Following her training in 3D animation and special effects, which enabled her to quickly enter the industry as a 3D generalist at the ARKADA studio in Rouen, the artist turned to CFX for her first collaboration on a feature film, at the Belgian branch of Stim Studio. This eleven-month experience, whilst initially the result of a happy coincidence, above all enabled the junior animator to spread her wings and forge her own path.
With *La fille dans les nuages* hitting cinemas today, Coline has agreed to look back with us on this first experience, which marks the start of a promising career.
“It was my passion for the CFX that got the better of me”
After a year at ARKADA, working on production support, community management and a wide range of tasks as a generalist 3D artist, Coline returned to what had first inspired her during her studies at ESMA. “I’d specialised in CFX/Grooming, and it was this passion that took over when I came across the job advert for a CFX Artist at Stim. I had the opportunity to work at Stim for a year on *La fille dans les nuages*, and today I’m still working as a CFX artist at Unit Image in Paris, having spent a short spell at Blue Spirit in Angoulême in the same role.”
However, it wasn’t all set in stone. When she came across Stim’s advert, Coline had already booked her flights to Canada, where she wanted to try her luck. “Despite everything, I decided to look up the CFX supervisor, Aurélia Tron, on LinkedIn and send her my demo reel.”
At the time, according to Coline herself, she was not yet at the standard expected for a feature film. “Aurélia nevertheless took the time to give me detailed feedback. I then set out to complete several personal projects in just two days, as I didn’t want to let this opportunity slip by.”
In the end, it was just two hours before she was due to fly to Canada that the artist sent off her latest test results. And a few weeks later, the invitation to an interview arrived. “And that was whilst I was on the other side of the world! And I finally came home.”
A formative experience
From late April 2025 to late February 2026, Coline joined the production of *La fille dans les nuages* as a junior CFX artist. “My main role was to dynamically simulate the characters’ hair, clothing and fur whilst staying true to the artistic direction set by the director, Philippe Riche. I was also lucky enough to be able to create two character set-ups – a really cool experience!”
As for the expected deliverables, Coline recalls that these varied quite a bit from week to week. “At the start, we were asked for ‘easy’ shots, so it was easier to produce more of them. Then, as time went on, the shots got more difficult – at least if you were keen and interested, which I certainly was. I once spent five days on a rather complicated 350-frame shot, but with a suitable budget allocated.”
It’s in the flight sequences that Coline and her team’s work is easiest to recognise and appreciate. “These sequences are all over the place! They’re really fun sequences to work on because you have to be really precise about the wind you’re applying – the direction, strength, amplitude… We want something that looks like a very strong wind without it quickly becoming chaotic, which would result in a surreal effect.”
A range of challenges
As far as technical constraints are concerned, it was in the software that these were most keenly felt. “On this project, we only had a single Houdini FX licence; the others were Core licences, which severely limited the available nodes and tools. That said, I was fortunate enough to work with Lancelot Myja-Le Guludec, Senior CFX TD Artist, who developed numerous HDAs in Houdini to compensate for these licence limitations and optimise our pipeline.”
Another challenge was the volume of shots to be produced, relative to the size of the team, which was relatively small. For Coline, this meant having to be highly responsive, constantly adapting to the needs of the production. “In practical terms, we had to make choices and regularly refocus our priorities on the most important shots. From an artistic point of view, the challenge was to maintain a cartoon-style look: avoiding excessive creases, preserving the silhouettes and shapes of the hairstyles, whilst ensuring the movement remained believable and visually pleasing on screen.”
Juggling Houdini and Kitsu, their production tracking tool, Coline rose to these challenges brilliantly, whilst maintaining regular communication with the other departments involved in the project. “We were often in contact with the animation team, as CFX comes in straight after that stage. It’s a real balancing act: you have to work around both what the animators can afford to hide from the camera and the actual requirements of the CFX team to achieve a clean simulation and high-quality secondary animation. The aim is to find the right balance to preserve the intent of the animation whilst ensuring a visually convincing result for the hair, clothing and other simulated elements.”
