{"id":55653,"date":"2016-06-02T06:31:20","date_gmt":"2016-06-02T13:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/?p=55653"},"modified":"2017-10-09T13:03:26","modified_gmt":"2017-10-09T20:03:26","slug":"octopus-encounter-hank-the-septopus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cookiesandclogs.com\/octopus-encounter-hank-the-septopus\/","title":{"rendered":"Octopus Encounter & Animating Hank the Septopus"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Finding Dory<\/em>, which comes out in just a couple of weeks (eek!), there\u2019s a slew of new characters. I had a chance to talk with some of the character designers during the media event I attended. When asking which ones they felt most connected to, they pointed out that the hardest characters to animate often become the most enjoyable since they spend the most time working with them. With this in mind, Hank the septopus was hands-down the staff favorite. This grumpy but caring critter, voiced by Ed O\u2019Neill, plays a major role in Finding Dory<\/em> but, boy was he a toughie to animate! Oh, before we go any further, I should mention that Hank is actually a \u201cseptopus\u201d as he is missing one tentacle (thus the adjusted prefix).<\/p>\n

\"Movies

Image Credit: Disney \/ Pixar<\/p><\/div>\n

Animating Hank the Septopus in Finding Dory<\/h3>\n

So what made Hank the septopus so difficult? It has to do with the nature of octopuses (yes, I typed that right as using octopi to pluralize is not as common). These slippery and malleable creatures can change the pigment, pattern, color, brightness, and texture of their skin. Add to that the flexible body and tentacles along with the individually controlled suckers and you\u2019ve got an animation nightmare. The only easy part was deciding which color Hank would be. Since most of his scenes are with Dory, he had to be a\u00a0color that complimented Dory\u2019s bright blue and that ended up being red.<\/p>\n