In Howard's words, the animators went for a "puppet sensibility" in the characters' movements and designs, a decision inspired by the 1967 stop motion film "Mad Monster Party?" (1967). McKenna explained, "the most difficult challenge with Igor was going to be portraying him as a hunchback without making him freakish." The titular protagonist of "Igor" wasn't a prisoner per se, but character designer Valérie Hadida nonetheless gave his attire prison sensibilities to symbolize him being jailed in the land he lives in; the back of his "straitjacket" has a prison uniform pattern, and the cuffs on his hands indicate handcuffs. Hadida was later nominated for an Annie Award for Character Design in an Animated Feature Production for her work on "Igor". Two patches of orange are also on Igor's back to suggest hope before Eva enters the world, who is colored a warm yellow to symbolize her adding "hope and light" to the land.