Most Trolls seen in the franchise are generated using a random design generator, and fill out scenes as background characters. This process was also used on the majority of Bergens.

About

See Random Background Character Generation

Note that these unnamed Trolls are referred to as "Troll peasants" in Trolls Remix Rescue.

3D Variations

3D models are created by making a base design and simply changing assets related to it. In any given scene, there can be up to 12 or more 3D models repeated over and over to fill out crowds. New models are created by mix and matching assets within each example, such as Funk Trolls having 2 or 4 legs per model, but otherwise body and heads can be reused across populations.

Trolls & Trolls Holiday

In Trolls, the random generation process was used to fill out the Trolls numbers such as during the escape from Bergen Town or during dance scenes. The Trolls were pre-generated and then slotted into scenes where large numbers of them were required.

In Trolls, the following designs were typically seen. To create each Random Troll, the animators simply recolored assets:

• Male with pants (which can have bands on their legs). These go up to their mid-torsal, and have a single strap that may or may not be the same color as the pants themselves.
• Female with a dress. There are several dress variations: a 2-color gradient (like Cookie or Moxie's), a single band at the bottom (like Mandy's), several strips in the lower section (like Uncle Ron Sr.'s wife), and completely plain.
• Child Troll wearing pants and a strap (male, strap is on the opposite side to adult male Trolls). Male children are generally larger built then female children and can vary quite a considerable amount in build compared to adult males.
• Child Troll with eyelashes wearing a dress (female). Female child Trolls tend to be more distinctly slimmer then male children, even compared to adults.
• Trolls hair, nose and body are colored in a wide variety of tones and colors.
• Random Glitter Trolls re-use the glitter texture from Guy Diamond and are otherwise a normal random Troll with no clothes. Their hair and skin have similar colors, while their nose and eyes can be of completely different ones.
  • They may have eyelashes to indicate a female, but otherwise obey the same rules for male and female trolls just without clothes.
• Males are slightly more robust with wider shoulders. They have larger hands, with the fingertips being lower than the groin area in a resting position; a female's arms in the same pose will reach only as far as the groin area but no longer. However, all limbs are the same length despite the differences in gender, and they stand the same height overall. This rule applies to all Trolls, be it normal or Glitter ones.
  • Note: In some scenes, there's no difference in body build at all. There's no explanation for this.

Over time, a number of random generation models were used to represent actual characters like Aspen Heitz, or were later named like Moxie Dewdrop, Mandy Sparkledust, Cookie Sugarloaf and Darius.

Pop Trolls from Trolls

Demonstration of how unique designs versus randomly generated ones look. Harper can be easily picked out from the random Trolls in a crowd, while Moxie Dewdrop cannot because she herself is a random Troll design.

Random child Trolls

A pair of random Glitter Trolls

Trolls World Tour

The number of random generation models was expanded in Trolls World Tour when the Tribes were introduced. In all Troll Tribes, Trolls with eyelashes are meant to represent female Trolls, while a lack of them indicates a male Troll. While Classical and Techno Trolls don't have much variation, Funk, Country and Rock have quite a bit of diversity, with Funk Trolls having the most varying body parts on their models.

Randomly generated Trolls from Trolls World Tour. It shouldn't be a problem to pick out who's a Funk Troll and who's a Pop Troll, even though all Trolls here are randomly generated.

A crowd of Techno, Funk, Rock, Pop and Country Trolls, plus Growley Pete (on the right).

Pop Trolls

The Trolls from the first movie, now referred to as "Pop Trolls" remain the same, though the designs are a lot more basic than in Trolls.

• Dresses now have more subtle bar patterns and not many plain dresses like Moxie Dewdrop and Cookie Sugarloaf's remain.
• Glitter Trolls continue to be generated.
• The hair of these Trolls is lighter and puffier than in Trolls, giving a fluffier appearance.
• Females and male Trolls still stand the same height, but their body differences are a little bit more clearly defined, with females having notably slimmer limbs and a less bulkier build. The most notable thing about the Pop Troll sexual dimorphism in this movie is that design in consistent, unlike Trolls, where some scenes showed a bulkier build on males and other scenes didn't have any differences between Trolls at all.

