WeAnimate 2026-04-21 | wam#0076

Claus Darholt is a senior 3D character animator and previz artist who has worked on most of the notable Danish projects in recent memory, including the Checkered Ninja series, Krølle Bølle, Ninjago, and Qvisten’s Captain Sabertooth and the Countess of Grel, among others. He is also the current chairman of ANIS, the Danish animation society. As a working animator, illustrator, and CG artist, Claus is well-connected to the community, and has a fascinating insight into the industry. In this interview, he shares his perspective and his ambitions for Danish animation.

WA: How did you get into the animation industry?

Claus: I actually come from a family of butchers. I’m the black sheep, but they always supported me. My godmother still has some of my early life drawings on the wall. I honestly wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the help and guidance of my family, friends, and colleagues.

I wasn’t that good a reader as a kid, so I was drawn more to visual stories. I used to spend the summers with family in Slagelse who had Sky Network and cable TV that we didn’t have at home, and from 6am I was the first one in front of the TV, watching cartoons. One day I saw An American Tail, and I watched it again and again, to the point where I could see it in my mind and hear the music and the dialogue. So I was very curious about animation, and got more and more into the idea.

Then in about ‘94 or ‘95, there was an open talent night at A. Film, and I went and showed them my drawings. They said that I had a long way to go, and suggested the school in Viborg. That was how I found out that there was actually a school where you could learn animation.

Later, my middle school art teacher Niels Christensen wrote to tell me that there was an animator coming to the school to do stop-motion, and that I should be there. That’s how I met Hanne Pedersen from the Open Workshop. And the fun part was that I had just been in the military, at Vordingborg military base, and I was later re-drafted for one week, and our entire company was moved to Viborg. It made me feel like it was kind of meant to be. Hanne invited me to see the school, and I stayed with her and her partner Uffe Danielsen, was a key assistant animator on Quest for Camelot, and an inbetween artist on Balto. They let me stay in their heated shed, which was also his workspace, so there were drawings all over the place, and it was just magical. 

Finally I applied for The Animation Workshop, and didn’t get in. So I took the Drawing Academy for half a year. Our main teacher went on maternity leave, and another teacher named Artem Alexeev took over. He didn’t like animation at all, so it was just life study and life drawing every single day from 8-12. It was actually really good for me, because my drawings lacked anatomy and understanding of how the body should be connected. So that was another lucky thing for me, and I learned a lot from him. After that, and another half year of self study with a friend, I was accepted into the school. And it was then that I realized how much I still had to learn. [laughs]

After I graduated, I contacted A. Film again and asked Jesper Møller for an internship. He connected me with Michael Helmut Hansen, a talented 2D animator, and I got to work a bit on a German film called Jester Till, under Michael’s guidance, where I did roughs on two shots.

While I was there, A. Film was also doing 3D animations for a game called Black & White 2. There was a free CGI computer, so I asked if I could try some of it. They gave me a lion and I animated a sneeze, and suddenly I was doing 3D animation on that game. I was also lucky to sit by an animator named Thomas Fenger, who showed me the most important features in 3D Studio Max, which was what we were using at that time. So that was how I got started in 3D animation.

I had always found it quite difficult to do 2D animation, because you have to think of all the movements at once. That’s also why I have the biggest respect for stop motion animators: they are the gods of animation, knowing what has to move in every frame and making it work perfectly… I mean, I know they do a lot of takes before filming, but still!  So I felt very empowered by 3D, because I was finally able to tweak my animation.

WA: You’ve worked on nearly all the big Danish features in the past 10 or 15 years. What do you think of the animation industry here?

Claus: I think I came into the business at a really lucky point, because I was part of Terkel in Trouble, which was the first CGI animated movie in Denmark. At the time, I was an intern at A. Film, so I didn’t get paid, but I did animate a sequence in that film and got my first credit. That was one of Thorbjørn’s films, and, as he has said himself, he likes to surround himself with people he knows and can rely on, so that led to other projects with him and his team.

What appeals to me about the Danish animation industry is that you need to have a high output, so you never get stuck in a sequence. Most high-end Danish films, like Checkered Ninja, we have to animate about 20-22 seconds a week. On Journey to Saturn, it was 45 seconds a week. But I like that limitation, because I’m not that fond of over-animated animation. I am not that fond of getting into the big curves; I like to approach everything more realistically. I think the most stylized thing I’ve animated was Karlas Fantalasticke Klasse, where we animated with stepped keys, so it was almost kind of stop-motion-ish, which was fun. But I do like the more normal, grounded animation, especially when there is a lot of emotion.

