defeating the beast, for now

im so sorry people are being assholes in the comments of ur iz animatics :((( they bring such joy and are so well done!! forever grateful that you share you art <3 even if you decide to take them down i just wanted to let you know that you are appreciated <3<3<3 hoping your day goes well and you find small unexpected delights

I don’t plan on taking them down. That carnal part of me gets a lil’ joy when I still see nice comments anyway. It’s only been a year, but I still get comments! So that’s crazy.

BUT!!

Another fear I do have is the response if I do post again, and it’s completely different than what those 2.4k subs are expecting to see. I’ve already warned about it literally a year in advance, and then again very recently in multiple places. Idk why I SHOULD be uneased by it, but it’s not like IZ fans are quiet when it comes to their distaste when something changes. *cough.* It’s part of why I’ve distanced myself from that fandom (there’s a myriad of reasons but still).

Insanity incoming:

I don’t have immediate plans to make more animatics, they’re kind of long term thing to consider. Back when I used to make them I had NOTHING but free time and my biggest concern was feeding myself cuz my home environment was horrid and I had zero means of leaving since I lived in bum fuck nowhere! Since my last yt upload I moved out, was in a car wreck (not even 2 days in), my own car went through thousands of dollars in repairs, i got a job, went through a period where I worked nearly 100hrs for several months consecutively with hardly any breaks, and to think! It wasn’t and it’s still not sustainable. Things changed. And I do not want to go “home.” After being forced to visit family again a month ago I especially don’t want to go back.

The channel was literally a dumping ground. I got those 2k subs when I wasn’t posting for a year. So! You can imagine I might not be prioritizing a channel I only used as a dumping ground or in a state to make fully or even barely boarded videos and shitposts weekly or monthly. Idk what these people want from me schedule wise. I make $0 from it, and monetizing for a few cents isn’t worth it. I didn’t even get paid when I made thumbnails and assets for bigger channels lmfao. Yeah, I did do that. Wouldn’t know tho. Paid in “exposure” hurr hurr or “omg i need that money myself XDD cmon” whatever backwards excuse.

So what’s next in line but a bunch of strangers with fickle attention being passive aggressive and demanding I make more stuff when I say multiple times that I don’t intend to, and if I do (big if) it WON’T be what they came here for. They aren’t paying me. It’s not like I have a gajillion other things to be concerned about.

…Okay, that was a tangent.

Those few condescending comments make me just wanna outright cancel what iz stuff was left on the backburner. It was more like an indefinite hiatus until I can stomach finishing them. The files take up space anyway for the projects I’m actually interested in. Even if all of them are purely hypotheticals until I can get my focus together (which isn’t likely to happen anytime soon).

sorry about the TMI rant for a second but!! MAN!! It’s frustrating! If anything I could very well take them down. But, I won’t. Besides, for all I know some tiktok took some and it’s getting an exponentially higher amount of views anyway. I should at least keep mine…

It’s not like i don’t WANT to use it for actual new things, but the sheer pressure keeps me away. I get enough pressure to make animatics offline as it is. And if someone out there is gonna be all like “well who cares what those kids think” believe me, I get it and I promise don’t care. But at the same time it’s egghhhhhh. I delete the comments anyway.… however that doesn’t mean they still won’t bug me.

Considering all of the above it’s a miracle I don’t just take them down.

First Update of the Year I Guess

I tend to appear and disappear without warning, so I figured perhaps I should update people on my progress on things and my plans for them. 

First off- I know I complain about this a lot in comic descriptions- but part of the reason why it's been taking me so long to make any kind of art in general is because of mandatory overtime at work. We have been on mandatory overtime for over 2 years at this point. I have been real low-energy because of that. With that fact out of the way, I'm going to try not to talk about it anymore cause I complain too much about it.

  An upcoming blockade to art progress is a wedding (for a family member) and then I'm going to try to get my wisdom teeth out sometime in February. I'll be taking a leave of absence from work during this time, but considering I'll be recovering from a surgery, I don't know if I can be super productive in Feb. Speaking of comics, let's move on to the plans for the comics.

