Disney's Esmeralda

Okay so, after having a lot of comments about my characters resemblance to princess Jasmine and Esmeralda, I've decided to have a look into their appearance and characteristics in more depth.

Let's start with Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She was created by Victor Hugo in the early Hunchback of Notre Dame novel in 1831, and has been re-created in various films but is probably more well known for in the Disney version.

As a character, she's probably the closest match to my creation because she's a gypsy and a performer. I found a very interesting blog here that goes through her history and where she originally came from. I was surprised to find her appearance is most likely based on Gina Lollobrigida who played the character Esmeralda in 'Notre Dame de Paris'. Tony Fucile, who was the animator supervisor for the character Esmeralda in the Disney movie, might even have studied some of the dance sequences that took place in 'Notre Dame de Paris'.

Take a look and tell me what you think~



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In this video, Esmeralda's dance starts at 2:19

I think that the way she moves, especially the very quick frantic movements and the way she uses the space or her stage may well be inspired by the above video. If I were to create a longer animation of my character, these two videos are definitely the ones for me to look at. Another thing I could look at is props. In both videos, Esmeralda uses props. Maybe this is something I could look into for my character if I have time to further develop her or, I could even incorporate her weapon into some sort of dancing prop or instrument because I've yet to design her weapon.

Here are just a few concept pieces I've found..

The big curly hair defiantly resembles Gina for me, and even the red outfit she wears is quite similar to the design they gave the Disney's Esmeralda.

Now, the top picture got me thinking about my own character and about poses. I should really draw a quick sketch of my character in a dancing position because action poses can tell you a lot about a character without having to explain. You see this a lot in concept art for example, warriors are usually in a fighting stance or at least looking ready and preparing themselves for battle. I should quickly sketch some images of her holding her weapon of choice and/or do some rough dance poses.

A special thanks to Lija Jursins for giving me the idea to look into Esmeralda and for sending the link of the 'Topsy Turvy Day' video. Thank you! 

I do not own any of the videos/images above.