Terkel in Trouble also changed things because it was made for only about 10 or 12 million crowns, so for many years that kind of set a boundary for what a film ought to cost. But it feels like budgets are getting a bit higher now. Some studios might try and push the quality higher, which can be enjoyable but also difficult, because then you have to reach a higher bar within the same time frame.

I’ve been really fortunate just jumping from film to film. It’s really fun to have a trilogy on my CV, working on some of the highest grossing Danish animation films ever. And of course they are also the most fun projects to work on, with Thorbjørn and the whole team. Thorbjørn really relies on you to just do the work, and he only comments if something really isn’t working story-wise; he’s very generous like that. It’s also so fun. Even on Journey to Saturn, where there were only about 6 animators and it was crazy. I animated 15 minutes of that movie, and it was really insane but also so fun.

WA: You also do some illustration and other projects on the side.

Claus: Yes, I have done illustration on a few children’s books. Animation is my normal daytime job, but I also work on book illustrations or do a commercial in the evenings or weekends. It’s mainly a desire to get some of my own stuff out there.

You are never certain what’s going to happen to you in this industry. I had a really long stretch, maybe 15 years, where I just moved from one project to another, but just recently I had a couple of months where I didn’t have work. Although I still had a commercial in the evenings and worked a bit on the book, it was nice to have time to relax a bit. But I’m also trying to get a little bit of passive income, where I can earn some residuals. I have a short film I would like to do, and that means I would need to take some time off, so I have a little plan to hopefully someday do something of my own. 

WA: One really notable aspect of your LinkedIn is how many people say you’re a pleasure to work with.

Claus: I always try to be nice to work with. My girlfriend and I, and now our kids, all have a “pleasing genome”, where we like to make people happy.

Before I came into the animation industry I worked at a warehouse pulling orders, taking things down and sending them. And it wasn’t giving me anything. I may as well be sick. So I came into animation feeling like it was worth taking a pay cut to do something better. And luckily I was able to end up earning more money doing the thing I love.

WA: You’ve also been involved with ANIS for a very long time.

Claus:

Yes, I’ve been a member of ANIS for almost 25 years, but I’ve only been on the board for 2 years. It’s very exciting right now because we are doing big things. We are focused on trying to make the work environment more safe, especially for new animators. Hopefully we can change something, like maybe helping people get paid for overtime. Right now in many of the contracts it states that you may have to do extra work for no pay, which isn’t very nice. So we are working towards forming a union for animation artists in Denmark.

But we want to move slowly, because of course we want to strengthen the industry, not add more pressure. The money that productions get from DFI and from the networks is barely enough as it is, so if artists come in and say “We want extra payment and higher salaries”, then they’ll just move production to a different country or not hire people. These new tax incentives might bring more money to the Danish animation industry, so maybe we can make the working conditions better.

Everyone knows that there has to be a change, even if it changes slowly and with small increments. Really, we all want the same thing: good working conditions, and being good to each other.

WA: What are the next steps for ANIS and the animation union?

Claus:

It feels like the right time for a union, especially if we can build on the strengths the industry already has. Firstly, we want to let people know that we are here and that we care. We need lots of communication and dialogue.

We would really like to establish some kind of A B C system, where if you have a sequence with more characters you get more time. So far animators just make these time frames work by focusing on the main characters and not moving a character when it’s not necessary, and getting through it somehow. But it seems reasonable that more complex shots need more production time.

Another thing we want to do with ANIS is be more connected to The Animation Workshop. I’ve had some good talks with Kasper Kruse about how we might help students become members and perhaps do some mentoring or answer questions about the industry.

WA: Do you have any advice for young animators?

 Claus: School often doesn’t prepare students for how much they have to deliver every week; that is a big thing in Denmark. That is also why when I was in school I wanted to get out and start working; I felt like I spent too much time on my scenes, and wasn’t really getting to what’s needed of you in the business.

When I talk to interns, I tell them that the most important thing is that people like you. That’s always been my approach. If people like you and they like to work with you, you may not be the best animator, but they want to work with you anyway. Of course you have to actually do the work, but being liked makes everything easier. And when you get comments on your animation, of course you can explain why you made the choices you did, but if they don’t like it then just say “okay” and change it. Don’t get upset with all the comments; they might find a more agreeable animator the next time. A positive attitude is pretty much the best approach to anything.

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