Turtles

---

By Angie BrownBBC Scotland, Edinburgh and East reporter

Sean Sevestre has played a key role in The Creation of the new blockbuster film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - despite being thousands of Miles Away from his Hollywood colleagues.

The 29-year-old Scottish artist has worked on the visual development of The Hit new movie for two years from his Edinburgh home.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : Mutant Mayhem, which stars Seth Rogan, Jackie Chan and John Cena , was released earlier this month.

Sean worked as a concept artist on The Movie . He would draw the ideas, then a 3D animator would makes a graphic model from his designs.

" So Far this is The Most impact I've had in a film, " he told Bbc Scotland .

" Hollywood is high paced and exciting and The People I worked with on this film reflected that.

" I felt extremely respected and trusted. There was always room for me to try stuff and to make mistakes and to work on things.

" When I watched The Film I thought it looked Amazing - There is nothing that has ever looked like this before. "

Sean spent a decade teaching himself How To draw and make films.

" I started a Product Design degree at university when I was 17 but after four weeks I quit because it became clear it wasn't going to teach me what I wanted to do, " he explained.

" My mum then enrolled me at art college on a painting degree but again I left after Two Weeks .

" I felt so strongly about it that I decided to teach myself. My mum gave Me Two years to see if I could make it work. "

From his bedroom in Penicuik, Midlothian, he began to teach himself techniques using The Internet .

" My mum was fairly sceptical but she trusted me because I'm not an irrational person.

" I had a burning Fire Inside me. I was so serious about it that I taught myself relentlessly Every Day .

" I studied the anatomy of The Body and how it moves and how light works. "

Sean said There had been a lot to learn.

" I disappeared for three years and Looking Back it's a bit of a blur.

" I was obsessed in a good way. I pushed myself as hard as I could and gave up a lot of social stuff. "

When he was 20, Sean he felt he had reached a good base level and started on sites where Hollywood producers look for new talent.

It was then he was asked to work on The Movie A Monster Calls, which starred Liam Neeson .

" I was so excited because it felt like a breakthrough

" All of a sudden my mum could see things were working for me. "

Sean said he learned from his entrepreneurial dad to have the confidence to teach himself.

He Said : " My parents divorced when I was five and I would see my dad in The Holidays . We would go snowboarding and I would say: 'I can't Snowboard . ' He would say: 'I taught myself so can you'. "

Sean learned Classical Guitar and taught myself to do competitive tricking, a form of acrobatics involving flips and twists.

" I got good at tricking and this gave me the confidence to know that I could teach myself anything I put my mind to. "

He was then commissioned to work on pop superstar Lil Nas X's Starwalkin' video and directed his own feature-length documentary, Perfect Storm.

Now he has built a studio in his Portobello home in Edinburgh.

" Now I actually have to turn down work that comes in which is an incredible place to be, " He Said .

" Growing Up in a Small Town in Scotland I never thought I'd end up working in Hollywood.

" But thanks to The Internet I was able to make a name for myself in the industry even though I felt Far Away from that world. "

Sean got a B in Higher art at Beeslack High School in Midlothian.

He added: " I wasn't the art guy, nobody expected this.

" I've not got this crazy talent. What I do is a result of extreme deliberate practice that has taken me from being average to someone now with a reputation.

" Anyone who wants it badly enough can do it. It's dedicated time and practice and Hard Work continually sitting at The Edge of your ability that gets you There . "

So What 's next for Sean?

" I'm working on something exciting just now, but I can't talk about it.

" I'm still pushing myself and looking to achieve more.

" I'm very happy where I have got to but I don't want to stop now. "

Related Topics

Source of news: bbc.com