The series is based on an original concept created by French animator Thomas Astruc, who was inspired by a meeting with a certain lady, Japanese anime, and "decades of comics binge reading". In an interview with Nolife, Astruc said he was working as an animator on the show "W.I.T.C.H." when he met a woman wearing a T-shirt with a ladybug on it. They began to share drawings, some of which were ladybug-themed. Astruc also noted that Marinette's hair was styled after the woman. They also worked on the cartoon "A.T.O.M." around 2004–05. Astruc first drew "Ladybug" on sticky notes and remarked about how strong the Ladybug character was, and had a couple memories of seeing ladybug-themed superheroes in comics.