Hellboy and friends, from page to screen to cel

Copyright 2006 IDT Entertainment and Revolution Studios Distribution

If you haven't been reading Tad Stones' production diary for the Hellboy animated movies, you're missing out on a lot, from insights into Mike Mignola's influences to the project team's approach to interpreting the feel of the comic without duplicating the look.

Last week, Stones unveiled the final design for Abe Sapien, and yesterday trotted out the one for Liz Sherman. Both looks are based on character concepts by artist Sean "Cheeks" Galloway.

Stones, on Abe: "Abe has a small role in the first movie but is one of the investigating team in the second. He was one of the first characters to be explored by Cheeks. You can see that he made him a little more 'contemporary' in feel than I was comfortable with. And I didn't think he should have to take time to strip down before diving into water. Sean went back into the design but we kept the feeling of body armor/flack vest and combined it with a wet suit. We toyed with the idea of putting BPRD on the back of the vest but in other countries the organization has a different name."

Stones, on Liz: "Sean's audition Liz was my favorite (check out the archives) but her design suggested a personality too far from Mike's concept. However, it started a discussion about Guillermo's thoughts in casting Liz. Selma Blair is not a tall woman; Guillermo was drawn to the idea of incredible power being contained in a tiny form. Mike and I liked that idea and it works well in the world of animation where you want a variety of size and shape in your characters. In addition to that, Cheeks gave her a kind of ethnic look that I liked. There's nothing to suggest it in the writing or performance but I think it gives Liz a different attitude. Again, we try for a variety of looks. This one sort of developed on its own."