The special effects of the film are in charge of Weta Data and Weta Studios. The first step of the process is to design this mythical animal. Because no one has ever seen a water monster, there is plenty of room for imagination. When conceptual designer Matt Codd set out to design, he referred to a variety of different types of animals and creatures. Because the creation is the legendary water monster that I imagined as the "water horse", there must be something different. In the original concept drawing of this animal, in order to make the face and body of the "water horse", about 6 different animals were used. "Water Horse" has the eyes of an eagle and the snout of a horse. You can see the shadows of dogs, dinosaurs, and even baby giraffes.
In addition, because the "water horse" in the film gradually grows up-from childhood to adulthood, all this only happens within a few weeks, so the crew needs to produce different stages of its growth. Animal art director Gino Acevedo is the senior prosthetic director of Weta Studio. He said that this design has several obvious factors that make the audience know that they are seeing the same animal when the screen is switched. The color of the cub is very light. As it grows up, the color gradually darkens. When it is a teenager, its fat has been reduced a bit when it is young, and it has begun to take shape; its muscles are more obvious. When the "water horse" enters adulthood, its skin color has undergone a perfect transition, gradually transitioning from the dark color on the back to the light color on the lower abdomen.
By adding the characteristics of seals and neck dragons, as well as some very small wrinkles and details, Weta made a plaster statue for the final animal image, which is called a preliminary design model. After Russell agreed, Weta produced Crusoe's final solid urethane model, which was used to create various paint schemes
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