Pasadena Convention Center
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Guillaume Aretos (He/Him)

Concept Artist Other
GUILLAUME ARETOS is a Production Designer who won the Annie Award for Best Production Design for his work on the Oscar Winning animated feature “Shrek” (2001). He has been nominated for three V.E.S. Awards for the “Shrek series films” (2001-2010) and “Puss in Boots” (2011). Aretos came from France to join DreamWorks in 1996 as a visual development artist on the animated hit “Antz” (1998), the second ever computer generated animated feature film. Aretos then took on the Art Direction of Shrek between 1998 and 2001, and was the Production Designer for “Shrek 2” (2004), “Shrek The Third” (2007) and “Puss in Boots” (2011). He also worked on the Visual Development for the films “The Croods” (2008), “MegaMind” (2010) and “Truckers” (2012). Guillaume was Production Designer on “Monster Hunt 2” released in 2018, “The Super Mario movie” released in 2023, and "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" released in 2026. He is currently a Production Designer with Sony Pictures Animation.

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Show Me Something I’ve Never Seen Before

Ballroom G | ArtCenter College of Design | Steven Zapata | Guillaume Aretos | David James | Fernando Olmedo | Carlo Arellano

Show me something I’ve never seen before. These words can be exhilarating—or completely paralyzing. In an industry where millions of images are only a click away, how do you create work that genuinely feels new? Is originality a gift, a process, or just the result of endless iterations?

In this panel, concept designers discuss how they generate fresh ideas when the obvious answers aren’t good enough. This is a conversation about the craft of originality—how to recognize it, cultivate it, and consistently deliver it under the pressures of real production.

Whether you’re staring at a blank canvas, buried under references, or trying to solve the seemingly impossible brief, you’ll leave with practical tools to escape clichés and surprise your audience.

Skill Level: General Audience

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