Claude Cloutier studied printmaking and worked as an illustrator before turning to comic strip art, mainly for Croc magazine. He has cultivated an absurdist sense of humour and has gained recognition for the meticulous execution of his drawings, which are suggestive of engravings. He joined the NFB in 1986 and directed The Persistent Peddler, an adaptation of his comic strip album La Légende des Jean-Guy. His next film was Overdose (1994), and in 1999-2000, he collaborated on the Gémeaux Award-winning Science, Please! series. In 2007 he directed Sleeping Betty, a short animated comedy that received wide public and critical acclaim and swept up 23 international awards, including a Jutra and a Genie.