Julie Roulet on animating ingredients bobbing in a bowl of ramen

Julie Roulet (aka @3VERANGE) is a French artist who graduated from ECV Bordeaux with a master’s degree in animation. She is currently working as a full-time freelance illustrator and animator. Julie was selected as one of Toon Boom’s Ambassadors for 2025, as part of a program to highlight artists who make impressive work using Harmony or Storyboard Pro.

We connected with Julie to learn about her practice as a freelance artist, and to go on a tour of the design and 2D effects that go into animating a mouth-watering bowl of ramen. The project began as an animation assignment, and the ingredients include a combination of traditional animation and keyframed pegs in Harmony Premium.

This article is an excerpt from our livestream interview in May, transcribed by Erin Hynes. The full recording includes a walkthrough of Julie’s scenes.

Let’s start with a quick introduction. Tell us about your journey into animation, Julie. 

Julie: I’ve been passionate about drawing since childhood, and so after high school I chose to study at ECV in Bordeaux. I graduated in 2024 with a masters degree in 2D animation. During my time at ECV, I did 2 internships, the first in background and props, and the second in 2D animation. After the internships, I launched my career as a freelancer. It’s been six months so far. I’ve been active on different social channels, where I’ve been able to grow a community of kind and passionate people, which I’m really grateful for.  

Congratulations on getting your master’s degree! What was your experience like at ECV Bordeaux?

Julie: The teaching team and industry professional who came in to teach the masters classes were super supportive. They gave such good advice, and helped me stay focused on my work. During those 5 years, I was very motivated and worked hard to try and go as far as I could in the assignments I got. I’ll admit I was burnt out a few times, and so I want to stress that you shouldn’t skip sleep.

It’s super important for your health and for your work efficiency. I really enjoyed taking part in events organized by the school and I appreciated the kindness between students. When you’re in class, you end up making friends, which is helpful for your future. They will be your future colleagues. Building a strong network It’s one of the best things about school.

What does a typical day as a freelance artist look like for you? What sorts of clients and projects do you like to take on?

Julie: As a newer graduate, I haven’t proved myself to the industry, so it’s quite challenging. My typical day is planned in advance. I’ve got a to-do list for each day. This kind of schedule helps me stay organized and manage my time as a freelancer. As a freelancer, you sometimes feel like you have unlimited time, and so you can easily fall into procrastination. 

I’ve almost always worked with individuals like Youtubers, musicians, and writers. I really enjoy all the collaborations, and the projects are inspiring. When I’m not under contract, I usually use the time to produce content for myself and social networks. I also spend time searching for clients using LinkedIn and other platforms.

You recently designed, animated, and composited a bowl of ramen! What was your goal with this project?

Julie: It was originally a school assignment that tasked us with creating 3 shots. The goal was to focus on acting and scale shots. I saw it as an opportunity to challenge myself. I wanted to create something both beautiful and appetizing. I chose to animate ramen because I was cooking ramen a lot, and I often crave it. The hands you see on the ramen bowl are actually panda hands! I took inspiration from Po from Kung Fu Panda.

What materials did you use as reference when working on this project? And what are high water marks when you think about how food is portrayed in animation?

Julie: My main reference was the noodle cooking scene in Flavors of Youth. It highlighted each ingredient, and you could see the texture in the soup. The other scene I was inspired by was the Dad cooking in Turning Red. It was a 3D animation, and it was intentionally staged as a culinary ad. I also watch a lot of food sakuga on Youtube. 

It helped me understand the different intentions and interpretations of food by animators and studios. The best reference is the one that makes you want to taste the dish.

Can you tell us about the different elements that went into this bowl of ramen?

Julie: To give the depth of the soup, I made a mask. You have the soup, and the oil. For the noodles, I didn’t animate them frame by frame. I made a 1-second frame and applied the deformation tool. For the carrots, it wasn’t deformation or frame by frame. I made a second frame of carrots and changed its place by peg. 

The lights are simple to make. I made some rendered shapes, applied a blending node, duplicated it, and applied a blur to give a highlight effect. For the fried tofu I created a personalized brush. I also had a blending node for the shadow texture. 

The green onions are a mix between pegs and traditional animation. I started learning compositing on After Effects. So to learn on Toon Boom was pretty intuitive for me. If you know how to use blending modes in Photoshop, you can apply that knowledge from Photoshop or After Effects to Harmony. 

There are carrots and bits of green onion bobbing in the broth, noodles that are partially submerged, and fried tofu that are all moving realistically in this clip. How did you approach the 2DFX animation in this project?

Julie: I tried focusing on volume and texture to help make it look appetizing. I didn’t have much time, so I had to compromise. I couldn’t animate everything in a traditional way. I used deformation tools and pegs, and then the soup was done frame by frame. It was really important to have that be hand-drawn. 

It took a lot of time to animate the soup. You have to focus on the volume you give it.

Do you have any advice for animators who are interested in animating scenes with food?

Julie: I would say that using highlights on certain ingredients gives them the feeling of appearing fresher or shinier, which helps them appear more appetizing. Specular highlights work well too to give ingredients the feeling that they were recently covered with soup or oil. 

Do you have any advice for freelancers working in animation?

Julie: Being organized is really important. Keep track of your administrative tasks, like contracts, invoices, and freelance status. This helps you to have a clear view of what is going on with your business. 

When you first get started, be prepared to spend most of your time searching for clients. You have to overcome shyness and learn how to market yourself. Show the work you have done, and show your passion and your heart – it speaks volumes to potential clients. 

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• Want to see more of Julie Roulet's work? Be sure to visit her website and follow her on Instagram. 
• Ready to animate your own food-forward scene? Artists can download a 14-day trial of Toon Boom Harmony.