Visualizing Zigzag: Fingers

Okay, we've covered hands, but don't they still look kind of weird? Is there something you're missing? Take a closer look - not at the hands as a whole, but at the fingers individually...yes it's creepy, but why? Certainly not just because it's long.....(or that he has so much bling)

Let's look at bone joints shall we? Human fingers have a knuckle, and 2 more joints above it. Except for the thumb of course, which only has one middle joint. Now take a look at Zigzag's fingers.

He has 3 clearly defined joints, but an ambiguously positioned knuckle. Well, the knuckle isn't drawn in as a lumps, unlike the other 3 joints. But this kind of thing is not that uncommon among animated characters. Besides, let's think logically; the lowest ring on the finger is below the 1st joint. That would be physically impossible if that joint was a knuckle. So, clearly, there has to be a knuckle below it. You just cant see it. That's all. The thumb, as expected, has 2 joints above the knuckle, instead of just 1. This is clear in this image, (just look at the rings), but hard to see in other poses. You'd be hard pressed to spot it when the movie is playing. Take a look at Zigzag's model sheet to try and notice all this in the other poses. It's fun :D

As I've already mentioned, animating a character with 6 fingers on each hand is hard enough, but adding an extra joint on each finger is just insane! Sure enough, you never notice any of this stuff when watching the movie. It just goes to show that Richard Williams truly is a master animator. 

-NKM

Visualizing Zigzag: Hands

Take a good look at Zigzag's hands. Notice anything? Well, aside from the fact that they're extremely long......Have you tried counting the fingers?

6 fingers!! Now let me tell you something: making fingers move believably is one of the most difficult parts of animating any character. Many cartoon characters only have 4 fingers, and dealing with 5 is hard enough, but 6! Man! What leaves me even more dumbstruck is that, I've seen the Thief and the Cobbler many times, over the past....well...15 years I'd say! In all these years, I never noticed this quirk. I only found out when I heard it in a documentary. 

Let's put things in perspective. Humans have 5 fingers. When we see a character with 4 fingers, we notice right away. It just slaps us in the face! Zigzag has 6 fingers.....and yet, he's animated so convincingly, that you don't for a second, doubt that he has anything other that 5 fingers! The thought never even crosses your mind!

Well that's it for today. I'll be back tomorrow with something along the same lines of this same topic. Keep your eyes peeled!

-NKM

Visualizing Zigzag: Posture

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

The Thief and the Cobbler: The Greatest Animated Film Never Made

If you have heard of The Thief and the Cobbler, then I applaud you. Unfortunately, chances are, you haven't; and there are reasons for that. Personally, I feel that this movie deserves to be known. It was supposed to be Richard Williams's animated masterpiece, but sadly, never saw the light of day.

I'd like to mention upfront that in this blog, I'm not referring to the Miramax edition [the one with horrible songs], or Lionsgate's "Princess and the Cobbler". Both of those are horribly butchered versions of Williams's original intentions. I am referring to Garrett Gilchrist's fan-made restoration, the "Recobbled Cut". This happens to be the closest thing to the originally intended masterpiece.

Have you heard of Richard Williams? No? Have you heard of Who Framed Rodger Rabbit? Well, Williams was the director of animation of Rodger Rabbit, and won 2 academy awards for it. He also won an Oscar for his animated version of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol". In fact, A Christmas Carol was actually a test of sorts to see if it would be possible to create such an impossible movie like Thief and the Cobbler.....have I sold it enough yet?

Now you might be wondering what makes this movie so special. Well, I'm glad you asked. You see, this film was in production for 28 years, only to be mercilessly grabbed out of the director's hand, sliced into an unrecognizable pulp, leading to an inevitable box office failure. I would like to spend the next several months going into details about all this history, and why I love this film. I promise to keep the blogs short, and to the point.

In 2012, director Kevin Schreck made a documentary about the tragic story behind this movie. Ironically, this documentary titled "Persistence of Vision", won many international awards and was screened at film festivals all over the world. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but would obviously love to!

DISCLAIMER: Thief and the Cobbler is not a movie for the fainthearted. If you are not a fan of animation, then this film will most certainly bore you. What you are seeing is an incomplete film.....just wanted to put that out there.


Trailer of Thief and the Cobbler (Recobbled Cut):

Persistence of Vision Trailer:

Thief and the Cobbler (Recobbled Cut): Full Movie: