I'm assuming you've seen the Thief and the Cobbler by now. I'll kick off my series starting with character designs and personalities. First up is my favorite character, Zigzag. Evident from the title, I'll discuss his posture.
Take a moment to look at the above picture. Do you see anything unique, or....out of ordinary? To be honest, there are LOTS of weird quirks hidden in this character, and I'll walk you through them, one at a time. For now, lets start with the most obvious-the position of his head. Compared to the rest of his body, shouldn't the head be a bit higher up?
Notice how his shoulders stretch way up. It's physically impossible for a human skeleton to position itself that way. Try it out! So why is it like that? Yes, I'm aware of the exaggeration principle of animation, but Richard Williams was trained by Ken Harris, who was known for his excruciatingly minimal use of exaggeration. [Ironically, he worked for Warner Bros.]
This posture isn't there by accident. Zigzag is designed this way to come across as a menacing foe. Take a closer look. Does he....resemble something familiar?
AHAA!!
His shoulders are actually the wings of a vulture! This gives Zigzag the look of a predator, waiting to devour a decaying carcass. But this is only one of his oh so many quirks. Stay tuned for the others, and until then, keep observing!
-NKM
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