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Behind The Shell with Anne-Claire Leroux, Character Surfacing Supervisor

August 2, 2023

Anne-Claire takes us behind the scenes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and tells us a bit more about her role as Character Surfacing Supervisor on the project. Check it out 👇

 Q: Hi Anne-Claire, can you tell us about your career journey into Mikros Animation? 

A: I started working at Mikros Animation on Captain Underpants as a Lead Surfacing. I then went to work in VFX, and came back to Mikros Animation as a Surfacing Supervisor on SpongeBob 3, then Thelma the Unicorn and TMNT.  

Q: What was your first reaction after learning you’d be working on the Animation for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem? 

A: I had the theme song from the 80’s cartoon stuck in my head for weeks! I would to text my brother and sister random lyrics from the song to try to get it out of my head (we were big fans of the tv show growing up). Other than that, pure excitement at the idea of working on this new project. I fell in love with the look as soon as I saw the first concepts, so I couldn’t wait to get started! 

Q: What does your role as a Character Surfacing Supervisor look like on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem project? 

A: On TMNT, I had to make sure that all the show style details present on the concept of a character were correctly adapted in the textures painted by my artists. Then, I had to check that every little pattern, scribble, brushstroke, logo, reacted dynamically exactly the way we wanted to – all depending on the lighting scenarios, in the 3D scene.  

Q: Describe the project in 3 words 

A: Bold, fresh, scribbly! 

Q: Who is your favorite TMNT character, and why? 

A: I really like April, she’s brave, funny and curious. Though I feel my inner self tends to be more like Raph, unfortunately! 

Q: What was your favorite part of the project? 

A: I loved developing the look. Finding out how we will bring the concepts to life in 3D, brainstorming and finding new ways of shading to make our ideas work. Having the creative back and forth with Jeff, Yashar and Matthieu to define what was going to be the style of the movie. That was an exciting time. 

Q: What have you learned since working on the TMNT film’s animation? 

A: To think outside the box ! At the beginning of the project, there were some technical challenges that I was certain were just impossible to get around, and we somehow managed to make them work without breaking (too much) the pipeline. Anything is possible in CG (especially if you have a great dev team like ours!). 

Q: When you’re not working on a project, you can be found…

A: I love doing lino carving and printing! 
https://www.instagram.com/arktemesia.studio/

Q: Share something you’re proud of. 

A: I’m proud of having been part of such a thrilling project, and to have been given the opportunity to try to create something new with such a beloved franchise. 

Uncover more about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem from Mikros Animation and join our Global Creative Community to receive the latest news, exclusive insights and event invites straight to your inbox.

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