-3/

Read Part 2 as we unpack interesting facts and highlight key feature films which Grangel has designed characters for.

Client, Project: Graebel, art direction, multiple character design, ink and paint

Description: Graebel is the leader in relocation and moving services worldwide. When a major client asked Graebel to storyboard the best possible moving service, Timbuktoons was chosen to develop a series of presentation panels to illustrate the Graebel high-touch customer service that’s matched with its cutting edge technology.

We approached the quick-turnaround (weekend) project the same way we handle storyboards for animation or production boards for film. The Graebel team wrote the script and Timbuktoons illustrated the character design and backgrounds for each panel. The panels were then printed in large format by Graebel and were met with ‘applause’ following the team’s successful presentation.

Client, Project: Answers, visual development, art direction, character design, illustration

Description: Timbuktoons was asked by Answers to create a series of superhero characters that illustrated various bodily functions (spit, ear wax, mucus, etc.) for a special kid-focused magazine article entitled “Getting Close to Gross.” We approached the project the same way we handle pre-production for our show properties. First we explored the character development of each and then in visual development fleshed out how that impacted the character design. The result is a series of heroic characters that (ahem) oozes the gross personality of each bodily function.

[This is concept art and character descriptions taken from Guardian High, our latest show concept. Guardian High is an action comedy for tweens, 26x22 minutes.]

WILLIAM NICOLAS BLAYDE
“Never be idle Chase, we are like vapor and we know not how long we have in our endeavors. Lost time does not return.”

Blayde, 17, is a squire from Northern Wales, 1429. He is a tall and well-built redhead with a deep respect for the code of chivalry. He exudes nobility in his words and deeds despite his lack of knight status and coming from “no great birth.”

Blayde values and defends loyalty, courage and honor as a typical gentleman soldier. His strong faith in these qualities, even when it doesn’t make sense, can rub those around him the wrong way making him come across as self righteous. Unfortunately, Blayde’s view of the world can be too small which often leads to a limited view of himself.

[This is concept art and character descriptions taken from Guardian High, our latest show concept. Guardian High is an action comedy for tweens, 26x22 minutes.]

CONSTANCE J. GREENE
“Given the right amount of time, one’s imaginations and earnest efforts can establish a bright hope for the morrow. But Chase Lewis if you pay no attention to the present, you will suffer a dull life indeed…in more ways than one!

Constance, 16, is from Baltimore, Maryland, 1906. “CJ” is kind, energetic and the cheerful optimist of the bunch. But don’t mistake her optimism for naiveté; Constance is very intelligent and outspoken. She is tactful with her wit…and her left hook!

Her upper body strength is just as powerful as her mind, and she easily slips into her tomboy personality. Despite being extremely beautiful, she lacks confidence in her femininity and struggles with behaving “appropriately.” Being caught between two very different times doesn’t make matters any easier!

Constance is fascinated with the biological and physical sciences and that is especially evident in her thoughtful approach to problem solving. She is also very concerned with the health and well being of the team, sometimes to a fault.

Each year for my family Christmas cards, I illustrate our family doing something (because the holiday season isn’t busy enough I suppose.) Here is an image of our 2009 Hampson family Christmas card.

[This is concept art and character descriptions taken from Guardian High, our latest show concept. Guardian High is an action comedy for tweens, 26x22 minutes.]

KAIA CHIYOKO
(sarcastically) “Chase, this wouldn’t be a problem for you in my future. Progress has left us with plenty of time to focus on what matters most to us. Whatever that is.”

Kaia, 18, is from Kyoto, Japan, 2079. She has dark hair, green eyes and a sleek physique. She is extremely agile and a gifted gymnast…a skill that comes in handy when stealth is required. Her unique blend of martial arts and aggressive style makes her the tip of the spear on missions.

Kaia has great confidence in the progress of science and relies heavily on technology but lacks confidence in her own intellectual abilities. This is especially true in cultural and historical perspectives.

She is stoic and sometimes unexpressive which can easily be misinterpreted as aloof and relationally detached…although relationships are definitely not a strength. Her touch of future snobbery doesn’t help in that department either!

As artists, our goal is not to draw what we see (a camera can do that), but to draw in a way that makes the viewer feel a certain way. Our goal is to tell a story visually relying heavily on emotion.

I think one reason I love animation so much is that it is so expressive. You have many art forms (writing, drawing, color, movement, sound design, voice acting, art direction, etc.) colliding to tell a story around a core story with powerful emotional themes….or very cartoony or light hearted themes depending on the genre.

So today when you pick up your stylus, mouse, brush, pencil, pen, marker, or the like, remember to draw the emotion and tone you want to convey.

Before launching Timbuktoons I toured a large animation studio to learn all I could about each step in the animation process.

One area I absolutely fell in love with was the Visual Development Department. Concept art, character designs, inspirational sketches, color studies, prop and environment design all take place in “vis dev”.

One of the things that amazed me was the amount of research, reference, and inspirational material on hand to give the concept artists everything they needed to work their magic. Each artist had a huge (I’m talkin’ 5′x8′) foam core board with tons of visual reference material that someone had meticulously researched and prepared for them.

They had anatomy diagrams, photographs, illustrations, inspirational artwork, lighting and color reference, all right there in front of them.

I point this out because I’ve talked with other artists who feel like they are somehow cheating if they use reference material. Here at Timbuktoons we use a ton of reference material to generate ideas and use as spring boards.

We spent the summer developing the story and key artwork for a show concept we’re going to start pitching in November. The main characters are from different time periods.

The thing with reference material is that you notice details and nuances you would otherwise have overlooked. Those are the exact details you need to make your designs unique.

I confess that I don’t enjoy research…at all! I just want to dive into sketching. Fortunately Sean Copley, our Creative Director (AKA “The Think Tank”) is a one man research department.

For each of our characters, he researched everything he could about their clothing, culture, personality, similar characters, etc. He created a huge digital file of images as well as a reference board with the best stuff for me to have on hand when I designed each character.

I also had images pasted up all over my wall in various artistic styles that inspired me in different ways.

Art doesn’t happen in a vacuum. We build on what others have done. We are influenced by all sorts of visual complexities that we often don’t think about. The job of a concept artist is to unpack those attributes and use them with intentionality in their visual story telling.

So, if you are a creative of any stripe…a little R and R will help inspire you and take your art to new levels!