Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight by Dreamworks is now available on Netflix! Our teams at Mikros Animation are proud to be able to present their work to the world. We sat down with Soumya Ranjan Acharya, Senior Artist Lighting, part of the episodic team at Mikros Animation Bangalore who crafted this series. He talks about his career and experience working on the show:

Can you tell us about your journey in the animation industry?  

I’ve been fascinated with animated movies since I was a child, and it was a passion I wanted to pursue. I began my career in 2009, and I’ve worked with a couple of studios over the years. I joined Mikros Animation in 2020, and I have had the chance to work on Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years and Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight.  

Kung Fu Panda is a franchise that is already well known to the teams of Mikros Animation Bangalore, what was your reaction when you learnt you’ll collaborate on this new series? 

I’ve been a big fan of Kung Fu Panda for a long time. In fact, when I joined the company, I was extremely excited to learn I’d get to work on this franchise. I was looking forward to making more happen for the show. My focus was on doing my best to make it better, both creatively and technically. 

From your perspective, what is the feel of this show?  

This show and the whole franchise are very solid, both from the story and animation perspective. It’s a very fun and exciting series for anyone to watch. 

What were the main artistic and/or technical challenges you had to overcome in your department? 

There were some creative challenges with complicated sequences, where we had to push the artistic limits. One example is a fight sequence where Po and Wandering Blade were fighting with bandits on top of a lava river. The look and feel of the lava river were the challenge here, along with the smoke, splashes of lava, and embers that we had to ensure looked realistic. 

Do you have a favorite sequence? If yes, why is it your favorite? 

This lava river sequence was definitely one of my favorites, both to work on and watch. Both the look and the animation style of the fighting sequence were amazing. It came early in the series, Episode 2 of the first season and it’s a must-watch moment! 

What are you looking forward to most with the show airing now? 

I’m looking forward to watching all the episodes I’ve worked on and seeing what other artists in our teams worked on. I’m excited to see the final version and how everything unfolds.

Discover more of our team members by visiting the Talent Spotlights section our website.