Leo Sanchez Studio
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2012
- Employees
- 1-10
- Offices
- 1
About Leo Sanchez Studio
Leo Sanchez Studio is an independent animation and character development studio based in Los Angeles. Founded in May 2012 by character designer and digital sculptor Leo Sanchez Barbosa, it specializes in translating visual development artwork into expressive, production-ready 3D characters. Its work spans animated feature films, episodic television, commercials, music videos, virtual reality, video games and toy development.
The studio brings together digital sculpting, character modeling, surfacing, look development, rigging and animation. Its services cover both early visual exploration and the technical preparation needed to carry characters into production. This combination allows it to contribute to a character’s appearance, anatomical structure and movement, while working within the requirements of a broader animation pipeline. It also offers creative direction, animation consulting and co-production.
Character development across productions
The studio’s feature work includes character modeling and visual development for The Angry Birds Movie and its sequel, Wonder Park, The Croods: A New Age and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. For Over the Moon, its contributions included 3D visual development and main character sculpting for Fei Fei, Chang’e and Zhong. Other credited productions include Wish Dragon, The Bad Guys, The Garfield Movie and That Christmas.
Its television work includes character development for Dinotrux and visual development modeling and consulting across Guillermo del Toro’s Tales of Arcadia trilogy: Trollhunters, 3Below and Wizards. Beyond film and television, its interactive work has involved organizations including Oculus Story Studio, Valve Corporation and Nimble Collective.
Original animation and creative production
Alongside commissioned character work, the studio participates in original animated productions. It co-produced Alberto Mielgo’s adult animated short The Windshield Wiper, contributing CG character development and modeling. Its work on the virtual band project The Meeps: “Love Louder” included character direction, development and rigging supervision, extending its character expertise into music-driven entertainment.
More about Leo Sanchez Studio
Founder’s background
Before establishing the studio, Leo Sanchez Barbosa joined Walt Disney Animation Studios as a senior modeler in 2006 and moved to DreamWorks Animation’s Visual Development department in 2010. His earlier character work included Hiccup, Astrid and the Bewilderbeast for How to Train Your Dragon 2.
Tools and operating model
The reported production toolset includes Maya, ZBrush and Arnold. The studio maintains a core specialist team and expands with freelance modelers, sculptors and riggers during peak feature production cycles.
Production milestones and collaboration
The Windshield Wiper was developed over seven years, premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022. The award was for the film.
For The Meeps: “Love Louder”, directed by Leo Sanchez Barbosa, external partners Agora Studio and Brazen Animation provided animation and production services.
Notable credits
18 creditsOffices
Where Leo Sanchez Studio is based
- Los Angeles, California, United States
Los Angeles Headquarters
HeadquartersOverall company headquarters and primary base for character development, production coordination and corporate operations.
Open roles
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