Bristol-based creative partnership Plantopia, comprised of French artists Maryka Laudet and Quentin Camus, is revolutionizing contemporary illustration by blending traditional 2D techniques with cutting-edge 3D animation tools. The duo has gained recognition for their unique approach to visual storytelling, creating dreamlike worlds that transform ordinary moments into extraordinary theatrical experiences through innovative use of wide-angle perspectives and fisheye lens effects.
The creative partnership between Laudet and Camus began nearly a decade ago during their art school years in Arles, located in southern France. "It took a lot of different forms until it became Plantopia and resembled what we are doing now," Maryka explains. After establishing themselves in the animation industry over several years, both artists have recently pivoted toward illustration work while maintaining their animation expertise. "Our motto is to bridge the gap, doing illustration work with an animation toolset," Maryka emphasizes.
Plantopia's distinctive visual style is characterized by soft, graphic, and minimal world-building that immediately conveys a sense of playfulness and theatricality. Their carefully crafted scenes serve as what they describe as "stages for little moments in life," featuring characters engaged in peaceful activities like bird watching, surreal scenarios involving tomato trees, and whimsical group efforts such as transporting an unusually large baguette. The duo deliberately designs their friendly figures with minimal features and restrained color palettes, rendering them purposefully faceless to achieve universal relatability.
"By keeping the environment quite minimalistic too, we try to make our projects reminiscent of a certain texture of a moment using only a few key elements and colors that somehow evoke them," Quentin explains. This intentional simplicity allows viewers to easily immerse themselves in these dream-like worlds and experience the sense of wonder they contain. The artists' approach mirrors that of skilled cinematographers who continuously vary camera angles to maintain visual interest and engagement.
The technical innovation that sets Plantopia apart lies in their masterful use of 3D wide angles and fisheye lens effects, which create joyful movement that elevates traditional 2D illustrations into an entirely different realm. Like cinematographers switching between various camera perspectives, Maryka and Quentin ensure that viewers never experience their compositions from a single static viewpoint. This dynamic approach to visual presentation transforms simple everyday scenes into captivating experiences that challenge conventional perspectives on familiar moments.
The duo's portfolio showcases a diverse range of scenarios, from intimate moments like couples kissing to community activities in parks, library scenes, and cocktail bar atmospheres. Each piece demonstrates their commitment to finding extraordinary beauty in ordinary human experiences while maintaining their signature minimalist aesthetic. Their work continues to gain attention in the creative industry as they successfully blur the boundaries between traditional illustration and contemporary animation techniques, establishing a new paradigm for digital visual storytelling.
