Earlier this year during the Finding Dory press event I was able to sit down with some of the character designers and learn about some of the new characters that you will see in this new film from Pixar that comes out in just a couple weeks. What our group learned from Jason Deamer (Character Art Director) was that Hank the Septopus was one of the most challenging and rewarding characters that he has ever worked with.
Hank the Septopus
When Jason works on a character he says that he tries to find useful and interesting things about the animal. He says that he when researching the animal he looks for something to inspire him and hang his design on to. I was amazed to learn that the Hank is a mimic octopus that can not only change the pigment of their skin, but also the texture. These octopuses can also mimic swimming motions to also make themselves look like other species. Learning this aspect of the octopus gave Jason and his team at Pixar many ideas to work with such as making Hank look like a houseplant.
Jason also shared with us that he had to learn how to draw the character because he had never drew an octopus before Hank. He said the hardest part when working with Hank was the locomotion on land and in the water. When working on Hank’s animation the character animation team actually had to get up close and personal with a real octopus to see how they move. They wanted to watch the movement of the tentacles and also the overall mood of the octopus. What they learned was that the tentacles actually moved in a very fluid manner, like a snake and that the tentacles were not connect at the end of the body but actually run up into the body to help it float.
Fun Facts I Have Learned About Hank
- Hank has been secretly hiding in every Disney•Pixar film since 1995.
- Hank originally started as an inside joke among the team at Pixar and they would find fun places to camouflage him in.
- Hank was meant to look like an older octopus and while his mouth is close to the floor, a majority of his expressions come from his eyes and eyebrows.
- It took a year of testing to find the right movements for Hank.
- Hank is an octopus and called a septopus because he only has seven tentacles. He lost a tentacle along with his sense of humor.
- Hank has more than 350 “suckers” on those seven tentacles.
During the Finding Dory press event we also got to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium where I got to go behind-the-scenes and get personal with a real live Giant Pacific Octopus. Although I was a little afraid at first to touch the octopus, I knew this might be one of my only chances to have this experience.
Watch my video below of my experience touching a Giant Pacific Octopus…
During the Finding Dory press event we got some sneak peeks at Hank in the new Finding Dory movie and I think he is going to be one of my new favorite characters! While we only were able to watch the first 10 minutes of this movie, I can’t wait to see the rest of the film with my kids. I am actually taking them this weekend to the Monterey Bay Aquarium because I want to see all the wonders of the aqurium before we watch Finding Dory.
Watch the Finding Dory Trailer
Finding Dory comes to theaters June 17th!
Find Finding Dory on social media here:
- https://www.facebook.com/PixarFindingDory
- https://twitter.com/FindingDory (#FindingDory)
- https://www.instagram.com/PixarFindingDory/
- https://www.pinterest.com/disneystudios/finding-dory/
- https://disneypixar.tumblr.com
- https://www.youtube.com/user/DisneyPixar
Leave a Reply