Bertrand Todesco is a high visible growth artist and character designer and Supinfocom graduate who started his profession engaged on the favored worldwide hit Gormiti: The Lords of Nature Return. Lately, his distinctive work has been featured in well-liked sequence comparable to Doug Unplugs, Glitch Techs, Cleopatra in Area, LoliRock, Monster Excessive and The Legend of Vox Machina.
We had the possibility to speak with the proficient artist about his profession and what it takes to develop into a profitable character designer for a few of at present’s largest animated reveals. He was form sufficient to supply us with some very useful solutions:
Animation Journal: Are you able to inform us how you bought began in animation?
Bertrand Todesco: After graduating from Supinfocom (Arles, France) in 2004, I began my profession in a small Paris-based manufacturing firm specialised in full-CG commercials, CUBE Artistic (now a part of Xilam). I discovered quite a bit there and directed just a few commercials. What I most well-liked was drawing characters and storyboards, although. In 2008, I joined Marathon Media (producers of Completely Spies! amongst different hits) to create the fashion and most important characters of the present tailored from the toy phenomenon Gormiti. I’m very grateful for this primary job within the animation business, with such an vital position.
When was the primary time you knew you needed to work in animation?
I grew up in France, the place there’s a actual comic-book tradition (French-Belgian bandes dessinées just like the Smurfs), so I believed I’d develop into a comic book artist. I used to look at a variety of TV sequence, largely from Japan, and I believe I didn’t even understand that it was made by individuals and that it might be a job — I don’t know, slightly bit like individuals assume animation is made by a pc alone. The CG-specialized faculty Supinfocom (based mostly in Valenciennes) was opening a department in my hometown, Arles. I watched the scholar movies of the earlier years, and that is once I knew I may and needed to work in animation.
What have been your largest animation faves rising up?
My technology was tremendous fortunate in France, as a result of along with the French/European cartoons and the American reveals (Doug, TMNT, Batman, DuckTales, M.A.S.Ok, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors), we additionally had Japanese anime, actually sooner than within the U.S.! These reveals have been actually addictive as a result of they have been extra epic — and extra notably, they have been serialized! You actually didn’t need to miss the following transformation of Goku in Dragon Ball, the following sport of Captain Tsubasa, the following struggle of Saint Seiya … I liked Metropolis Hunter, too, whose creator Tsukasa Hojo actually impressed me in my means of drawing characters.
You could have been a personality designer on beloved reveals comparable to Doug Unplugs, The Legend of Vox Machina and Monster Excessive in recent times. What do you’re keen on about every considered one of these initiatives?
To begin with, thanks a lot, I’m very grateful that the reveals I’ve been engaged on are well-liked and imply one thing to younger viewers, like TMNT or DBZ meant quite a bit to me.
My favourite half within the character designer position is to create (or work on) totally different kinds, for various audiences. Each new present provides me the chance to evolve in my artwork! After creating the fashion of a number of reveals in Europe (Gormiti, Basketeers, LoliRock, MarbleGen) with a Japanese affect, I moved to the U.S. in 2018 to work on Cleopatra In Area at DreamWorks TV. You possibly can nonetheless really feel the Japanese affect on this wonderful present, combined with an American vibe, due to the supervision of artwork director Angela Mueller (Avatar, the Final Airbender).
Then, I labored on Doug Unplugs, my first preschool present, my first CG present, nonetheless at DreamWorks TV. In 2021, I joined Titmouse and an unimaginable crew of rock stars on The Legend of Vox Machina. This heroic fantasy 2D present for younger adults filled with blood, unhealthy jokes and epic adventures, animated by the proficient studio Manufacturing Reve … It was terrific! It was additionally the primary time in my profession that I used to be not the fashion creator or the lead character designer on a present. I discovered quite a bit from my lead, Phil Bourassa (Younger Justice) and artwork director Arthur Loftis (Voltron: Legendary Defender).
I’m at the moment at Nickelodeon because the lead character designer on the great Monster Excessive TV sequence, a CG present once more, for large children this time. It’s so attention-grabbing for me to oversee the characters creation from tough drawing to the ultimate textured 3D fashions, together with turnarounds. I really feel like I’m giving the total advantages of my years of expertise and data of 2D and 3D pipelines. It has been actually rewarding to work with so many proficient individuals from Nickelodeon and Mattel, on such an iconic IP!
What’s the hardest a part of your job?
Engaged on quick schedules that don’t enable sufficient time to create the perfect characters I may do could be irritating generally. The manufacturing’s gotta hold shifting ahead!
What would you say is the most important false impression individuals have concerning the job of a personality designer?
I believe the job could be divided in two components: creation and technical stuff. Most people appear to assume that is solely creation! It’s in fact essential to have the creativity to attract an unique character with a cool pose and funky garments, in a three-quarter entrance view in shade. It’s equally vital to construct a strong turnaround (line solely) monitoring volumes, shapes and particulars — drawing a hand building sheet, mouth open, blink, backside of the ft … That is the “boring and painful” job that many individuals don’t need to do.
Character designing for animation will not be creating good illustrations, it’s offering the following particular person within the pipeline (animator in 2D, modeler in 3D) the good design and the correct amount of data in technical sheets to allow them to do an awesome job, too.
What have been among the most difficult characters to design and why?
The characters of LoliRock have been fairly time-intensive to attract due to their lengthy hair and the quantity of little particulars on the garments, together with multi-layered clothes …
But, definitely, probably the most sophisticated character I designed in my profession was the Orthax in The Legend of Vox Machina Season 1! It’s a enormous villain made from a number of layers of smoke swirling round a possessed character. It’s principally a mixture between a personality and a FX design, with a number of transparency ranges … I created the idea with out actually interested by the way to do it. We solely needed to discover a design that was epic and that everyone (the Crucial Function crew, Amazon) would love. They usually did. So I needed to make the turnaround … Ouch! Hahaha!
What sort of profession recommendation would you supply animation college students who need to get into character design?
There are two components in my recommendation, too: networking and growing your artwork. With social media, it’s now tremendous straightforward to share your artwork and discuss to different artists, even your favourite ones. Do it now! Chat, like, remark, begin constructing your community at present.
In parallel, enhance your abilities: observe quite a bit (not like a creep!), deconstruct topics in volumes, assimilate shapes, examine actions (muscle mass and garments) then draw quite a bit. Be curious and feed your “reference library” with varied forms of animation and graphic kinds, have a look at varied centuries and varied cultures for outfit designs… Construct a portfolio with characters of assorted age, gender, shade. Draw people, animals (anatomy ability), aliens, monsters, robots (creativity ability). Now, draw all of them in three to 5 totally different kinds (adaptation ability), together with your individual fashion to indicate who you might be and what your world is. Bravo, you may have a strong portfolio you’ll be able to present to the community you constructed for the previous months/years!
You possibly can try extra of Betrand’s wonderful artwork and designs at
www.instagram.com/bertragram and b-tod.tumblr.com/
