In an era increasingly dominated by automated workflows and synthetic media, the creative team behind the latest Clash Royale trailer took a firm, uncompromising stance on human-made artistry. Working closely with developer Supercell and agency DAVID New York, director Pedro Allevato and the animation team at New York-based Roof Studio delivered a stunning, frame-by-frame watercolor cinematic titled "30 Seconds to Detonation."
The project, which debuted in November 2026, was shaped by a strict and intentional brief from the client: absolutely no artificial intelligence was to be used in the creation of the trailer. Instead, the production demanded a deeply tactile, highly crafted two-dimensional aesthetic, blending traditional watercolor painting techniques with meticulous frame-by-frame cel animation.
Reflecting on the collaboration, director Pedro Allevato noted that while Roof Studio had partnered with Supercell on numerous past campaigns, this particular endeavor represented a deliberate shift in artistic direction. The goal was to pivot away from sleek, computer-generated uniformity and toward an approach defined by genuine human emotion, visible brushstrokes, and a profound sense of physical craftsmanship.
"Roof and I have been pitching projects together for a while, and this time we got the wonderful opportunity to create a cinematic 2D version of the Clash Royale game," Allevato explained. "Roof had worked with Supercell many times, but this
time we wanted to take things in a different direction. The brief was to create something highly crafted in 2D, mixing watercolor techniques with frame-by-frame animation."
The partnership afforded the artists a rare degree of creative freedom. According to Allevato, the team at Supercell was enthusiastic about the visual direction from the outset and reiterated their commitment to maintaining a completely human-driven pipeline during their initial creative meetings.
For Allevato, the project required stepping significantly outside his established artistic comfort zone. Much of his previous 2D animation work has traditionally relied on vector-based graphics and a bold, comic-book aesthetic. However, the emotional narrative and atmospheric intensity required for the Clash Royale cinematic demanded a softer, more organic touch—one that could only be achieved by rejecting purely digital shortcuts.
To bridge the gap between traditional media and dynamic camera movement, the production utilized a hybrid technical approach without sacrificing hand-crafted integrity. The team recreated select background environments in 3D, which provided the necessary spatial framework to maneuver the camera effectively. These three-dimensional renders were then utilized strictly as foundational references, allowing artists to meticulously paint and texture over them frame-by-frame. The resulting pipeline ensured that every single frame retained the unique imperfections, depth, and texture of genuine watercolor painting.
Despite the exhaustive manual labor involved in bringing the project to life, the team encountered an ironic and frustrating hurdle following the video’s public release. Once Supercell published the trailer online, Allevato found himself targeted by online critics accusing the production of utilizing generative artificial intelligence.
The experience underscored a growing anxiety within the contemporary animation and design industries, where the ubiquity of synthetic media has made audiences increasingly skeptical of digital workflows. Allevato remarked that creators now frequently feel compelled to release comprehensive behind-the-scenes breakdowns alongside their completed works simply to prove that human hands were responsible for the art. In the case of the Clash Royale cinematic, the irony was stark, as the production team had deliberately chosen one of the most labor-intensive, analog-inspired pipelines possible.
The collaborative effort behind the trailer brought together a diverse roster of international talent. Executive produced by Fernanda Curi with line production by Fernanda Fraiz, the project’s foundational layout and pacing were established through storyboards and animatics by Julien Becquer. Design and illustration duties were shared by Valentina Lorizzo and Pedro Allevato, with Allevato also serving as art director.
The complex animation pipeline relied on the dedicated work of cell 2D animators Shashi Shekhar, Diego Ferrero, and Sungmin Yoo. Compositing and animation duties were handled collaboratively by Pedro Allevato, Eric Dias, Diego Ferrero, and Claudio Berinato, with Berinato also contributing specialized 3D animation expertise to ground the hand-painted environments.
