#I have so many animatics in mind -

[keyxnxn]

First tumblr post ever and it has to be about @somerandomdudelmao 's comic Marble Sky 🌟

This comic is ALL I’VE HAD IN MY MIND FOR DAYS, the writing is just fricking AMAZING AND THE CHARACTERS?!! I JUST JISHKXAJWHASKAKHXHDCHINA , Istg I will draw them until my hand's bones turn to dust-

[hairupintheair]

This... this is... this is so beautiful!? I've never seen anything like this. It's gorgeous. I'm honestly crying right now. 😭

[just-a-drawing-bean]

I don’t think you guys understand

I cannot stop thinking about this man. I have so many projects of him so many ideas I am trapped inside my mind… sj eclipse….

[bobzora]

school is making me miserable so here's a doodle sheet of akechi truths. hope this helps

[puppyeared]

[keikoyume]

You know what I would love to do if I had the patience (and the skill)?

An OFF animatic with the MLP fansong Rainbow Factory

It fits SO MUCH Enoch’s zone, that’s amazing-

[hulloitsdani]

Gather round children it’s time for a Ted Talk about FEH and how I go about drawing these characters.

When making art for this game, I have found immense satisfaction in attempting to meet FEH on its level and remain fairly loyal to the Intelligence System’s approved content we have. This is remarkably challenging. For me, at least. I find this game’s design sensibilities run very counter to my own. That’s not a critique of any in game art of the characters (although I do think they improve greatly over time) as they fulfill their purpose really well. They are meant to be drawn 4 times max which means they can go pretty crazy on the details. But hahahaha I’m not doing that. Clearly. I’m drawing these guys by hand at different angles and posses fairly consistently, which is just not what they were built for. Don’t think when someone designed Kiran they thought of the person who’d be drawing them chilling ontop of a fridge with a bottle of mustard in their hand, you know?

So naturally I got to do some translating! And that’s the really fun part >:]

There are many things I had to find creative answers for, like Kiran’s face and Alfonse’s stupid haircut. But the one rotating rapidly in my brain atm is the Askr quartet in combat. I wanted lean hard into the fact that these four are, well, very human in comparison to every other combatant that enters Askr. They aren’t exactly helpless nor unskilled. If any of the trio raised their blade at Kiran, they’d start digging their own grave themselves. But the group are regular soldiers fighting against straight up warriors of legend. As individuals, Anna, Sharena, Alfonse, and Kiran are not that strong in comparison. No merges for these bitches they gotta work with what they got. However, they all know that. So they make up for their weaknesses through terrifyingly effective teamwork. Through the power of trauma bonding- I MEAN FRIENDSHIP they become a fucking terrifying force of nature. It’s like pissing off an ant hill or a wasps nest. A lancer goes for Alfonse and suddenly theres a swarm of five level 1 heroes making such a distraction that they don’t see Anna’s axe sweep through their Achilles heels or Sharena’s follow up shield bash.

So this means I get to convey their team composition through their body shapes and give them clear strengths and weakness for the others to cover. Which is just so god damn FUN. Like we all know Kiran is the squishiest of the squishy, so it’s really fun to show just HOW squishy they are through the immediate comparison Alfonse and Sharena. I gave those two sturdier square shapes, and thus making them shorter yet stocky. This makes it look like they could fucking launch Kiran’s bony ass to the moon and back. However, that’s on the condition that either of them could catch Kiran, as their tall slim build implies the lightweight speed they move with. Which is so!!!! Fun!!!! Aughhh big love. Kiran could literal use Sharena as cover to snipe enemies from. Meanwhile Anna and Alfonse are a bit ahead using reposition to let Anna provide swift dps without getting too beat up herself. And by reposition, I mean Alfonse using his shield as a jump pad to launch Anna at the enemy with. You know. Just bro things. Anna’s triangle shapes make her both just hearty and lean enough to pull it off, might as well go for it. Just make sure she’s properly supported and safe by the time the enemy phase rolls around you know?

