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Main articles: Abraham Sapien Mister Wink Wonders of the Troll Market and Beyond: Part 1 | Part 2 The Last Elemental The Angel of Death
It is all the same to me, my heart is filled with dust and sand.
As with many other key characters of Hellboy II, the Angel of Death was first envisioned by Guillermo Del Toro as a notebook sketch. From there, the character went through different iterations at the hands of concept artists like Wayne Barlowe, and ended up being art-directed by Norman Cabrera at Spectral Motion.
It is an elemental. A giver of life and a destroyer. A forest god.
Mister Wink’s demise enrages Prince Nuada, to the point where the elf royalty, in retaliation, unleashes a Forest Elemental to kill Hellboy. The creature first appears in a small, bean-like shape; upon contact with water, it grows into an immense, 100-foot tall tentacular plant-like monster.
Although the first Hellboy film was rich in creature effects — both practical and digital — its sequel increased the workload with an ambitious roster of monstrous characters. To design the creatures and bring them to the screen, work was split between Spectral Motion, Solution Studios, Creature FX and DDT Efectos Speciales. Creature designs started from sketches by director Guillermo del Toro or Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, and then passed over at the companies for further refinement and selection of effects methods that could portray them effectively. Certain creatures were entirely practical or digital, whereas others employed both effects systems. Certain expedients used in Pan’s Labyrinth — such as the use of green screen creature suit portions that would be erased in post-production — were also recycled for the project.
Abraham Sapien (holotype of the species Icthyo sapien) was named after Abraham Lincoln, as he was found in a basement in Washington DC, inside a water capsule with a note reporting the very date of the president’s death. The character first appeared in the Seed of Destruction arc of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy comics — and was featured in Guillermo del Toro’s film adaptations. Abe is, in fact, the director’s favourite character from the comic series. As per the other creature effects of the film, he was brought to life by Spectral Motion.