DEFINITELY NOT DELTARUNE:

Defnodel is back to being my top priority... when I actually have time and energy to work on it. I have some amount of determination to finally finish chapter 3 before the end of this year. Which is also along the lines of what I said last year, but never mind all that. I'm somewhat torn on how to do the updates for it. I liked it better when I could draw and post a page Saturday morning after work. I'll see if I can ease myself back into a weekly update schedule once I feel normal after my surgery again.

  VESSELTALE

The problem with Vesseltale right now is that where it's currently paused is the best place to keep it on pause until I can get back into some form of routine with art again. It sucks cause it's been stuck for so long already, but if I did my sporadic updates with VT as I've been doing with Defnodel it may be more annoying to have large gaps in updates. That said I'm open to feedback. If you think any progress is good progress I can try to work on VT in tandem with Defnodel. Defnodel would still take priority, however.

ANIMATICS

I don't think many people follow me for animatics, but I have a lot of ideas in my head. "The Ram Guy" was a fun one to make and I have ideas for other ways to intertwine Distractible audio with Undertale and Deltarune characters. Why? I listen to Distractible at work and imagining someone from the cast raging about a fridge or telling chaotic childhood stories makes work more fun. (I also listen to GO! and am itching to make something from the cricket primer but I'm stuck on who to cast for the roles.)

It's been so long since I've done a music video animatic, but I have plans to do some excerpts of songs at some point and possibly even a full music video. But that's uh... optimistic for me all things considered. I can't even update a comic consistently, so no one expect big animatics. Except for one that I've been trying to make for the UT anniversary for literally 2 years now. Maybe if I had a proper animation program it wouldn't be so difficult (I use fire alpaca and the default windows movie maker for animatics currently).

IN CONCLUSION

I have too many things I WANT to do and not enough dopamine to motivate me to do it. But I haven't given up on anything yet. As of now, I fully intend to continue the comics, animatics, and art in general.

As always I am eternally grateful for everyone's patience with me. Thank you for listening.

The History Of Wrong Guys

If you wanna know where I got inspiration for this, either listen to the song with the same title or watch a Creek animatic with the same title, as well. I actually did write a Creek one before. Back when Red was just a background character and a Craig punching bag. But now, Red is her own character for me. I actually wish I could draw/ animate bc I want an animatic of this. But writing about it is good too.

Second, I see Tweek and Red as besties... Just cause. For funsies. I did it back when Red and Craig were cousins and I still do it now because I see it as an interesting dynamic.

And last thing, before you go at me, the list of wrong guys at the near end is just crackships I may have shipped at some point and just put there for fun, hehe. So, yeah. Please, don't come at me.

---

"Thanks again for managing to get me a job here, Tweek! Now, we get to hang out twice as much now without me feeling like I disrupt your work!" Red laughed as she waited for Tweek to finish tying her apron from behind.

"Pft..." Tweek jokingly tied her apron really tight on her waist, making her let out a small noise of pain. "Yeah, well... You can thank me for getting you this job by working hard, alright? Not by ogling at boys. Which I know is the real reason you got this job..." He playfully rolled his eyes before giving her a wink. "Also, you never disrupted me at work, girlfriend. In fact, I'm glad to have a girl best friend like you who takes the time to visit me during work."

Red let out a long breath as she untied the tight knot he made, tying it up herself properly. "So much for helping me with this apron..." She pouted then snickered, giving him an eye- roll back. "And please... That is the last thing I'll be doing. I am so done with guys now after what happened with my last boyfriend. I've had too many boyfriends at this point that I could write a whole book about them." She rolled her eyes again, putting her hands on her hips.

Tweek just gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Red, don't you worry. You'll find that right guy who'll sweep you off your feet, I just know it. I mean, just look at me. I'm not exactly the typical uber masculine male nor am I... Okay, you get the point. I don't want you berating me about bringing myself down and all. Ironic, really, since you do it a lot to yourself." He rolled his eyes afterwards.

"Mmm, no, not really..." Red laughs softly at him, making the blonde sigh heavily. "What? You didn't really make a clear point, okay?"

"Fine. My point is that... We all get a chance at finding the right person for us, no matter who we are." Tweek smiled before snickering. "Like take Craig as an example... For being such an asshole, he got a long- time boyfriend. Then again, I'm not that purely nice, either. But you get my point now, right?"