And I swear, the combos just write themselves too. Like between Sharena and Alfonse, a poor soul gets caught in the worst version of ping pong as Alfonse captain America’s his shield between the two of them. Kiran could then use that same shield like Link does and surf out of enemy range, shooting at the enemy the whole way. It’s fun! These guys have the potential to really sync up during combat and be emblematic of their bonds with one another.

Example, Alfonse. Alfonse could TECHNICALLY be a stronger solo fighter if he ditched the shield. He has the constitution and skill to not actually need the extra protection, and if he decided to two hand his weapon (haha there’s a joke there) the damage he could do would be devastating. However, the shield isn’t for his protection, but to be better help to his closest friends. The shield isn’t taking as many hits for him as it is for Kiran and Anna, who can’t afford to carry shields without compromising their own effectiveness. Plus through creative (and probably not intentional) uses it helps better position them on the battlefield. It’s for THEM. The only time he’s going to stop using the shield is when they aren’t there fighting along side him.

Enter Líf.

He hasn’t had a shield for a long time now.

[undefeatablesin]

We are 4 away from 300 followers ya'll!! ✨️ As a lot of you already know, I like to do a little something for everyone when I hit a milestone, so I'd like to do something this time too!

But what would you guys like to see? I mentioned I was looking into streaming a while back. If I could get that up and running, would ya'll like to watch some Bloodborne streams and stuff? 🤔 I'd love to figure out how to stream my drawing process too, but as I only work on a Samsung S7+ tablet, there's a few more hoops to jump through to get it done.

I may open some limited slots for more sketch requests as well, on the side of whatever else we end up doing! But let me know if you guys have any ideas or any suggestions!! ✨️

[sea-jello]

in ye olde days when i first heard mitb with zero context i thought in the last two lines he left the bathroom and was talking to the people partying outside. people who dont know anything about him or what just happened but might know his name as a passerby, and asked him about the party. and he puts on a smile and tells them "awesome party im so glad i came" cause they DONT know him and he doesnt know them. and i had it like storyboarded and playing in my mind for YEARS to the point where i cant see it any other way if i ever make a mitb animatic im GOING to add it

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

I cannot tell you how much I wanna make animatics and stuff with your alt au im gonna go insane

since im procrastinating imma go ahead and share you some songs and what characters i feel would fit with them ^^

The Mind Electric- centered around Cesar, Mark get away from the boy or we will sock you in your remaining eye

Shoot Em Up - Centered around Mark, showcasing that he absolutely hates Cesar and Sarah to the point it’ll set them on fire if he looks at them

Assault and Batteries - Alt Adam. Whup say bye to the kids ^^ What better mix than a song based on Child’s Play and Alt Adam yknow yknow

YEAHHH-

[necrotic-nightshade]

aaaaAAAAAAAAA?!!

[jellyloveru]

keep thinking of kel logs. ough

[monkey-wrench-series]

One month on; The future of Monkey wrench as a fully animated indie series.

It’s been exactly one month since Ep 3 of Monkey was released to the public, and as the ever want to be as transparent as possible with indie production it’s time we sat down and had a very important discussion on the future of the series…

So, as we said above, one month has passed from the public release of episode 3, and everything hinges on how well it does.

Below are the metrics for it on Youtube;

Our hope was to have ep 3 hit 500k in two weeks. After 31 days we’re still under 470k views, ad rev as you can see is pitiful and engagement has evaporated. Maybe we set our hopes a little too high?

It’s not all doom and gloom though, this is the first ep to get this many views in this amount of time. Our patreon support has grown by 1/3 after the ep came out and our Scratch & Scritch plushies did ok, see images below;

So as of now, we have enough money for voices, sound and music for episode 4. Voice recording begins next week and I hope to start the animatic for the ep sometime after.

As for the animation portion of production… things are looking a little tricky.

As you should know, animation, especially frame by frame stuff like we do, it’s obscenely time intensive and expensive. For ep 3 we had a rough animation rate of $20.83 per 1 second of animation and the same for clean up with very minimal edits and redos.