Young Trolls have similar bodies to the ones in Trolls. The sole exception is Tiny Diamond.

Skyscraper with a group of Random Pop Trolls

Fuzzbert with a group of Random Pop Trolls

Legsly with a group of Random Pop Trolls

Rock Trolls

• Mixed outfit that consists of a shirt and pants or shorts for both male and female.
• May have bracelets.
• Often have a zipper belt.
• Earrings, with females having a different set to males.
• Males can generate with nose piercings.
• Several varying hairstyles, which are colored either red, grey, blonde, black, or white.
• Skin tones are muddy-colored. Noses are usually muddy pink.
• As with Pop Trolls, males have larger hands and wider shoulders than females, but still stand the same height.

Three randomly generated Rock Trolls

Random Rock Trolls on Angler Buses

Country Trolls

• Males have one of several hat variations which may include a "cowboy" hat or a cap.
• Females have either a hat with pigtails or a headband.
• Males may have mustaches.
• Their clothing is either a shirt and denim pants, or dungarees.
• Skin, nose, hair and tail color are all different colors and generate in beigetone colors, though hair can generate with solid coloration.
• Males have larger hands and slightly wider shoulders than females.
• Clothing such as dresses, shirts and hair pieces use one of a number of textile patterns and colors.

Young Country Trolls have either a female or male model that is recolored to create more children. Females share Clampers Buttonwillow's model.

Delta Dawn, who has an unique model with other Country Trolls who do not, including her niece Clampers and Growley Pete.

Family unit of random Country Trolls

Classical Trolls

• All have golden skin.
• Puffy hair that is colored either blue, pink or green and matching belly gems.

Classical Trolls are not as randomized as other Trolls, and are simply recolors of the same model. Baby Classical Trolls are just adults with adjusted body proportions.

Trollzart flying in front of a group of Classical Trolls. His coat and hair make him stand out from the rest of his randomly generated Tribe.

Funk Trolls

• One of several patterns that are usually 2 colors, but can go up to 4.
• Long "gown-like" or short fur.
• Both males and females have a couple of hairstyle variations of dreadlocks. Two of the hairstyles for males include a cap.
• Bipedal or quadrupedal.
• May have earrings.
• May have sunglasses (of which there are at least 2 varieties).
• Colors of fur, legs and hair are bright varying colors. Hair doesn't often match any of the colors on the rest of the body. Nose is usually colored to match one of the other colors on their body.

Young Funk Trolls share Cooper's baby model, and are simply recolors.

A crowd of Funk Trolls going about their daily lives, many of which are just recolors of the same model. This Tribe has the largest amount of variables seen, as they're generated with variable neck lengths, hair, fur length and patterns, and are either bipedal or quadrupedal.

Techno Trolls

• One of two body types; a pear shape either one way up or the other.
• May have bioluminescence patterns on arms and fins.
• Skin and hair generation in glowing neon colors. The skin and hair colors, are usually similar to each other, but the hair can be two-toned and gradient from one color to another. In all cases, colors are usually similar to each other on the color spectrum, i.e. going from blue to purple.
• Some also have a glowing tone around their eyes.
• For some reason, they're smaller than King Trollex.

The majority of Techno Trolls are randomly generated, with the most notable changing parts being their colors and markings. Their designs are rather simple in comparison to other Tribes.

Close-up of a pair of random Techno Trolls. Often the random Trolls don't have as much detail as named characters with unique designs.

Dark pink random Techno Trolls with green and blue ones in the background.

Trolls Band Together

Putt Putt Trolls

Unlike their finalized messy haired appearance in the movie, they are called "Golf Trolls", and stylized in a general template model like their main tribe counterparts'.