The redhead just rolls her eyes at the mention of the raven's name, making her exit the employee's room before him. "Ugh, please... Asshole is an understatement to what Craig is. Fucking asks me to be his girlfriend and yet he never treated me like I was... Why I stupidly said yes back then, I have no idea..." She sighed as she sat behind the counter, resting her head on the palm of her hands. "And how you get him to treat you so nicely, I don't know either."

Tweek just chuckled at her actions. "Well, that's how true love works. This might sound really corny but we end up acting differently around the person we love."

"So, what you're saying is that Craig never loved me when he asked me out back then?" She playfully pouted at him as he nodded at her. "Okay, ouch. Brutal honesty that I already knew. But still, ouch." She pretended to look hurt, putting a hand on her chest.

"Mmm, yes. No point in sugar coating things for you, Red." Tweek pinches one of her cheeks hard. "You're a big girl now, after all."

"Gah! Hey!" Red groaned, slapping his hand away. "So, are we working or what?! Seems like I'm just even more of a distraction now that I'm working with you!"

He snickered. "Well, yes. Go on and do the honors of opening up, then. Since you're so excited to get to work and stuff..." Tweek stood behind the counter, right next to where she was standing.

"Tch, well... I don't just want to paid for not doing anything, you get me?" She raised a brow at him, turning the sign at the door as she did so. And she was gonna say more to him until she heard a thud from the door, making her jump. "Jesus Christ!"

A tall looking male wearing glasses was the person who bumped into the shop's doors, giving the girl who was looking at him from inside a small wave before going inside himself. "Heh, sorry about that, Red... Still getting used to these glasses of mine..." He said as he adjusted them. "Ironic how I need them to see yet ever since I started wearing them, I bump into stuff more..."

Red blinked rapidly, giving the stranger in front of her a confused look. "I, uh... It's okay, I guess?" She let out nervous laughter. "I'm sorry, but who are you? And how do you know my name?"

"Red, are you serious? I get glasses and suddenly you don't recognize me? Wow, Superman's disguise actually works, then." He snickered, taking off his glasses for her to recognize him. "It's me! Kevin!"

The female went red soon after she realized who it was, giving him a quick onceover. "Kevin?! As in... Kevin Stoley?! No way! When did you get so much more taller?! And hotter too?! I mean-!" She immediately covered her mouth after she said that.

Kevin started blushing with her, nervously rubbing the back of his neck as he puts his glasses back on. "Heh, yeah... That's me. Kevin Stoley, the name my parents gave me. And wow... You really think I'm all that? Thanks, I guess... We've only not seen each other for like a month... I couldn't have changed that much, have I?" He looks back at her with a shy smile.

His smile got her heart racing, opening her mouth as she tried to say something but nothing came out. "I... Uh... Yes?" She managed to squeak out, giving him a few shy giggles as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Well... As long as it's a good change, I guess it's fine..." He replied, chuckling once before everything between them suddenly became awkwardly quiet.

That was until Kevin's friends came into the store after him, Bradley smacking him behind his back as he passed him. "We're gonna be sitting over there if you need us, alright?" He said, pointing to the table where two other people have just sat in. "Though we don't mind if you take a while... What with you being distracted and all that~" He teased which immediately got him a punch on the shoulder from Kevin.

Kevin gave out nervous laughter, dismissing what Bradley said with a frantic waving of his hand. "Ignore what my friend just said there, Red. I'll be back with all my friends' orders, okay?" He gave her the same smile from earlier before running off back to his friends.

Red sighed happily as she watched him walk away, a hand on her chest as her heart started to race again and a small smile formed on her face.

"Well, well, well~ Guess who's ogling a guy at work after she said she wouldn't?" Tweek teased as he stood behind her. "Also, told ya that you would find the guy that would sweep you off your feet, Red~ Just didn't think it would happen right after I said it." He chuckled, patting her shoulder.

Red scoffed out loud as her hair matched her face, brushing his hand away from her shoulder. "Tch! No, I'm not! What are you even talking about? Nuh-uh! No way! I'm just surprised to see him again! That is all and it! End of story!" She huffed, grabbing a broom and started to angrily sweep the floor.

Tweek sighed at this, playfully shaking his head. "Alright, you fucking tsundere. Whatever you say there..." He gave a playful eyeroll before walking back to the counter.

"I am not a tsundere!" Red yelled on the top of her lungs, making Kevin and his friends look her way. "Oops, sorry about that, you guys!" She nervously laughed at them.

