The Animator's Challenge: Innovative MOUTH SHAPES
Monster “Mike” Wazowski has one bulging eye, no nose, lips or ears, but his mouth shape is recognizably human.
As animated characters descend down the imagery ladder from realistic to stylized, the design of almost every facial feature can be highly-original and still depict an emotionally-believable creature: head shapes can morph into monsters, robots or teapots; noses can be replaced by a snout or a ball; eyebrows can disappear or hover above the head; eyes can be reduced from two to one… It’s not terribly difficult to create a full range of expressions without an eyebrow, or a nose; even eyes can be elongated into towering ovals with tiny irises and still be read coherently.
But mouths are a different story.
But mouths are a different story.