Animator Luis de la Rosa has died at the age of 34 following a train accident at the Annecy Animation Festival in France.
The Mexican illustrator is best known for projects including Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Space Jam: A New Legacy, and My Little Pony: The Movie.
He was attending the annual event in the city near the French-Swiss border when he was struck by a train while walking along the tracks near Avenue Aristide-Briand on Wednesday evening.
The driver is believed to have sounded the horn after spotting him, attempting to alert him of the train’s approach.
While emergency services were dispatched, de la Rosa was killed instantly and pronounced dead on-site. He was identified due to wearing an accreditation lanyard for the Annecy Film Festival around his neck at the time.
According to French regional newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré, the fatal collision was reported by the conductor of the Léman Express train at around 8pm.
The scene is now fenced off and off-limits to the public, with a police investigation ongoing.
When the Annecy Animation Festival holds its closing ceremony this weekend, it is expected to pay tribute to de la Rosa, having since confirmed his ‘tragic’ death.
Annecy Artistic Director Marcel Jean is also set to remember de la Rosa, who was often credited as Luis de la Rosa Obregón in his work.
The late animator had been at the festival to present his latest project, Ash Raider World.
Meanwhile, social media has been inundated with messages of condolences for the creative in celebration of his growing animation career.
A fellow animator, who goes by RubberRoss, wrote on X: ‘I met Luis for the first time during this Annecy. Had a nice chat and he gave me one of his beautiful business cards. When I heard the news I was in my hotel and the same card was next to my bed. So sudden and tragic. Way too young. Rest in peace.’
‘The night before he passed we spent the day swimming in the lake and sharing our music tastes, animation inspos, talking about our futures.. I can’t believe he’s gone. He will so dearly missed by so many. Rest in peace Luis,’ wrote Julia Schoel.
@kevdevz, a friend and former colleague of de la Rosa’s from Indie animation studio Glitch, added: ‘Luis was a wonderful person and an incredibly talented artist. He was very loved by those around him, and will be deeply missed.’
Born and raised in Mexico, de la Rosa was based in Vancouver at the time of his death. He had graduated with honours from Vancouver Film School in 2015.
The following year, he got his big break in animation, working on several episodes of Nickelodeon show Pig Goat Banana Cricket.
He contributed to TV and film projects such as Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: The Series, and had been working on a short film called Axolodyssey, directed by Jon Densk.
As written on his LinkedIn account, he went on to gain numerous animation credits and work with various gaming studios, including Titmouse Inc., Petty Karma, and Deluxe Animation.
In his bio, he penned: ‘I was told animation wasn’t a viable career, but an existential crisis during college led me to drop out and pursue my true passion. Every success in animation is a testament to that choice.
‘Now, I focus on action projects, always pushing my skills further. Each step reminds me of how far I’ve come and how worth it it was to follow my dream.’