Tweek chuckled softly at this, trying not to burst into laughter at her actions. "Pft, sure, you aren't a tsundere... But you definitely are an idiot with how you're holding that broom in your hands..."

"Huh?" She looked at the broom in her hands and went bright red when she saw that she was holding it upside down. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" She mumbled to herself as she cleaned the floor while holding the broom properly this time.

"Okay, girl... Time to focus on doing a good job at this job of yours... No distractions..." She said inside her head, only to immediately get distracted to wave at Kevin. The redhead shook her head and slapped her face repeatedly in hopes of getting her to focus. "Oh, no! No! Girl, don't you dare! I swear to God, I am warning you!"

She groaned at her thoughts, making her look back at Kevin again. "Fuck... No... You are definitely crushing on him, girl! But you can't! You shouldn't! And yet... Here you are falling for him..." Red bites her bottom lip as she looks and stares at Kevin before shaking her head again, a small smile on her face. "I mean... Why not, right? This shouldn't hurt..."

Red continued thinking to herself as she went back to sweeping the floor, her thoughts being on how women have been making bad choices since the beginning. And she wondered if Kevin was going to be another one of hers, making her sigh and get lost in her thoughts.

So lost in her thoughts, she was unable to notice Kevin walking over to her again which makes her bump into him accidentally. "Oh my God! I am so sorry!" She shouted, panicking as she got back into reality and also, continuously apologized to him.

Instead of being weirded by this though, Kevin just chuckled. "Red, Red... It's okay, calm down. I did just randomly sneak up on you and all that..." He reassured her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She let out a small squeak at what he did, making her blush heavily and shyly look away from him.

"Anyway... I was going to tell you my friends' orders and mine but seeing as you seem to be not feeling well, I might just tell them to Twe-" Kevin was about to walk towards the counter but Red was quick to stop him by grabbing him by his arm.

Red immediately cuts him off, grabbing a notepad from her pockets and then the pencil from her ear. "Oh, no! There will be no need for that, Kevin! I'm fine, really! So, please... Tell me what your order will be." She gave him a small smile.

He gave her a smile back along with a nod before telling her what him and his friends have ordered. "You got everything?" He asked as he finished with telling his order, raising a brow when he saw Red just staring at him. "Umm, Red? Everything okay? Is there... something on my face? In my teeth, maybe?" Kevin wiped his face to see if there was anything on his face.

"Hmm?" Red snaps out of her dazed state, shaking her head to get herself feeling normal. "Oh, no! You have nothing in your face, Kevin! You're fine! So fine even!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, blushing madly in realization at what she yelled. "Anyway! Yes! I got everything you told me written down! I'll be the one who personally delivers your order to you once it's ready!" She nervously laughed and gave him a quick wave before walking back towards the counter.

As Kevin watched her walk away, an idea suddenly came to his head. "Hey, wait! Red! Can I ask you for one more thing?"

"Kev!" She suddenly yelled in shock, making her cover her mouth again then turning to face him again. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry about that... Yes? What is it, Kevin?"

"Well, uh..." He suddenly got tongue tied, laughing nervously while rubbing his neck. "I was hoping that maybe... I don't know... Hang out during a break or... You know, after your shift is done with..." He nervously swung one of his legs back and forth. "That is if you want to, obviously..."

"Oh, wow... Really?" She got flustered at his request, a small nod coming from him at her question. "Why, yes! I would love to! Sure thing! You got it!" She gave him a few awkward finger guns while walking backwards.

"Alright! Sounds great!" He gave her a small smile along with a thumbs up before heading back towards his table. "See you later, Red!"

Red gave the Kevin's order to Tweek before looking back at Kevin with a loving stare. "Kev..." She took in a deep breath as she sat behind the counter, thinking about nothing but Kevin.

"You know, I used to think you were quite the nerdy, dorky geek... That was a month ago... Look at you now, though! Who exactly is brand new handsome guy I am looking at?" She giggles at her thoughts. "You're actually kinda cute when you're not so shy, Kev..." She sighed happily before turning to Tweek, who had yet another teasing look in face which made Red frown then start helping him with making Kevin's order.

"Are you literally forgetting what you were just lamenting about earlier today, girl? You've literally just been here before! Have you really come back for more?" She looked over at Kevin while still working on the order. "He might just end up being another chapter in your book about the history of wrong guys..."