2D Variations

In 2D animation, Trolls are animated using a method called the "2D puppet" or "digital puppet". With such method, animators only have to animate part of the Troll's body. Unlike with 3D, the main issue with 2D animation comes from new animations. For example, in 3D animation, to make a Funk Troll and a Rock Troll both wave, the assets' skeletons are all labelled the same, then the same 3D motion can be applied to both models and both will be able to wave in the same way as each other. In 2D animation, each individual puppet has to have their arm animated to allow it to wave, creating at times assets unique to that particular Troll model even when this rule is applied to the random background Trolls. To simply put it, the arm of a Funk Troll can't be used for the Rock Troll design and therefore both Trolls will need their arm animations created.

While most media reuse animations from a catalog built up for use with these puppets over time, animators will often use one-off facial expressions or poses even on these background Trolls, though normally the technique is reserved for more important characters only. This technique is used in digital animation to stop modern 2D animations constantly being-on model, a common issue that can cause problems with digital animation leading to complaints of "uninteresting" animation due to repetition, and allowing them to take some of the pre-digital hand-drawn animation qualities.

Trolls: The Beat Goes On!

In Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, the random generator is able to randomize a much greater amount of design variations than in the 3D animation. Design elements are pre-made and swapped around to create new templates for Trolls. The issue with this style is that duplication happens more often as animators can just copy and paste several already-generated assets, resulting in duplicates of the same colored assets, but crowds are more varied in their design.

Unlike with 3D, a set of eyelashes doesn't always represent a female due to errors on the animators' part, as random Trolls get used sometimes for spoken lines of dialogue with the animator/script not always being perfectly matched, though usually eyelashes are intended to indicate a female.

The following is a list of variations that can happen to normal Trolls:

• Dress designs (for females).
• Males generate either with dungarees, shorts or long pants.
• Males may also lack a shirt.
• May be a Treasure Troll. Treasure Trolls do not have shirts on.
• One of several hairstyles.

Glitter Trolls have significantly different randomization events:

• Though they can have the same hairstyles as normal Trolls, there is a ponytail hairstyle that only generates on a certain female model.
• There is also a blue Glitter Troll that often appears with unique makeup on their face.
• Different glittery textures from one of several colored unmoving plaid texture choices.

In total, there are over a dozen possible designs that are then repeated to fill out scenes.

Fuzzlings share Fuzzbert's design, and are simply recolored assets. Children and babies are often also recolors like Gemma Fur.

Random Pop Trolls of both normal and Glitter varieties. The 2D animation style allows for a lot more design variations than the 3D style, and random Trolls in the series have a lot more variables. However, duplication of certain designs is also more common than not.

A close-up of three Random Trolls. The middle is one of the 4 possible colors for the random Treasure Troll that is seen from time to time.

A stack of Fuzzlings. Note how they all share Fuzzbert's design.

A scene where a lot of the same few Random Trolls got repeated.

Trolls: TrollsTopia

Though many assets from Trolls: The Beat Goes On! are present, the animation style has changed. 2D puppets continue to be the most common method of animating Trolls, and all past techniques like one-off facial expressions are still used. In season 4, new designs for several Tribe members in the Rock and Country Trolls can be seen that had never been seen in past seasons, as it seems the animators slowly added more designs to the available Random Troll selection over time.

Random Trolls from all Tribes except Classical.

Pop Trolls

They appear with the same designs as in Trolls: The Beat Goes On! with some changes and improvements. One major difference is that baby Trolls now resemble Tiny Diamond rather than Poppy's baby model, though this one can still be seen in some scenes.

Glitter Trolls and Treasure Trolls are still picked out among crowds. Fuzzling Trolls can also be seen; they're still recolors of Fuzzbert, but don't appear as often as in Trolls: The Beat Goes On!.

