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The massive Audio-Animatronics
creature inside Expedition Everest, the new thrill attraction
at Disney's Animal Kingdom, moves with a force equal to a jumbo
jet. Yet, with just a swipe of his arm, the fearsome, hairy yeti
convinces riders he is a living, breathing force.
How do you design
a creature like that -- a technological marvel with the thrust
of a 747 and at the same time with features so believably lifelike
that guests gasp, recoil, and scream?
In the case of
the yeti, it took biologists, artists, engineers and programmers
working together for four years to bring the creature of Himalayan
legend to life.
Disney Imagineers
invited their animation colleagues to sketch ideas of what the
yeti might look like. More than a hundred unique designs were
shared -- from cartoons looming over cities to fanged monster-like
apes to muscular gorilla-shaped animals.
At the same time,
the team met with Dr. Stuart Sumida, professor of biology and
consultant to animated films, to develop a realistic body form
and movement structure. If the yeti is real, how would he walk?
How would he stand? How big would his jaw jut out?
Sumida, who has
worked with animators to develop realistic movements for films,
talked about brain size of known large primates, musculoskeletal
structures, proportions and movement. The team discussed legendary
sources and current descriptions of the yeti they heard from
local people in Nepal and the Himalayas.
Over the course
of several months, the sketches, folklore, and science merged
into a clearer concept. The Expedition Everest yeti would be
similar in size to Gigantopithecus (a giant ape from prehistoric
times), with a skull modified from the Asian langur monkey, facial
features and fangs of the Golden Monkey, and brownish fur and
hair that would blend into a forest environment. The final touch
would be added by audio engineers -- a whistling shriek and mighty
roar.
The artists' sketch
of the Expedition Everest yeti would now face its biggest challenge:
being brought to life in a dimensional, dynamic and very believable
way. It would take a team of sculptors, computer modelers, technical
designers, engineers and figure finishers -- not to mention research
on animal fur and hair, sounds and eye movement.
The job of developing
what the yeti would look like fell to principal designer Doug
Griffith. He began with a roughly finished sculpture to develop
the face and head proportions and the character of the yeti.
The sagittal crest of the skull, the look of the fur, the intensity
of the eyes -- all began to emerge from that initial lump of
clay to reflect the size and look the creature would ultimately
have.
At the same time,
Griffith worked with engineers and programmers to develop a computer
model of how the yeti would be positioned inside the attraction.
The figure would have limited space and range of motion, and
engineering would dictate the final skeletal framework so the
yeti could swipe over the train and stop just short of the inner
wall of the mountain.
For the final
maquette (sculpture in miniature) of the yeti, sculptor Scott
Goddard worked for several months with the same type of clay
used by the Greeks, adjusting and refining in order to get the
position, the personality and the details of the yeti just right.
Goddard blended ancient and modern sculpting techniques to create
the final version with a fierce expression, giant head and teeth,
and in a pose that specifically met the technical constraints
required by engineering. Coordinates were marked on the sculpting
board where the yeti's elbow, hands and feet had to match.
Walt Disney Imagineering
Creative Executive Joe Rohde, Griffith and Goddard collaborated
closely and often discussed specific features -- are the fingernails
too short? Is the eyebrow thick enough? Is it too scary? Is it
scary enough? Finally, the sculpture was complete. Photos were
taken to document the artistic model's appearance. Then Goddard
carefully scraped off all the sculpted "hair." This left a smooth
body figure that was tagged with laser markers and scanned into
the computer.
The computer file
was used to mill a life-size foam version of the figure which
was refined by Goddard, the original sculptor. The head, feet
and hands required the most attention, since they would be visible
while the body would be covered in fur.
The foam sculpture
was then coated with a sealer, a mold was created and a fiberglass
cast of the creature began to emerge. Joints were created at
carefully selected points. The artists worked hand in hand with
robotics engineers to ensure the final figure would have the
range of motion needed, plus access to install mechanics and
pneumatics while not violating the dramatic intent. In addition,
access panels were required for the operations maintenance team
who would be responsible for the long-term care of the yeti.
Days of sanding,
fiberglassing and assembly resulted in a giant figure that surrounded
an armature of steel connecting the feet, legs and torso. The
massive size of the figure surprised most members of the team.
As the engineers tested motions and movements, the costume designers
began to create what would be the skin and fur of the animal.
The team worked
in a tall, windowless warehouse. Access was restricted to keep
the yeti a secret for the months it took to bring all the elements
together.
Long before fur
was added, the figure had to be programmed. Specialists with
backgrounds in animation, programming and technical fields created
more than 100 computer animation tests over two years. They spent
hours bringing the yeti to life with subtle turns of the head,
tilts of the arm and blinks of the eye. This pre-programming
phase took place as a virtual design within the computers and
then in a full-size production facility with the animated figure.
The final programming occurred in the field after the yeti was
installed inside the mountain.
Once programmed,
the yeti's mechanics were tested and cycled. The yeti went through
his paces continuously for hours and hours -- preparing for long
days of terrifying guests ... with no days off.
Figure finishers
spent months researching types of fur -- from horse hair to silk
to nylon. The final coat is a blend of yak, horse hair and synthetics.
Designers created mats and dreadlocks, even mixing in Spanish
moss for authenticity.
Teeth and nails
were molded from acrylic, then stained to look aged, yellow,
and dirty. Paints and mud were added where the yeti would have
walked through forests and wet environments. And one lucky designer
had the job of packing dirt between the yeti's toes.
While only a few
observant guests will notice all of this, the Imagineers are
renowned for their passion for details that tell stories in ways
like no other.
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