section européenne Lycée VINCI à AMBOISE

After a year of Applied Arts Prep at Etic (Ecole de l'Image et de la Communication) of Blois, and 10 years of drawing lessons, I've always been passionate by the creation of characters. That's why I integrated the 3D Animation section of Ecole Pivaut, located in Nantes.

During this course, I followed Anatomy lessons, Sculpture, Paint, Color Theory, Storyboard, Character Design, Art History etc...

I am  currently completing my 3rd and final year of this course to get my diploma, by producing a short movie, intended to be seen by a jury of professionals at the end of the year. 

 

What is 3D Animation exactly?

Well, when you're talking about it, you probably think about all the great 3D movies we currently see on the screen, like "Zootopia", "Frozen", "Moana" etc.. 

And you're right ;)

The animation is the way to bring a character to life. This is a very important part of the production, because the spectator has to trust in the story. 

Here is the animation process of a short footage of Tangled:

 

 

Contrary to common beliefs, animation is a small part of the production of an animated serie or movie. During my course, I also have to learn the other steps like modelisation or Concept Art, in order to understand all the process.

The production of an animation movie requires the work of a very diversified, technical and creative team, working in a medium to long term ( it can last from ew months, to 4 or 5 years for big productions such  as Disney's) . 

This image explains all the "pipeline" of the production:

 

   

 

One of the best qualities of a 3D Animator is therefore to have a great sense of team work. But also to be good at English! Most of 3D softwares indeed use English vocabulary and you will probably have the experience to work with other studios from remote locations, sometimes abroad.

This is what happened during my last internship at Studio100 Animation in Paris, where I work as a generalist on different steps of the production of the 2nd season of "Maya the Bee" in 3D with a studio based... in India. English comments were therefore essential to be understood. 

 

The field of animation has indeed to be seen on a global scale. Big Studios can outsource their productions to other firms from all over the world. France has historically a great place in this exchange: After being one of the main subcontractor of Walt Disney Studios in the 90's (as an example, Tarzan has been for 90% animated in France), France is still known as a great talent pool. Productions like "Moi, Moche et Mechant", "Sahara" or "Le Petit Prince" are good examples of this french "savoir faire".

 

I am currently waiting for an answer of Mikros Image Animation Studio to complete my final internship in their company, and why not to find a job after it?

It would be a very great experience for me to work in such a big studio, and maybe on my first feature, because they are actually working and the 2nd part of Asterix & Obelix. It would also be a potential opportunity to work abroad after a while, with the Canadian firm of the studio, based in Montreal.