Seeing the recent animation pay discourse has honestly shaken us up pretty bad, we had no idea how pitiful our pay had been compared to other indies and we in no way want to exploit anyone for their work on the series.

With both Ash and I putting everything we had saved in Eps 1, 2 and 3 and seeing how below average they’ve all performed and with how little we can afford to pay our animators, on top of burning myself out horrifically doing 3 eps in a row, we’ve sadly had to come to the conclusion that full animation for this series is no longer financially possible at our current support level.

That does not mean we’re stopping production, however.

There are two possible routes we can take;

Route 1; Animatic hybrid.

Over the past week and a half I managed to solo out 5 minutes and 15 seconds of animatic keyframe animation for our recently released outtakes video.

At our current support level I can do the animatic keyframe route for most of the mundane stuff in an ep, and then go into full animation for the ‘good bits’, that way we can pay our animators an actual decent wage. Over time if our support grows we can return to full animation.

Route 2: Kickstart ep 4 for $100k

We have thought about doing a kickstarter type thing to get the $100,000 we’d need for the animation portion of the ep. We want to pay our animators properly for their time and skill and this would be the best route to go if we want to have ep 4 fully animated.

However with our current viewership and engagement with eps 1, 2 and 3 I’m not sure we could hit a goal of $100,000 in the 30 days we need.

Is it a risk worth taking?

What would we do for rewards?

Physical rewards would take money away from animation production and things like animated rewards would take time away from myself working on the ep.

That’s pretty much where my mind has been at the past few days. I’d love to hear your input and thoughts on how you would like us to proceed.

[anniflamma]

My Thoughts on The Thunder Saga

I've been thinking about The Thunder Saga all day, even though I have a headache, and I can say one thing: I liked it!

I was mostly prepared for the emotional damage in Mutiny/Thunder Bringer for multiple reasons, like collaborating with Jay on the ending of Thunder Bringer. However, I was genuinely surprised by Suffering, Different Beast, and the reveal that Odysseus had already tried to kill Eurylochus during Scylla. I really wanted Odysseus to go full-blown monster mode in Act 2, so I felt satisfied.

Maybe this is a hot take, but I have never really felt bad for Odysseus. The only time I did cry and felt for him was when his mother was singing to him in The Underworld Saga. I've never been fond of the crying, shooting soldier type, both in fiction and in real life. I've watched too many documentaries that made me incapable of feeling bad for people or characters committing cruel acts on others and then crying about it like they were the victims.

The song Suffering was a delight! You immediately knew something was wrong just from the happy tone of the music, especially since we were left with Monster. At first, I thought it was a flashback, and yes, the comment "daughter" piqued my interest. Then I quickly thought it was a dream, but at the same time, something felt wrong.

When it switched to Different Beast, my first thought was, "Did he just shoot Penelope?🤣 " And yes, we now know it was the Sirens! But the imagery is very ironic. I even see it as a parallel with the first saga, with the infant. Odysseus has a whole song about his struggle with the decision to kill an infant that reminds him of his own child, ends up killing him, and then in the second act, he kills a female creature that looks like his wife without hesitation. That, folks, is character development! Yes, Odysseus knew it was a Siren, and we can still tell that he is somewhat tries convincing himself in Different Beast.

"My real wife knows I'm not scared of the water And my real wife knows I don't have a daughter"

Essentially, he is reminding himself that this woman in front of him isn't his wife.

All the cruelty against the Sirens was unnecessary. But that is the point! He believes that the only way home is to be as ruthless as possible. However, bringing unnecessary suffering to both foes and friends was obviously the incorrect decision.

Musically, the song Different Beast didn't really click for me. I mostly found it edgy and not really "cool," if you know what I mean. I've heard it a couple of times but still have a hard time remembering the melody, weirdly enough.

If I ever make an animatic of these songs, it will probably be all together in one animatic. Those two songs are meant to be one, but I understand why they are separated due to the major difference in tones.

