SEAN Sevestre never thought he’d end up working on a Hollywood film, let alone the hit new animated flick Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
He remembers drawing the iconic four turtle brothers – Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo – as a child growing up in Penicuik.
“The turtles, particularly the 90s live action movie, were definitely a part of my childhood,” he told The National. “It's weird to be part of making what will be, for some, their first introduction.”
Sevestre, now 29, has worked for nearly two years on the visual development of the film – which has been in UK theatres since the start of the month – based out of a studio set up in his Portobello flat in Edinburgh.
The opportunity didn’t come by chance. Sean has spent the last decade working as a self-taught filmmaker and illustrator to build up his Hollywood career. But it did so happen that his visual style matched perfectly with this film.
“My work kind of fell in front of the right people at the right time. The style of the movie is a bit like if you took school drawings – it’s slightly wonky and scribbly, maybe the perspective is off,” Sevestre said.
He added: “I work quite loosely and there's kind of a grunginess to the films, a grainy New York aesthetic. It's a bit dirty and scratchy, just various qualities that I have in my own work that they responded well to.”
Sean has often taken inspiration in his work from his time as a competitive acrobat. His chosen discipline? Tricking, which combines kicks with flips and twists from martial arts and gymnastics as well as many dance moves and styles from breakdancing.
This experience has certainly influenced his professional career, with past work highlights including helping with pop superstar Lil Nas X’s Starwalkin’ video and directing his own feature-length documentary Perfect Storm, about tricking.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is no exception.
“There's actually a bunch of tricking references in the film, some because of me and others that were just coincidentally in there,” Sevestre said.
“You know, I've done a lot of jobs for a lot of great companies, but this is the most at home I've ever felt on a project.”
Sevestre went to Paramount Studios earlier this year to meet his colleagues but missed the film’s big name stars – who include Seth Rogan, Jackie Chan and John Cena – at the wrap party. He doesn't seem to mind, though.
“Something I worked on made it, globally, onto posters, billboards, buses and benches. From hoping to be an artist at 17 to this – it feels like a big old thing.”
