Marvel’s visual development head, Ryan Meinerding, has loved The Thing since high school and used to sketch him.
Ryan, a character designer and creative director at Marvel Studios, also served as an associate producer for the past five years to bring The Thing to life in Marvel’s latest film, Fantastic Four: First Steps.
“He’s one of those characters that’s so iconic to Marvel,” the designer said of The Thing. “It’s one of the first characters Jack Kirby designed, and the idea of that character having so much life, heart, and expression was what drew me to him.”
Moreover, Ryan addressed the challenge he faced, saying, “As a character designer, the idea of characters that are a little harder to figure out, like a guy made of rocks, and making him lovable, that’s a hard challenge.”
The character designer detailed how he worked on creating The Thing’s emotions, giving him life and portraying who he truly is.
“One of the great things about The Thing is that eyes, eyebrows, and a mouth are the most expressive features on a face—and he’s all that,” Ryan noted. “He’s all eyebrows, eyes, and mouth. That eyebrow does everything. It makes him look surprised, angry, or happy. And his mouth can turn from this grouchy-looking, sad mouth to a full smile.”
Ryan said the trick with The Thing is showing emotion without letting the rocky texture get in the way; too many lines can blur his expressions.
“So there’s a balancing act there,” he asserted. “I always thought the brow was a tremendous challenge because it casts so much shadow over his eyes. But it’s also such a powerful tool for expression that I’m glad we were able to get it right on film.”
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