Aretos and his team made 3D models of the sets because, as he notes, “When we have to describe the set to the directors so they know where they are going to shoot, it’s easier to explain it with a 3D model than on a 2D map.”
That same logic applies to the design of all the old and new characters in “Shrek 2,” which, in a process that is unique to both “Shrek” films, are designed first in clay sculptures, as opposed to being created on paper. Character designer Tom Hester says, “Sculptures are the easiest way for me to communicate the look of the characters. Sketches are great, but they only give you one angle. With a sculpture, we can really figure out how a character is going to look from every angle. It’s also easier for the animators to visualize how a character is going to move.”
Adamson remarks, “Tom has been a big part of defining the characters in both movies. He makes people and animals come to life with his sculptures. When you’re looking at his clay models, you can practically hear the voices come out of them.”
The final design element for the characters was their costumes. Costume designer Isis Mussenden, who also created the costumes for “Shrek,” returned to do her second animated feature. She points out that there is very little difference and even a few advantages to designing costumes for animated characters. “On an animated film, we design everything exactly as you would on a live-action film, except we don’t actually make the clothing. There are no fittings, which means I never have to hear ‘I don’t like that skirt’ or ‘I don’t look good in that color.’ That doesn’t happen in animation,” she laughs.
Mussenden kept Shrek in what she calls “the classic Shrek outfit,” but reasoned that Fiona, being a woman and a princess, would change her clothes. The lilac dress she wears in the beginning is a total departure from the familiar green dress in “Shrek.” The dress is lighter and softer, and the trim at the bottom is decorated in a vine pattern, which is meant to be more organic, reflecting her new life in the swamp.
For Fiona’s return to Far Far Away, the designer created a more formal two-tone version of the original green dress, which Mussenden felt would be more appropriate for a visit to the royal palace. Fiona’s final ball gown is a dazzling white sparkly confection because “we wanted her to just beam,” the designer states.
Carrying on the theme of mixing old-world fairy-tale style with contemporary fashion, Mussenden had fun with the Fairy Godmother, whose costumes range from the flowing, pastel gown in which she first appears to the red sequined dress she wears for her big number at the ball.
Mussenden not only designed the costumes for the main characters, but created a multitude of wardrobe variations for the extras as well. She also provided the animators with swatches of every conceivable type of fabric used in the costumes, as well as the trims, so they could both see and feel the weight of the cloth and how each draped, moved, wrinkled and reacted to light.
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