ZOOTOPIA

ZOOTOPIA

ART DIRECTOR
OF ENVIRONMENTS

January 2012 I received a call from Disney: The director Byron Howard, writer Jared Bush and production designer Dave Goetz pitched the premise for a movie called "Savage" (which should become "Zootopia" later) to me and I thought it was a genius idea: An animal movie with a twist: Humans have never existed and instead animals have evolved to human capacity and they had created a city build by animals for animals.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

At this point we had no idea what that meant exactly.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The two images below are the very first illustrations I made for the movie.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

We did an enormous amount of research. What kind of architectural style would animals prefer. We explored some more far out concepts but we soon realized that we had to find just the right balance between "human" and "animal"(meaning organic, natural, inventive). I didn't want this environment to look too strange and "science fictiony" so that the audience could still relate to it easily.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

This is one of the first images (below) , where I felt the city started to look believable. Some of the buildings resemble rock formations, some buildings look historic, nature is integrated in the urban environment, there is a variety of scales for the different animals - it looks like a chaotic city that feels "real".

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

We wanted the architecture to still feel unique though - a constant balancing act.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

This is an early version of a Zootopian government building.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

In the earlier version of the movie we imagined a time before the internet. The bunnies work in administration....

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

...writing reports and sending them by in-house "mouse"-mail.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The building didn't stay in the movie. I did however end up using the idea of the tree-shaped support beams (image 4)
in the hallway in front of the mayors office in the final version of the movie.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

Also the organic levels in image 7 found their way into the final police building.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

Below is the first version of the "Golden Palm Hotel". The ideas in this design split into the palm shaped hotel in the middle of "Sahara Square" and the steaming tree shaped structures in the "Rainforest District"

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The Lobby.
Notice the ramp around the counter. It allows smaller animals to reach a comfortable hight to the countertop.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The thing on the left (below) is a fur-dryer.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The main train station in Zootopia.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The inside changed later - but the stain glass window survived.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

An earlier design (without the horns). Zootopia being a "global" city allowed me to use quite a bit of European architecture (this one is inspired by the "Anhalter Bahnhof" in Berlin.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

Assistant mayor Bellweather's crumby office in city hall.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

This cup is a present from the mayor.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

A bunch of post it notes you can find all over Bellwether's office.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

I built the police department in sketchup.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

A serial box for Clawhauser (the cheetah sitting behind the desk in the lobby)

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

At some point we had a prison. Judy Hopps (the bunny) was a tough cop and Nick Wilde (the fox) escaped from custody.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The orange outfit is a prison suit - he escaped into "Little Rodentia" (Mouse town)

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The streetlights are the kind of bulbs you would find in a christmas light-chain. (Some things have a limit of how small they can be manufactured) so they appear oversized in this tiny neighborhood.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

We still have the chase in the movie. Only now Hopps is chasing a weasel.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

In this scene Nick the fox was hiding from Hopps but when he turns around he notices that he is being watched.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

"Chez Cheez" was a fast food joint in "Little Rodentia".

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

"Bunnyburrow"

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

I one version of the movie Nick woke up in one of the bunny houses and felt pretty uncomfortable surrounded by so many bunnies.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

I used the drawing top right to illustrate some points in our style-guide (the next two images)

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The next drawing has 200 bunnies in it (I think)

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

Can you see "Totoro" in the drawing below?

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

This is the bag, that Judy's dad is holding at the train station when he hands her the fox-repellant.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The "Rainforest District"

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

Nick (back at the stairs) used to live in a leaky apartment in the Rainforest District.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The concept of the steamer tree structures slowly evolved from a mushroom shape to a tree shape.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

From rough sketch to final design.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

"Sahara Square"
The district for the dessert animals.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The "Palm Hotel" is at the center of the Oasis in the middle of dessert

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

Because many dessert animals are nocturnal this is the place for Zootopia's night life.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

In "Tundratown" the buildings are made of ice and snow.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

Kozlov the polar bear used to be the crime boss in this part of town.
I tried to go for unexpected warm colors for the inside of a Restaurant made of ice and snow.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

I had a lot of fun drawing cars. I wanted the vehicles in Zootopia be just as varied as its inhabitants.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

Some of these cars were designed by J Mays - the famous car designer.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The medical clinic used to be a secret entrance to an illegal inside amusement park called "Wild Times"

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

There used to be a slummy part of town for predators only. The graffiti helped as color accents to make it not too drab.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

This is where Nick's family used to have a suit-store when "Happytown" was first built. (see the billboard on the right below)

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

"Wild Times" used to be an indoor amusement park built by Nick Wilde - a place where predators ("chompers") could follow their instincts (at least somewhat)

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

I designed many variations of "Wild Times" (below are before and after pictures)

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

On the next two images you can see the secret entrance from the little clinic above that is connected to the big warehouse below.

Zootopia Concept Art by Art Director Matthias Lechner copyright Walt Disney

The following series of images is layered as to show of the different make-shift predator-specific games inside "Wild Times". We designed and built this place inside and out - ultimately it got cut out of the movie. The story develops very organically and the majority of the designs doesn't make it onto the screen. But as long as the story gets better every time it is not as frustrating as it sounds.