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Quentin Deronzier Looks Into “The Art of Losing It”

Posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2026

French director and visual artist Quentin Deronzier, whose recent work includes standout spots for the Winter Olympics and Dacia, lets off a little steam with his crazed new CG short film called The Art of Losing It.

Quentin Deronzier: This project started as a 10-minute short film that I kept modifying, never really satisfied with the result. This constant back and forth started driving me crazy, and that’s when I came up with the idea of making a spin-off where my character literally loses it.

“I often ended up with funny glitches where his jacket would completely fall apart during the simulation or his hand would get stuck in his pants.”

The challenging part of the piece was animating the outfit around the character’s intense movements. I used cloth simulation, which basically consists of dressing the character in clothes that have their own physics, reacting to gravity, movement and weight.

The simulations were quite tricky since the character’s motion is all about energy, back flips, dancing, etc. I often ended up with funny glitches where his jacket would completely fall apart during the simulation or his hand would get stuck in his pants.

The sunglasses were added at the last minute as a trick to hide his eyes, as I felt they were giving away too much of the CGI nature of the character. Eyes are always a big challenge in CGI, as even the smallest detail can make them feel slightly off or unnatural.

Images

A person in a suit and sunglasses raises their arms dramatically in an office setting, channeling the bold energy of The Art of Losing It, while others at desks watch. The modern office boasts a striking cityscape through large windows, adding a cinematic flair reminiscent of Quentin Deronzier’s visual style. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

A man in a suit dives superhero-style over a conference table while three others sit around, focused on their laptops and phones in a modern office meeting room—a scene reminiscent of Quentin Deronzier’s dynamic visuals, capturing The Art of Losing It amid corporate chaos. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

A person in sunglasses and a collared shirt looks down at the camera, evoking a mysterious mood reminiscent of Quentin Deronzier’s visual style. The image is grainy, with red DANGER and ALERT warnings in English and Chinese in the lower right corner, capturing an atmosphere akin to The Art of Losing It. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

A person in a suit, wearing sunglasses and an earpiece, is lying on the floor of a modern office with cubicles, looking off to the side with a surprised expression—capturing a scene that echoes Quentin Deronzier’s surreal aesthetics and themes from The Art of Losing It. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

A person in a suit and sunglasses is floating horizontally above cubicles in an office, viewed from a fisheye perspective with a distorted ceiling and fluorescent lights—a surreal scene reminiscent of Quentin Deronzier’s visual style, perfectly capturing The Art of Losing It. Frame from Stash Magazine article.

Credits

Director/animator: Quentin Deronzier
Music/sound design: Felower

Stephen Price

Stephen is the co-founder/CD of Stash Media Inc. and the executive editor of Stash Magazine and the Stash Permanent Collection.
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Category: Animation, CG, Character Animation, Featured, Short Films · Tags: Felower, Quentin Deronzier