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Working on my character design style for animation, using refs from films to figure that out...

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+Riddler: View from the Abandoned Puzzle Factory – This started out as me just wanting to doodle something atmospheric and ended up as a crash course in improving how I paint cities. Also neon sign animation effects :) I wanted the piece (and Riddler) to have that “challenging mental adversary” vibe. Painted in Manga Studio EX5, animated in OpenToonz.

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I'm not sure how many more BTAS screencaps I'm going to redraw for practice right now. I think I'd still like to draw Bruce, Bruce in Batman costume, Gordon, and maybe Edward again but in civilian clothes (probably something from Riddler's Reform).

I'd like to do some liveaction redraws to practice translating those characters/backgrounds into animation style, so I may switch over to Nolanverse and Star Wars soon.

Anyways-- just talking out loud :)

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Still studying when I have the time using screencap redraws— practicing anatomy stuff and then applying it to character design for animation using BTAS scenes. This one's roughly based off a scene from Nothing to Fear when Crane gets fired, but I changed the pose and expression.

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Another BTAS s-cap study, this time from 'Harley & Ivy.' I wanted to practice drawing ladies, drawing clearer poses with gesture lines in mind, and trying to narrow down my character style for animation (getting there). I also tried some dynamic shadows and played with colors as I rethink how I pick palettes.

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when you have an eidetic memory and someone tells you "That wasn't in the movie!"

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I made a little gif version :3

Doing some BTASscreencap redraws as warmup studies. First up, 'What is Reality?' I usually work in 16:9 format, so I used that instead. Also, the other shots of the screen had a red background behind Riddler, which I thought looked more interesting than the gray, so I used that instead. The tv was also much bigger and a different shape in other shots, so I split the difference.

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cool breeze, cloudy sky, open window watching as bats go dancing by.

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Doing some BTASscreencap redraws as warmup studies. First up, 'What is Reality?' I usually work in 16:9 format, so I used that instead. Also, the other shots of the screen had a red background behind Riddler, which I thought looked more interesting than the gray, so I used that instead. The tv was also much bigger and a different shape in other shots, so I split the difference.

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Doing some BTAS s-cap redraws to get back into the swing of things :)

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[YOUTUBE CHANNEL UPDATE] I've decided that, instead of using my youtube channel just as a portfolio for finished work, I'd like to start making videos documenting my art studies. Kind of like a scientist's journal where I experiment with stuff for my animation projects, making note of what works and what doesn't-- partially to keep a visual record of that for myself, but also to help anyone else who's interested.

I love puzzles/challenges and figuring out the simplest and most effective methods for getting stuff done, so hopefully this will be an interesting and helpful endeavor for everyone! :D

The focus of these studies will still be animation-- not just animating itself (all the fundamentals and regular practice), but also all the cogs and aspects that go into an animation like anatomy, character design, layouts, painting backgrounds, shot design, using OpenToonz and Clip Studio Paint, film techniques, special effects, etc.

I'm looking forward to really focusing in on studying hard and making more animations in 2025 and onward!

Feel free to chime in-- what part of the animation process would you like to see videos on? What area do you think you need the most help with right now? Let me know! :)

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Feels good to be painting again (and to be nearly done with something after a long art break) 🙂

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update: I didn't quite realize how drained I was from 2024 until I reached December and, aside from work and the daily required tasks, just kind of crashed and spent my free time relaxing, recharging, and getting considerably better at sudoku. Not much art, aside from doodling for fun on scraps of paper.

I had hoped January would be the fresh start I craved, but I still spun my wheels a bit trying to get back into the swing of things. I do feel better now though after the rest and recharge-- the desire to make things, be creative, and conquer projects is kindling again :)

My goal for January was almost exclusively studying anatomy and character design, along with animation fundamentals. Basically, get all the foundational stuff back in order so I can return to projects. Didn't really happen unfortunately, so I'm just pushing it over to February now.

Mostly...in the past my goals kept getting sidelined by a lot of other stuff I was dealing with and progress was frustratingly slow. But I don't want to end another year without some art victories and finished projects to show for it.

So for 2025 I'm putting aside as much as possible to get this stuff done and move forward. My theme for the year is simplicity & focus.

Cue the training montage-- let's crush some goals & conquer some dreams 💪

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It got better.

("Piratical Cats" via The Pirate Empire)

("Ship's Cat" via Wikipedia)

"Argh, the seas look angry, m'lads. Quick, go check the barometer cat!"

(from The Surprising Truth About Pirates and Parrots via AtlasObscura)

Okay, now I really want to see a pirate character with a pet cat.

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(from The Surprising Truth About Pirates and Parrots via AtlasObscura)

Okay, now I really want to see a pirate character with a pet cat.

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[happy new year🤍]

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◆◆◆ [Youtube] ◆◆ [Ko-Fi] ◆◆◆ [Shop] ◆◆ [Portfolio] ◆◆◆ ___________________________________________________________

◽2025 JUNE 12: Need to refresh on anatomy stuff and character design, apply that to my own design process, and test drive all of that by animating A LOT :)

"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." (Orson Welles)

◽JUNE GOALS: ↳Go back over anatomy fundamentals ↳Study character design styles I like to settle my own ↳Test-driving character design styles via animating ↳Studying animation fundamentals ↳Maintain a discipline of drawing & animating regularly every week. ↳Finish the Star Wars: A New Hope s-cap redraws ↳Plan for upcoming animation projects (writing, designing)

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ⏺ILLUSTRATION/DESIGN⏺ 1. [???% complete] Character design studies (anatomy fundamentals, studying designs) 2. [1 of 20 complete] SW:IV screencap redraw studiesx19 [currently: sketching characters]

⏺ANIMATION⏺ 1. [0% complete]  Exercises/studies [currently: planning] 2. [???% complete]  BST project  ◆Jonathan Crane's character design [currently: tests] ◆all character designs [currently: trial-and-error testing] ◆Bruce Wayne's character design [currently: rotation tests]