"Well, then again... He used to be not that much of a catch, right? Not your type whatsoever... But look at him now! He's changed into something I just can't ignore so easily!" She groaned to herself at her dilemma. "Oh, Kevin! Honestly! If only you knew how much I've been hurt like this before! Is there something more to you than what I've always thought?" She huffed before turning her back to Kevin and started helping Tweek with the order. "Oh, whatever... I'll just see if you can surprise me any more than you already have..."

"Hey, Red?" Kevin suddenly approached the counter again, making Red gasp in shock and quickly fix herself before facing him. "Hope I'm not being too much of a bother for telling you this..."

"Oh, no! Are you kidding me? You could never be a bother! So, what is it that you need? If it's about your order, well..." Red grabbed the order that she and Tweek just finished. "Why, we just finished it, actually. Here you go." She smiled as she gave him a tray of his order.

"Oh, why thank you! I'm impressed you two got this to us so quick! What with it being just the two of you..." Kevin laughs a bit while one of his friends grab the tray and bring it to their table. "But, no... You see, in all this excitement, I had completely forgotten to order for Esther. She wants a tall skinny mocha..." He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "So, yeah... I hope it doesn't bother you and Tweek much if I gave you another order to do..."

"Esther? Who is that? Most likely his girlfriend, right?" Red looked over to Tweek, who just shook his head and had an annoyed look on his face. Then she looked back at Kevin with a smile. "Like I said earlier, you could never be a bother! I will personally do Esther's order myself!" A faint groan from Tweek could be heard. "Esther's mocha... A mocha for Esther... Alright then, no more surprise orders, right?"

He shook his head. "Nope! No more surprises here! And oh, be sure to get it out as soon as you can, if you don't mind? The last thing I want is for Esther to be really mad at me..." Kevin finishes with a hearty laugh.

"Yep, definitely his girlfriend..." She thought to herself, a fake smile hiding the pain she felt. "Oh, don't you worry! I promise you we will get Esther's order ready quickly!" She does the same laugh he did.

Kevin didn't say anything more, just gave her a small nod in response before going back to his table.

Tweek slowly scooched right next to her, leaning close to whisper into her ear. "Yo, Red... I don't mind getting an extra order all of a sudden but... Did you have to reassure Kevin that we could get it out so quickly?" He raised a brow when he noticed that Red wasn't moving. "Uh, Red? Everything okay?" He yelped when the girl suddenly puts her hands on his shoulders.

"He has a girlfriend, Tweek! Waa!" She shook the male around as she freaked out about the revelation. "Why do they have to be so nice when they're..." Red lets him go then looks back to Kevin with a frown. "Unavailable?"

"Kevin? Unavailable? What? Pretty sure he is available because-" Tweek tried to explain to her what Kevin and Esther's relationship but gets cut off by Red.

"Oh, Tweek! Don't get my hopes up like that! I couldn't possibly steal another girl's man! Not again! I am a changed woman, after all! The last thing I wanna be with Kevin is star- crossed lovers! Because well... We all know how that ends..." She made a slicing motion across her neck.

The blond took in deep breaths as he puts a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Red... Listen to me, Esther is-"

"His girlfriend! I know, I know! No need to rub more salt in my wounds!" She whined while Tweek groaned, completely giving up on trying to explain that Esther and Kevin were actually siblings. "But you know what? I'm not gonna let this bother me! In fact, I'm better off without him! We're better off as friends!" She beamed before immediately hugging Tweek and turning into a sobbing mess.

"Shh, shh... It's okay, Red..." He sarcastically cheered her up as he slowly pats her back, hoping she would figure out the truth later seeing as he couldn't be the one to tell her.

Red sniffed as she pulled away, wiping away her tears. Meanwhile, Tweek went back to work in order to get to work on getting Esther's mocha to her. "Damnit, Tweek! I've been hurt like this before! Why does it hurt so much more when it came to Kevin?!" She groaned loudly again before grabbing a photo album from under the counter. "When I said that I have had so many boyfriends that I could make a book about them, I meant it. I really have a book about the guys I have dated who were just the wrong guy..." She sighed as she flipped through the pages of the book where there were old pictures of Red with her exes who were Kenny, Pete, Jimmy, Stan, Craig, Token, Bridon, Kyle, Clyde and Butters. To name a few examples...

