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Description

As a world builder and character artist whose dream career is character design and animation, I am constantly observing very closely how Disney designs its characters in its animated films–especially characters that are supposed to be related, or who are supposed to represent a certain ethnic group, such as the Polynesians or Mexicans. And to see how much work the character designers put into Coco is truly heartwarming. What we get to observe on screen is true dedication to the craft, combined with a desire to honor Mexican culture by faithfully portraying them. Notable among their designs is the oft-celebrated Mestizo type, a blend of European and American Indian bloodlines that characterize most Mexicans today. Prior to the Mestizaje movement, purer Spanish bloodlines were desirable, with a goal to “water down” Indian bloodlines by marrying their women to Spanish men. Thus we see among Héctor’s generation a lot of very strong Spanish traits, making Héctor, who retains strong Amerindian features, stand out all the more, and contrasting him yet again to Ernesto, who was considered a paragon of manliness in his day. While Ernesto did live to see the Mestizaje movement begin, Héctor died beforehand. He unfortunately did not get to see his mixed heritage become celebrated to the point of being the preferred look for a “true” Mexican. But the result of the Mestizaje movement can be seen in his descendants, who all display common traits of Mestizos.
If you’re interested in studying body and facial types and their variation between bloodlines, I strongly suggest giving Cedarseed a visit. She’s a Lebanese artist who studies people and body types, and her comprehensive chart should be considered invaluable to character artists who want to portray a people or culture as accurately and respectfully as possible.

Description

As a world builder and character artist whose dream career is character design and animation, I am constantly observing very closely how Disney designs its characters in its animated films–especially characters that are supposed to be related, or who are supposed to represent a certain ethnic group, such as the Polynesians or Mexicans. And to see how much work the character designers put into Coco is truly heartwarming. What we get to observe on screen is true dedication to the craft, combined with a desire to honor Mexican culture by faithfully portraying them. Notable among their designs is the oft-celebrated Mestizo type, a blend of European and American Indian bloodlines that characterize most Mexicans today. Prior to the Mestizaje movement, purer Spanish bloodlines were desirable, with a goal to “water down” Indian bloodlines by marrying their women to Spanish men. Thus we see among Héctor’s generation a lot of very strong Spanish traits, making Héctor, who retains strong Amerindian features, stand out all the more, and contrasting him yet again to Ernesto, who was considered a paragon of manliness in his day. While Ernesto did live to see the Mestizaje movement begin, Héctor died beforehand. He unfortunately did not get to see his mixed heritage become celebrated to the point of being the preferred look for a “true” Mexican. But the result of the Mestizaje movement can be seen in his descendants, who all display common traits of Mestizos.
If you’re interested in studying body and facial types and their variation between bloodlines, I strongly suggest giving Cedarseed a visit. She’s a Lebanese artist who studies people and body types, and her comprehensive chart should be considered invaluable to character artists who want to portray a people or culture as accurately and respectfully as possible.