Moana: The Girl Who Loves the Sea

Black ink and color pencil on Bristol Board. 

21.6 cm x 27.9 cm (8.50 in. x 11.00 in.)

2016

This sketch of Moana with her Pet pig, Pua and the empty-headed rooster, Heihei was one of 2016’s top 9 liked posts on my Instagram feed, @monstergram7. Posted mid-December, it was the last to make the Top 9 list, kicking out an Iron Giant sketch.

Having worked on character art for the product launch of Disney’s Moana, this ceremonial chieftain costume was an interesting change from her standard costume exclusively depicted throughout the product development style guide. As much as I simplified costume, it has a lot of little detail that has me glad I didn’t have to draw it for the guide. As far as lots of details go, Working on Maui’s tattoos was plenty enough a task.

From as long as the style guide team was working on the style guide, which was about 16 months before the animated film’s release, Pua was always a cute little thing. The pig was one of the things to which people first gravitated. As first presented to us, Pua along with Heihei, was to be on the boat on Moana’s journey. Anyone who has seen the film knows that Pua doesn’t make that journey. On hindsight, that alteration to the story should have been ab obvious thing coming, since the two critters didn’t contribute much when the real action ramped up.

Heihei’s personality changed from the self-important pet of Grandmother Tala, to a stupid island bird. In one treatment, he would have ended up the new chief of the coconut-armored Kakamora.

[The Top 9 of 2016]