"And now, a new addition to the book... Kevin Stoley... Who has a girlfriend named Esther..." Red grumbled underneath her breath, tearing a piece of paper from the book she held in her hands. "Damnit, why am I so damn stupid and easily fall for guys like this?!" She huffed before finding herself angrily eating the paper she tore up.

"Uh, Red?" Kevin suddenly spoke up once he noticed what Red was doing while he picked up Esther's mocha, very confused at what he had just seen and wondering if he had seen something he wasn't supposed to see.

She froze at the sound of his voice, turning to face him then spitting out the paper in her mouth. "Hey, Kevin... How's it hanging?"

"Pretty good, really. Hope you found that paper delicious..." He laughed which makes her blush in embarrassment. "Anyway, I came here because well... My sister would like her receipt, please..."

The word "sister" started echoing in her mind, a smile slowly forming on her face in excitement. The exciting thought in her head caused her to completely space out.

"Umm, Red?" Kevin waved his hand in front of her face, even more confused at what was going on. "Can I get my sister's receipt, please?"

Red simply put a finger up. "Excuse me for one moment, please..." She turned to Tweek with an annoyed expression. "Hey! Did you know that Esther is Kevin's sister?! If you did, why didn't you tell me?!"

Tweek sighed and shook his head. "Look, I tried to tell you earlier about it. But no, you were just too caught up on being heartbroken and stuff..."

"Hmph..." Red huffed, giving Kevin the receipt he wanted. "Here you go, Kevin..."

"Thanks, Red." He smiled at her. "So, uh... Me and my friends are gonna head out now... See you later, I guess?" The male waved before starting to head out.

Red gasped at what she heard, turning to Tweek with a cheesy grin. "Tweek, you know I love you, right?"

He sighed at her words. "Just go on your damn break already, Red... Don't let me stop you..." Tweek chuckled as he shook his head, giving the girl a few pats on her shoulder. "Also, have fun..." He smiled at her.

"Thanks, Tweek! Like I said, I love you!" Red happily beamed, quickly taking off her apron and running off to Kevin. "Hey, Kev!"

"Yeah, Red-?" Kevin yelped when Red suddenly tackled him to the ground with a hug.

Week 16 - Jayme Sugitaya - Finale

Reflection

at the end of every semester, no matter how hard the class was, no matter the hill I must climb I always get sad. It’s something I’ve dealt with every semester since starting college. It’s something that I am experiencing as I type this final blog for 420. I’m probably not the only one who feels this way, although, I might be the only one to express this feeling in written form. 

420 has taught me a lot of things:

Time management - Planning out an entire animation is tough and it’s something that I didn’t understand how strict I should be taking it in 320 until I had to work with a team. The aspect of having others rely on you weighed heavy on my shoulders. Even though I was busy with work I still felt like I could’ve done a better job of managing my time on this project. I did eventually kick myself in the butt by becoming more strict on myself in order to finish animating and kong. 

Plan it out first - In 320 I didn’t really have an animatic for my whole film and I feel like that’s what kept me from finishing the project. I’m really happy that we got to work as a group and it wasn’t all left up to me. As the animatic was being finished I couldn’t help but think I did a disservice for 320 and Now I have regrets of what I wanted to achieve in that class that was only realized now. 

Overall I’m really happy with what we achieved in this class and what the outcome of it was. The film is beautiful and full of life. It was an honor to work with such amazingly talented students. It makes me feel a bit out of place because I don’t feel like I’m on par with anyone I worked with, BUT I did try my hardest and the couple of shots I did get to rough I put my heart and soul into and I hope it shows inthe film. It’s a student film I keep telling myself, yet I wanted to push myself further than I have before interms of animating. . .. and I think it came out great. 

I wouldn’t change much other than maybe quit my job so I had more time to animate. Everything went very smoothly up until 2 nights ago when 4 of us tried to render out a clip which came out to 10gb uncompressed. So maybe chopping certain shots into parts for rendering sake, but other than that I feel like this film came out smoothly. 

TO THE FUTURE OF 420 STUDENTS:

create the full movie in animatic format because without it you have no idea what it’s going to look like until that’s complete. it’s a lot of work, but it makes everything run VERY smoothly after it’s finished. 

