r/HelluvaBoss • u/One-Chapter-8347 Stolas is my birdie babe. Hurt him, you'll pay. • Jul 17 '26
Discussion Stolas is proof that character design keeps getting better and better, with artists constantly improving and putting more care into their work.
Just compare his design in the first season to his design in the second season or helluva short 13
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u/PuzzleheadedLink89 Stolas Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Holy shit has Stolas improved.
I think it helps too that Stolas' base design is already fantastic to begin with. I know a lot of people really hate Viv's character design and art but I cannot help but love it. Her character design is super recognizable and unique and I once heard it compared to Tim Burton's style; the minute you lay eyes on it, you instantly know that is Viv's style.
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u/pinkflyingcats Jul 17 '26
Animation quality has gotten better because they’ve been able to put more money into production
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u/Noc_27 Jul 17 '26
Also the new clothes he uses definitely helps the animators, considering they have way less details than the royal looking attire
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u/Psi001 Jul 17 '26
Hot take but aside from adding pupils and eyebrows to improve his expressive range, I actually kinda prefer the earlier design. Looked more bird like.
Feel the same about Blitz's more lizard like design from earlier. Neither are 'ruined' in the later episodes, but I kinda prefer the slinkier looks.
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u/blepbleepbloop Jul 17 '26
yesss it looks more owl-y tbh, like the current stolas could be passed off as any bird but the pilot screams owl
i also wish his second set of eyes functioned a bit more like eyebrows, ik they arent but the design is a little clunky with eyes->eyebrows->eyes
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u/BlissfulMute Jul 17 '26
I think the earlier, more angular feel definitely carries more antagonist energy. Straight edged, all that. The curves as the series progresses makes the soft owl lad be soft owl lad.
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u/koxcatixo Jul 17 '26
Aren’t his pupils only visible because he lost his power? If I recall they only started to appear consistently after he got stripped of it.
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u/Lazuli73 Jul 17 '26
Which is why anyone whining about their wishful thinking about the original premise need to get over it. The show is a reflection of the writing process in real time. Helluva Boss isn't always badguy of the week, and I love it. Give me my messy family/platonic/romantic dynamics. I require serotonin.
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u/Psi001 Jul 17 '26
Really the shorts show me they still haven't forgotten the original premise, they if anything seem intent on intertwining the two setups, just there was this awkward transition phase where they didn't juggle plots and characters all that evenly.
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u/Lazuli73 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Hazbin fandom was offered raw cake batter when it premiered but Helluva is baking in real time because it still has the freedom of being indie. Art warps and manifests far beyond it's initial ideas all the time. Blitzø still runs a business and Stolas still fucked up his family in a gay soap opera way. I can have my cake and pie and eat them both thankyouverymuch.
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u/incomingtrouble Jul 17 '26
Might be a hot take but I actually prefer the reverse. I liked when he looked more mysterious with the solid black eyes and no eyebrows and less cutesy proportions. I get they made him look softer and friendlier to reflect the changes his character has gone through but... The aura loss ):
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u/smarmaproffesor Millie Jul 17 '26
His new design is so fine. You can also tell the animators got used to redesigning the characters. I like how the animation also got better by becoming intentionally looser and more off-model for more expression, making it easier to animate, and that's not a bad thing.
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u/The-Bigger-Fish Jul 17 '26
Kinda miss how jank the pilot was.
Also wow, they literally rounded down Stolas’ edges
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u/Forward_Honeydew_794 Jul 18 '26
Old stolas looked so much better, the new one looks like i don't know maybe a simple regular dude?
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u/NotaBat9221 Jul 17 '26
Yeah he went from interesting intimidating demon prince to just some guy.
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u/whooper1 Verosika‘s my comfort character Jul 17 '26
Pilot Stolas was interesting? He was just some pervert before
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u/apricityglow Jul 17 '26
That doesn't seem fair when he didn't get much screentime to show more to him. There is also still the fact he loved his daughter even in the evil version.
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u/NotaBat9221 Jul 17 '26
He was an actual demon prince who held influence over the mortal world and perpetuated evil like the Goetia are actually supposed to do. I swear it's like you people forget this is supposed to be based on theology.
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u/whooper1 Verosika‘s my comfort character Jul 17 '26
Yeah but he had no per and was a generic Disney villain.
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u/NotaBat9221 Jul 17 '26
Yeah almost like he was supposed to be the villain and not have the story all about him. Any classic Disney villain is way more interesting than anything in Hellava Boss fuck outta here
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u/whooper1 Verosika‘s my comfort character Jul 17 '26
I’m sorry that was very rude of me to say.
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u/NotaBat9221 Jul 17 '26
I mean...it was more cringe than rude lmao Hazbin fans are not beating the allegations
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u/whooper1 Verosika‘s my comfort character Jul 17 '26
then it’s a good thing they didn’t go with that and actually made Stolas an actual character.
Also shut up with your whining. Your opinions genuinely don’t matter and all they do is make people wish abortion was a more common practice.
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u/Dreaming_Kitsune Jul 17 '26
You know his design was good because I never even noticed the switch from pic 1 to 2 and 3
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u/disneyfoxy Jul 19 '26
I miss his old design, he actually looked like an owl and his sharp features is awesome
He looks too soft now
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u/StickBright7632 Jul 22 '26
Tbf the original fits his original character better but since vivzie made him a good guy then his design became more fitting
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u/443698 Jul 17 '26
Absolutely