Background entry - Maxence Soliot

Hi ! I'm Maxence, soon to be a graduate student of Pivaut school in France.

During my 2 years in the 2D animation course, I decided to push my skills in backgrounds and environments because it was (and still is) the part of art and creation I like the most.

We did two group projects, "Something's missing" during first year and "Selenite", our graduation animated short.

Most of what you will see today comes from "Selenite", but I will share more work from "Something's missing" and personal pictures.

Selenite is the story of a man taking the place of another and discovering his new home. What he learns will change him forever.

The story takes place inside an old manor, which I had to make imposing and disturbing at the same time. Light and shadow is key to our storytelling.

We created a 3D base which allowed a quick setup of interesting visual and narrative shots. I then redrew on top, layout was a matter of breaking straight lines and giving that feeling of oddness and uncomfort.

"Something's missing" is the previous short we made for our first year of 2D animation. It is the story of a small vampire that does not appear on his yearbook picture. Here is the complete short and some of the backgrounds I did.