The artist recalls, in particular, a shot where the character’s limbs were passing through one another all over the place: one arm through the stomach, one leg passing through the other… In situations like this, she explains, cloth simulations handle collisions very poorly and the garment can quickly burst or tear. “There are certainly techniques for correcting these issues directly in Houdini, but the time required is often disproportionate to the result. In such cases, it’s generally more effective to go back to the animators. They then correct the penetrations in the body or collider and provide us with a new, clean Alembic file, which allows us to start afresh on a solid basis for the simulations.”
A solid theoretical foundation, put into practice and refined through real-world experience
Thanks to the option she chose at ESMA (FX), Coline was able to slot straight into the studio’s workflow. “On this course, we’re taught to feel at ease using the software and to learn the basics of it. And it’s certainly an advantage, when working in a studio, to be able to speak the same language as our line managers. This project has taught me a great deal, both technically and artistically.”
“Aurélia Tron and Lancelot Myja-Le Guludec supported and trained me throughout the production process. I was able to develop my artistic eye, learn a range of technical methods for using the software, improve my ability to debug issues myself and, above all, become more independent and skilled.”
Recognition
As she prepares to mark her third year in the industry, Coline Sombret tells us that what has made the biggest impression on her so far is precisely this project. “Seeing my name on the big screen in the credits of *La fille dans les nuages* at the preview screening in Annecy is absolutely brilliant. You can see all our hard work coming to fruition, and it’s a real joy.”
Encounters that change your life
But what really changed Coline were the people she met during this project. “I hope everyone gets the chance to work one day with a Senior Producer or a Lead like Aurélia Tron. She gave me my big break right at the start of this adventure and taught me an enormous amount, both technically and on a personal level. I sincerely believe that it’s thanks to her that I can now truly begin my career.”
This was an opportunity to get a foot in the door at a crucial moment, and the trust placed in him enabled the artist to move straight on from this production to a brand-new venture at Unit Studio. “The CFX supervisor knew the director of *La fille dans les nuages* very well, which certainly made communication easier. I was also lucky enough to be reunited with Lancelot, who had already been working at Unit for some time and who recommended me with complete confidence. After that, I had a short break, which allowed me to join Aurélia at Blue Spirit for a ten-day project. Unit has always been one of the studios I’d dreamed of working at. I sincerely believe that this project – and, above all, the wonderful people I was lucky enough to meet – opened many doors for me. It marked a real turning point in my career and enabled me to seize opportunities that I probably wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
What happens next?
Whilst Coline is currently well settled at Unit, she is also thinking about the future and the challenges that lie ahead. “I’d really like to build on my experience with CFX on more realistic VFX projects. I’ve already had a taste of this at Unit, but my aim would be to work on a feature film set in that kind of world. Cartooning and realism involve very different approaches, both technically and in terms of artistic direction. It is precisely this diversity that I find so exciting: being able to move between these two styles and become versatile on productions with varied requirements.”
For this artist, who grew up watching Shrek and Dragons and dreams of perhaps one day working for Dreamworks, choosing Houdini and CFX as her areas of expertise has been a real bonus. “These days, CFX is quite a niche field. A niche field means fewer roles in the industry, but also fewer artists on the market. More and more studios are working with Houdini rather than Maya. Obviously, it’s best to be versatile, but these days, being a CFX artist on Houdini opens more doors.”
His advice to recent graduates?
It’s simple: don’t give up. “Even though the sector is going through a bit of a difficult patch, you have to believe in what you want to do and stick with it. It’s a truly fascinating profession, and a specialism that’s particularly close to my heart.”
The artist went on to say: “The key to breaking into the industry straight after graduation is also personal projects: in my case, it was characters with several layers of clothing, hair, and bits and pieces moving in all directions! [laughs]”
That should keep Coline on cloud nine for a while.
*The Girl in the Clouds* is released in French cinemas on 22 July.