The song Scylla was the least anticipated song for me. The snippets didn't really catch my attention. But I did like the conclusion of making Scylla and Odysseus have a short duet at the end. Scylla's cruelty was just a mirror of Odysseus, and he was the one actually killing his men. I think this saga really was Eurylochus' peak in terms of characterization. Eurylochus confesses that he was the one who opened the bag and has suffered with this weight and guilt. Odysseus, in his state of mind, turns away and tells Eurylochus to light a torch, knowing that action will doom Eurylochus. Odysseus straight-up tried to kill Eurylochus already, and I thought it would happen in Mutiny! XD

That moment was cold! No words, no goodbyes, just "Light the torch."

Then we have Mutiny. I really liked it! The callbacks to Luck Runs Out were a bit expected but felt so good when they happened! I've seen comments here and there saying that Eurylochus was a hypocrite due to his comment from the Circe Saga to abandon the men who became pigs. Odysseus even brings that up! But Eurylochus is very justified in calling Odysseus out for his actions.

"When we fought the Cyclops, you were quick to hatch a plan And when we fought with Circe, it was you who left behind no man But when we fought this monster, we didn't take a stand"

Odysseus could have made a plan that at least could have increased the chances of survival for the six men who died. But he didn't, he only thought of himself and betrayed them first, using them as bait to guarantee his own survival. Eurylochus, in the Circe Saga, was a man who was scared, confused, and filled with guilt for opening the bag. So his wanting to take the cowardly route is understandable, but it's nowhere near what Odysseus did.

So then they fight, epic moment, we all love it! And for the second time, Odysseus tries to kill Eurylochus but ultimately fails because Perimedes stabs him in the back. Odysseus is like, "My brothers, why?"

WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHY??? But that is still the point of Odysseus' perspective. He is acting like a ruthless monster now, so he is in a state where he is incapable of understanding or more like thinking of his victims' perspectives. Of course his men would defend themselves from him, of course they would betray him, of course they would backstab him. If you treat your own friends as disposable, eventually there will be a reaction: they will either abandon you or retaliate. It takes an immense depth of pride to feel secure with someone you have inflicted suffering on. And pride is the very theme in this saga!

When Luck Runs Out plays but the roles are switched, it felt a bit nostalgic in a way, but it's still a bit distorted. This time, Odysseus is the one singing Eurylochus' lines, but it's not him being confused and doubtful, instead, he is scared yet manipulative. Eurylochus opens up and is vulnerable toward Odysseus. He feels hopeless, clearly experiencing survivor's guilt.

"Eurylochus: How much longer must I push through doubt? Odysseus: I need to get home Eurylochus: How much longer must we go about my life like this when people die like this?"

When it doesn't work, Odysseus switches from "I" to "we." I love that detail. It's not genuine, and I love it!

Thunder Bringer… I loved it. There, I said it! There is nothing more! LOVED IT! ⚡⚡⚡ I am so happy that I got to do an animatic for Jay for this song!

Thunder Bringer is the song where Zeus punishes the whole fleet for killing (presumably) Apollo's cattle. My theory now is that Apollo doesn't like Odysseus for killing his cows in God Game, and Athena is probably like, "Yeah, but his men did it, not him." And Apollo is like, "Touché."

EDIT: I know that the cattle is Helio's but I speculating maybe the musical will change that to Apollos. Who knows!

Essentially, Zeus literally comes down and sets things straight. Instead of being sneaky and witty like Odysseus usually tries to be, Zeus just gets to the point, "Who gets to live?" And Odysseus points at Eurylochus/the crew, saving himself from Zeus' punishment. Well, I do see that Calypso's island is Odysseus' punishment in a way. It's an ironic one. He comes to paradise and gets a home and a wife… just not the home and wife he wanted. I have some fun ideas for my Thunder Bringer animatic!

Rest in peace, Eurylochus. You will be missed.

[puppyeared]

Xin Ya is so cute and well designed! more a question than a comment but I just love your style

thank u!! im currently redoing bits of their backstory and design so hopefully ill get some more art of them up soon