Time manage A LOT. Don’t just put off a shot till tomorrow or next week because you have other stuff to do. In your free time JUST DO IT as Shia Le Bouf says. It’s much better to have animated a shot and getting it approved by the director before it’s the last second and the director isn’t pleased with what you have. 

HAVE FUN. In a real studio there are teams that are made for a specific aspect of an animation: lighting, rough animation, storyboard, final animation. All of them specialize in something, but in this class You’ll have to pretty much do a small bit of everything. It’s not going to be easy and you’ll start to realize what you enjoy doing over what you don’t enjoy doing. it’ll help you realized what you might specialize in animation. I very much enjoy creating backgrounds and lining animation more than anything. 

On a final note I loved this class. It made me feel emotions I haven’t felt since regular high school and I would love to do it all again, but I wanted to enjoy my last semester so I will let the other students learn what happens in this class by themselves.

Jayme out *drops mic*

I was answered TWICE in this Q&A

Helps also put in perspective their production, aims, and the influences

Helps as really unpacking along with @pirateshenani and @cartoonemotion the influence and differences and aims with the adaptation

Thanks to all the Toonzone Forum Members for submitting questions to the Fangbone! Fan Q&A! Your questions were awesome and so were the creators’ answers! We hope you enjoy reading through the answers as much as we did. Participating in the Answers portion of the Fangbone! Q&A were the creator and book series writer, Michael Rex and the tv showrunners Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott. (Editor’s Note: Questions asked were edited for brevity and clarity.) Will Fangbone! be renewed for Season 2? (superkeegan9100 and SparkleMan) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: By Grom’s bottomless dimples, it shall be so! (we hope) Michael Rex: Fingers crossed! --- Will Fangbone! air on any additional countries, networks and in other languages? (Ryan, RandomMe, NeoplanDan, I.R. Shokew) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Absolutely. Fangbone! will appear across the world in a multitude of tongues in a multitude of places – that are too numerous for us to list (or remember). Perhaps one of our many traveling salespeople who criss-cross the world with a suitcase full of Fangbone! might chime in here… In all seriousness, Fangbone! Distributor DHX Media, has currently sold the series into Disney XD US, South East Asia, Taiwan, and Latin America. Hope to announce additional countries in the near future. Stay posted. Will the books be translated into other languages? In what other languages/regions can we expect to see the books published? (RandomMe) Michael Rex:Right now, there are no plans for translating the books. I’m hoping as the show starts playing in different countries, the publisher, Putnam, will solicit the books to foreign markets. --- If you could be one of the characters on the show, who would you be? (D-nice is the man) Simon Racioppa: Drool’s giant badger monster. He’s clearly just misunderstood and trying his best every day for an unappreciative master… Richard Elliott: I would definitely be a Shadowstepper – skulking in the shadows and outwitting barbarians sounds like a good time to me. Michael Rex:I’ve always thought of myself as Bill. At the end of 3rd grade, my school closed down, and I was sent to a new school. Literally all of my closest friends went to another school. So, when 4th grade started, I was very lonely and desperate for a best friend. Eventually, a boy named Mark moved into my hometown in New Jersey, and we became great friends. He was fun, and a bit wild, and had long black hair. We’re still friends today. Will Fangbone! have Christmas and Halloween episodes? (Ryan) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Skullbanians don’t celebrate Christmas or Halloween. But they do have many other holidays – like Troll-smasher’s Eve and The Feast of Stoneback’s Feast. Endless possibilities for fun and adventure as you look at, compare and try to understand how Skullbanian’s celebrate versus how we do things here on Earth. What would Fangbone! think of Halloween? What would a Holiday Tree look like in Skullbania? Stay tuned. --- Does Fangbone! have parents? (Eggy) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: He has the mightiest of parents! But they are away in far off lands on an epic quest. However, those of you with the eyes of a blood-eagle may catch a glimpse of them in an upcoming episode. If you do not have the eyes of a blood-eagle, they nest on sharp mountain peaks. But be careful – they peck! Michael Rex:Yes. They’re on a great quest somewhere in Skullbania. Also, how did Venomous Drool become Fangbone! and Bill's worst enemy? (Eggy) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: If someone was keeping your detached big toe from you and wouldn’t give it back, you probably wouldn’t be pals with them either… Michael Rex:They’ve got his toe, and he needs it