From PAWs to Pixels – Jonathan Gagnon, Lead Set Texturing & Surfacing

It’s now Jonathan Gagnon’s turn, Lead Set Texturing & Surfacing on PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie at Mikros Animation Montreal, to share some production details with us in this interview ‘From PAWs to Pixels’.

Tell us about your journey into Mikros Animation?

My journey into Mikros Animation began with PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, which was the first film I worked on at Mikros Animation. It was a wonderful adventure, surrounded by a team with a great atmosphere!

What was your role on PAW Patrol: the Mighty Movie?

I was the Lead Surfacing Artist, responsible for setting standards within the team, both in terms of visual style and techniques, to facilitate and unify the team’s work. The lead acts as a liaison between the supervisor, who provides feedback and adjustments on visual elements, and the artists who develop technical and artistic solutions. The lead also has the responsibility of sharing their knowledge extensively and must be closely involved with the team as a whole, in order to create a pleasant, motivating, and creative atmosphere. Within the team, we were about ten members, and I was always involved when an artist started a new asset, providing guidelines to follow. Additionally, whenever I discovered new techniques, I would immediately share them with the team.

What was your first reaction after learning you’d be working on the Animation for PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie?

I was truly excited. I don’t have nieces or nephews to tell me about the franchise, but I already knew about its worldwide impact.

*Taraji P. Henson as “Vee” in Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie from Spin Master Entertainment, Nickelodeon Movies, and Paramount Pictures.*

What were the artistic and technical challenges of the movie?

Our mission was to surpass the first film, with a very demanding texturing/shading pipeline. My supervisor, David Rauturier, worked hard throughout the project to provide us with all the tools to facilitate our work.