Hi! I adore 2D animation in all its forms. So the current rise of online indie animated shows is really exciting to me. I’m completely in awe of these amazing creators building ideas into full scale animated projects! And Hazbin Hotel is probably one of the most well-known of these kinds of shows out there.
Character design is one of my greatest passions, and I could potentially talk for hours about my thoughts on the Hazbin designs. But today I’m going to focus on a detail I noticed that I’m surprised I haven’t seen anyone talk about before.
But first for context, it’s important to mention that the characters from the pilot were redesigned in 2022 for the new season which should be releasing soon. Quite soon. And when Alastor’s new design dropped there was an instant reaction from the audience.
“Nothing’s changed at all.” “It’s no different.” “It’s the same.”
I was really shocked to see those responses. Because aside from Angel’s redesign, Alastor’s was the biggest design change of the entire cast! And no one seemed to notice, or was talking about why.
Well it’s all about focal points. So, let’s look at the first design. Which part of this design is your eye drawn to? What stands out the most?
It’s his teeth, right? Everything else is some shade of red, or grey, or black, and the bright yellow of his teeth stands out in particular. This makes a lot of sense. Alastor is a demon, and an untrustworthy one at that. Of course those sharp teeth should be at the forefront of anyone’s mind when they look at him!
This character design tells a story by using basic psychology and colour theory to drum into your mind that this old-timey demon radio presenter slash- uh- deer? is a predatory animal. Oh, and look. On the Wiki it says apparently he’s a cannibal. I don’t remember that in the pilot but it makes perfect sense! The use of focal point is just that good, that it got the concept across without words!
Now let’s look at the new design. Which part of this design is your eye drawn to this time?
It’s the white piping that’s been added around his suit collar, isn’t it? The focal point is no longer his face, but his chest. And it begs the question – why? Is there something important about his chest to call attention to? I don’t really see any design elements around the chest that communicate much about the character, not like with Angel. It’s not a change I can speculate too much further on in terms of purpose or intent without more context though, and I’ll be interested to see if the release of Hazbin Hotel provides an answer to this question. I’m looking forward to it!