| Creature Designer Phil Tippett describes the rancor as a cross between a gorilla and a potato. Based on the original maquette, Industrial Light & Magic first sought to create the rancor as a person in a creature suit. After viewing some video tests, the end results weren't satisfactory: it looked too much like a man in a rancor costume.
The rancor was then redesigned as an 18-inch tall puppet made of foam latex. Rather than use stop-motion animation, wherein a puppet would be manipulated one frame at a time, the rancor was instead filmed in slow motion while being operated by three puppeteers. When projected at normal speed, the rancor would appear as a slow and ponderous creature of great bulk.
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