Character Design - Song of the Sea

After Manchester Animation Festival, I was greatly inspired by the Tom Moore masterclass and the character design in Song of the Sea.

I love especially how the characters just ooze fantasy, with mystical and spiritual elements complementing the theme of the film itself, all built upon the ketlic myths and legends of the selkie.

One character that is a great example of this is Macha, who's character design is strong influenced by an owl. This is present with her eyebrows, beak-like lips and her eyes themselves. Tied along with her "swooping" sleeves and fetaher-like cape really creates this strong visual aesthetic of an owl.

The owl is a symbol of mystery, wisdom, secrets, intelligence and mysticism, which is really appropriate to the character Macha and her persona.

The character design is so organic, which is what Tom Moore wanted to achieve, this hands-on feel which fits with the traditional and mystical aura of the animation.

I find it brilliant how the character "Ben" was based on Tom Moore's own son, he even used photo references.

This adds another level to the animation and makes it very personal attachment to Moore himself, which is special. Because the amount of work that is put into an animation, you end up getting a personal bond with it anyway and to base a character off of someone so personal to you intensifies that bond.