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Interview with Stephane Gallard
| | | Paris. July 9, 2026. Summer Heat Wave N°3. Leaving the Superprod studio.
Three fans, Immudelki (guru of Code Lyoko through his fangame: the IFSCL), Mako (who found us Stéphane's contact) and IcePlayer (creator of IFSCL.org), ready to take on one of the most striking aspects of the Code Lyoko series: its sumptuous sets.
The excitement is palpable...
It must be said that this year has been rather busy. On one hand, fan projects keep multiplying.
On the other, the climax of the encounters between fans and the duo Sophie Decroisette / Jérôme Mouscadet over the last 3 years, with the apotheosis also known as:
« the Orléans interview »...
But while the two headliners mentioned above dominate the news, the chance to interview other important figures from the series was an opportunity not to be passed up.
Enter: Stéphane Gallard. | | |
 | Interview with Stéphane Gallard, b&w background designer on Code Lyoko - Season 1 | |
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Seated in a brasserie in the 11th arrondissement, eager to make the most of the time we'd been given, we get ready to ask our best questions. But don't worry, Stéphane is talkative: he introduces himself in more detail, through his long career and a string of anecdotes and details, each more delightful than the last, about the project.
And let's say it right away: he knows how to tease people.
The origins: it's all "Garage Kids"
First, we need to go back to the beginning. People often talk about the short film Les Enfants Font Leur Cinéma (Annecy 2000), distinguishing it from Garage Kids, and then from Code Lyoko. General correction: it's all Garage Kids!
Les Enfants Font Leur Cinéma was already called Garage Kids, and Code Lyoko's production name also stayed "Garage Kids" on the concept documents for all the sets for a very long time, enough to confuse more than one person!
Stéphane explains that at the Gobelins, first-year students helped second-years with their projects. There he rubbed shoulders with Julien Gorgel and Tania Palumbo, among others, and became friends with the latter. He then worked on the pilot of Molly Star Racer, then on La Prophétie des grenouilles.
He graduated from the Gobelins in 2001 and stood out for his appetite for the graphic worlds of Koji Morimoto, Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Robot Carnival, Memories or Amer Béton. This was a world away from the very medieval fantasy mood of the school's other graduates, and it clearly helped him stand out from his classmates.
In 2002, Tania called him in to serve as background designer on the famous Garage Kids, since she wanted to push further in the Ghost in the Shell / Akira direction.
We also used the interview to debunk a firmly established belief: he explains that Thomas Romain never actually worked on the series, not even at the very start of season 1. He threw himself into his work in Japan on the series Oban Star Racer very quickly.
The working method
Briefs lasting 3 to 4 days were used to discuss the sets: Tania gave the artistic direction, and Jérôme Mouscadet gave the directing notes. Then half a day was devoted to producing the basic sketch for each one.
Stéphane makes an important point: on Code Lyoko, he was the "black and white" background designer, a distinction that matters, because the role of color background designer was different and was held at the time by Jérémie Perrin.
The final drawings were made in a very small format, A4 or even A5, much to the dismay of colleagues on other productions who were not used to such formats! But the level of detail remained consistently impressive:
His paper work was then scanned by other colleagues, as was standard at the time. Jérémie Perrin, whom we know well because his work was the most visible until this dossier came along, handled the digital coloring of the sets.
As for the production order, it's interesting to note that the documentation work initially did not necessarily focus on Kadic or the Factory. The production therefore arranged to gather references directly at the Renault factory in Boulogne-Billancourt, which fans know well, as well as Lycée Lakanal.
Personal contributions
Far from simply receiving instructions, Stéphane also brought his own ideas. For example, the idea of referring to a Cray supercomputer for the design of the supercomputer came from him, as did the ultra-stylish opening of the lab door, inspired by Les Mystérieuses Cités d'Or and Akira.
The scanners and floor patterns, meanwhile, are inspired by the work of Roger Leloup, whose influence is strong in his flagship comic series, Yoko Tsuno.
The supercomputer's power supply, turbines and machine room are inspired by the work on Jin-Roh. He also conceived the opening animation it was meant to have. Interestingly, some parts of these concepts were never used in the series, due to lack of time or to save money, such as the supercomputer opening up at its center.
Stéphane describes himself as a stickler for detail, and we see that almost obsessive side in the many destruction sets of season 1 (Teddygozilla, Just In Time...). This level of precision is usually found more in film sets than in a series.
Far from France, a studio in India handled the other production background (namely, most of the other camera angles). Such a collaboration requires a lot of resources! He also mentioned that these subcontracting studios didn't hesitate to subcontract their own work in turn, to other studios or to freelancers.
He also talks about his colleagues. The 3D universe was developed by none other than Éric Guillon, a man he describes as humble and adorable, and whose CV is particularly impressive to anyone who knows the field. He also mentions Régis Maillet, who also worked on the sets, and whom he describes as an incredibly talented and meticulous artist, passionate and rigorous: a true role model.
The two men were more experienced and in a way mentored him, even though Stéphane held the highest-ranking position. It was a surprising situation that never soured their collaboration. Régis took over managing the sets from season 2, after Stéphane's departure.
Hyper-productive, Régis has since worked again with Stéphane on Spirit Rangers, Batman and other productions.
After Code Lyoko
After season 1, Stéphane moved on to season 2 of Funky Cops, still at Antefilms, a production he describes as "very pleasant."
This was followed by work on the series Iron Man at Method Films (a series considered too adult, which France Télévisions didn't know how to sell). Then he was background designer on Mikido with Thomas Astruc, before joining Zac Toon, where he worked on several projects, including the film Dofus, Livre 1 : Judith.
Eager to sail toward new horizons, he then worked on the series Arthur et les Minimoys. Unfortunately, the series was entirely rebooted a few years later.
He then joined the very beginning of the SuperProd studio for artistic development, where he still works, now for fifteen years. Ultimately, what Stéphane emphasizes is that beyond the projects themselves, it's the pleasure of day-to-day collaboration that motivates him.
To finish...
After yet another anecdote in which he confirmed that Kiwi is directly inspired by L'Étrange Noël de Monsieur Jack and Baxter, we move on to the final question, of the utmost importance...
« Where is the supercomputer's mouse? »
Faced with this question, the background designer dodges with mischief:
« Jeremy controls the mouse cursor with the arrow keys on the keyboard, of course! »
Stunned by such skill at handling trick questions, we finish our glasses in one go!
Once our french apero is over, Stéphane leaves us with a little teaser: « I sometimes amuse myself by redoing the background art from the series, just to see what they'd look like with the twenty years of experience I've accumulated since production. »
You see ? When we said he knows how to tease people...
Thanks again to Stéphane for giving us his time. And thanks for sharing his Code Lyoko portfolio with us. Beyond the discussion, you can now discover these production archives, a real goldmine for anyone interested in the production of Code Lyoko and in a profession that deserves the spotlight: "chef décorateur noir et blanc" (black & white background director)!
Interview by Immudelki, Mako and IcePlayer, for CodeLyoko.fr | | |
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