Rock Trolls

They have a lot more details compared to their 3D animation design. Some of them can be oversized with a muscular build.

Trolls have a chance to generate with a Treasure Troll-like belly gem if a particular puppet model design is used.

Unlike Trolls of the other Tribes, recolors rarely occur, so Rock Trolls in a crowd tend to be more likely to have clones.

Demo in a crowd of random Rock Trolls

A crowd of mixed Tribe Trolls, where recolors of Rock Trolls occur in a rare event.

Country Trolls

They appear similar to their 3D animation counterparts, though they're more detailed overall.

They have several designs which animator recolor to fill out crowds.

Classical Trolls

They appear similar to their 3D animation counterparts. A notable difference is that their size and hairstyle now varies. Classical Trolls tend to have the least amount of variation, and outside of hair color, no recoloration occurs.

Four random Classical Trolls with Dante Crescendo.

Funk Trolls

They have a lot more details compared to their 3D animation designs.

They have several designs which animators recolor to fill out crowds.

Techno Trolls

They appear similar to their appearances in 3D animation, but have more design variations, such as heart color. There are several designs for these Trolls, and all other members are mostly complete recolors of the same few designs.

Aside from colors, variations consist of:

• One of two body types.
• One of two hairstyles.

Aside from eyelashes that indicate females, the Techno Trolls end up with some of the least variations in design.

Branch with Synth and a number of random Techno Troll recolors. Note that while the color variation on these Trolls is large, their general design variation is not.

Original Characters

The following are Trolls who started off as random Trolls and were later named, or whose designs were made using random Troll generation. In the latter case, these Trolls often have at least one unique design element to a normal random Troll.

Branch's adult model is unique, whereas his child model is a random child Troll with unique shorts.

Aspen Heitz is an unique named character. According to The Art of the Trolls, his design went through several concepts. His final version reuses random Troll assets, but features an outfit with unique coloration.

Moxie Dewdrop is a random Troll who was later named.

Mandy Sparkledust is a random Troll who was later named.

Cookie Sugarloaf is a random Troll who was later named.

Darius is a random Troll who was named in Trolls: The Junior Novelization.

Gemma Fur is a random Troll from Trolls: The Beat Goes On! who was named in the closing credits of the episodes she where appeared. In the show, it's possible on odd occasions to see duplicates of her or recolors, and Gemma herself varies in age group due to resizing.

Bliss Marina was originally a random Techno Troll, but she was then given an unique design.

Carol is a random Rock Troll with an uniquely-colored leotard, which makes her stand out from other Rock Trolls.

Clampers Buttonwillow uses a random Country child model, but has unique freckles.

Sid Fret can be picked out from other random Rock Trolls because of his unique headband.

Growley Pete is a random Country Troll with unique textures.

Coral Blush's parents stand taller and have some unique design choices, with his father standing taller then his mother due to his longer fins, but otherwise resemble the rest of their Tribe.

Misc.

Randomly generated Trolls appear in Trolls: Crazy Party Forest! as starter Trolls. These allow you to play the game while you unlock other, better, Trolls. They share either a male or female design, and have a randomly generated name and color design. It was possible to get Trolls of the same name, or coloration but different names, because of this. This is the only other notable example of randomly-generated Trolls in the use outside of animation.

Notes

It's possible for certain Random Trolls to become promoted background characters, meaning that after their creation, they're eventually implemented as characters of their own. Examples of these characters include Cookie Sugarloaf, Mandy Sparkledust and Moxie Dewdrop. Since the models are already there, often a simple recolor or minor change can occur to these characters afterwards. Reusing 3D models was already witnessed in Trolls, when Poppy's baby model was repurposed for Keith.

Cookie, Mandy and Moxie were likely used in place of Cybil, Maddy and Karma, who never made it into the Trolls movie. It's also not unheard of characters being dropped into the movie to replace characters who were cut or dropped, as is the case of Legsly to DJ Suki in Trolls World Tour.