The progress of Maggy

Originally, we only wanted to show Maggy as her hands and feet. From the hamsters’ perspective, this simplification worked quite well. After all, that’s what they notice most about her. But then everything turned out quite differently.

Maggy Version 1

By the second part, this approach was no longer enough. We lacked the ability to convey clear emotions through her, because her interaction with her hamsters required a nonverbal dialogue. Even in the storyboard, it became clear that her bewildered facial expression would be essential.

So we decided to give the lady a face - and a body to go with it. Because, to be honest, hamsters see their owner as a whole being. So we designed the full character in 3D and soon had our first version of Maggy from head to toe:

We finished the film with this version and successfully screened it at several festivals. Still, afterward, we were left with the impression that Maggy didn’t quite fit into the hamster world. We also received this feedback from the audience. She lacked femininity and charisma. And personally, I didn’t think her hair fit the overall look.

Maggy Version 2

So when we started working on the third Hamster movie Ralle & Bolle – In a Treehouse we made a third change to Maggy’s character - to compensate for her already known shortcomings.

The result is this cute lady. However, the changes are only in the details:

Her clothes are less red, and her face is more striking. Plus, her glasses give us another way to convey Maggie’s mood—for example, when they’re crooked on her nose. Her hair also needed a makeover. Those spaghetti-like strands on her head might have fit the cartoonish look of Ralle and Bolle, but they looked awful on a human head. With V-Ray, we were able to create a look that’s still abstract but more appropriate.

And so, when we re-rendered the film in 2016, we were also able to replace the “old” Maggy in this film, thereby creating a cohesive overall result across all three films. In the process, I learned one particularly important lesson about character development: give your characters space and time to change. Let them help decide for themselves what suits them. Be willing to rework a finished character if their appearance feels off. It can significantly improve your film.

You can see for yourselves whether this change has actually made a difference by comparing the following images:

Maggy in Blender

Today, you can download Maggy here on our website to try her out for yourself in Blender. We had to tweak a few minor details to ensure she works fully in Blender. But she’s remained almost exactly the same. And who knows - maybe she’ll continue to evolve there. You never know what our characters have in store…

Best regards, Winni.