Marvel Studios has presented interviews with the lead designers on key characters in Marvel's Avengers all week long. Previously we heard from Visual Supervisor, Charlie Wen on designing Thor and Loki. Today, we hear from artist, Andy Park who was responsible for the look of the S.H.I.E.L.D. characters, first up is Black Widow.
On the subtlety of Black Widow's costume that's actually more intricate upon close examination:
Andy Park: Since Widow appeared in “Iron Man 2,” we had to start from there. Widow was one they were pretty happy with, so they didn’t want to deviate too far from that. From there, I did versions where she was a little more armored up for heavy combat. In this film, she’s going into full-on combat, so I did versions with more armor. We also looked at the comics and her gauntlet is the most iconic thing, aside from the cat suit.
On designing Black Widow with the realization that Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Hulk would probably be the standout characters:
Andy Park: When we designed all the characters we were always keeping the others in mind. But at the end of the day, we knew the ones that were going to stand out were Hulk, Captain America, Thor and Iron Man because they are the most fantastical, versus the ones I designed, which were more S.H.I.E.L.D.-based--Widow, Hawkeye and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
We had to tread that line between [making sure] they fit into the Avengers roster, but at the same time, I knew that their costumes had to look like they were made by S.H.I.E.L.D. Theirs were the most muted, so it couldn’t be too super hero-ish. It was more utilitarian and practical, more military-style combat suits.
On designing the Widow's Gauntlets (which weren't used at all in the film):
Andy Park: I wanted the gauntlets to be more utilitarian, so I did try to make them look like they had some tech in them. The initial intent was to have the gauntlets more teched out, instead of just a fashion accessory.
Black Widow from Iron Man 2 to The Avengers.
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