This was my first experience as a character designer, and quite a challenge!
I joined the two directors, Frederic and Samuel Guillaume, as I was still a student, and ended up designing all the characters appearing in the movie.
Here are some of the sketches and research for Max&co.
It all started with just a pencil and paper, and many talks with the directors...
Once we were happy with the design of the characters, the talented people from McKinnon & Saunders brought them to life in their amazing workshop. A lot of other animatable puppets were born there, such as those appearing in Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.