back. And, they keep beating him, and they’re only kids. It drives him nuts. --- How do you take an episode from concept to it airing? (martikhoras) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Let us explain… No, there is too much. Let us sum up. First, five or six NERDS gather in a small room and try to imagine what insanity could happen to Fangbone! this week. They argue and fight and cry and hiss at each other until the showrunners (that’s us!) are satisfied they’ve worked their butts off to come up with the best of all possible stories in the universe and beyond. They’re sent away to dank dark holes to write their scripts, which are then torn apart by the rest of the nerds and reassembled until they’re so full of adventure and comedy that they leak all over the floor. Then trumpets are sounded and ACTORS assembled in a recording studio – where they ACT with such passion it drives everyone to tears (of joy). At the same time, ARTISTS design all the new locations, characters, and props that the writers say they desperately need (liars!) to make their script work. Then trumpets are sounded again and the finished script, designs, and recorded actors are handed over to a story-bored artist… Sorry, story BOARD artist – who listens to the writers explain how amazing their script is, then drinks enormous amounts of coffee and draws PANELS from the script one by one, matching the recorded actors and making that ‘amazing’ ‘script’ and ‘amazing’ ‘acting’ even better. Those panels go to the DIRECTOR, who along with an EDITOR, assemble it into an animated and voiced storyboard that we call a LEICA on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and an ANIMATIC on Tuesdays, Fridays, and the weekend. When the animatic/leica makes everyone giddy with excitement, it moves onto ANIMATION, where thousands (twenty-five) animators fight each other to animate the most exiting scenes – matching the animatic as closely as possible. The episode gets a few more passes to make it even better (fix all the mistakes) and then moves on to the real stars of the show – sound effects and music – who make everything approximately one million and a half times better. Then it’s a final pass for last minute mistakes and TA-DA! One finished Fangbone! episode ready for people to share for free on the Internet (please don’t share it for free on the Internet). What are your favorite parts of the show’s creative process? (Harley) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: Seeing a goofy idea that started in the writers’ room as a “what if…” become a real finished episode. Also, the creative process of deciding what to order for lunch. Then the creative process of regretting what we ordered for lunch. --- As a fan of the tv show, how familiar will jumping into the book series feel? (jfoley85) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott: As familiar as traveling to an alternate reality where everything’s kinda the same but your parents are snakes. So mostly familiar with some specific differences. Michael Rex:They’re actually pretty close. One of the things that I am most happy with about the show is that it IS the books. While the stories in the books are a bit more involved than an 11-minute episode, the entirety of season 1 goes much deeper than the books. On the down side, the books don’t have a cool song at the beginning. Every adaptation is a challenge from visuals, to performers depictions, and direction and framing. I'm noticing some changes from the two GNs (1st and 3rd) I've read to the episodes I've seen (pretty much up to Back of Stone). What would you say has been added, changed, or dropped and what is the purpose of these changes? (martikhoras) Simon Racioppa and Richard Elliott:While the books are wonderful gateways into imagination, there’s only three of them. The television series is a hungry monster that requires more. Always more... MORE characters. MORE stories. MORE episodes. MORE human sacrifices to GROM! Michael Rex:Everything that has been added was done to open up the show, and allow for more varied stories. Skullbania doesn’t get much time in the books, but the creative team felt that it needed to be a big part of the show. Twinklestick was created as a way for Fangbone! to stay a bit more connected to his home world. Drool was greatly expanded on as well. He only lurks in the background in the books. Even though his actions are constantly felt, he doesn’t really get to do much. --- What did you read and watch as a kid? What were the inspirations for Fangbone! and Skullbania?(martikhoras) Michael Rex:Growing up the early 70’s, “Planet of the Apes” was everywhere. 5 movies, a TV show, and an action figure line made it easy to get wrapped up in. “Star Wars” came out in 1977 and it affected me deeply. Like many others in my generation, it felt like my 9 year-old imagination had been transported directly to the screen. I started reading about movie making, and I tried to understand the mythology Lucas was using in his films. (As a 10 year old, Joseph Campbell was a tough slog, but I tried.) Fangbone! is directly inspired by the 1982 film, “Conan The Barbarian,” which I saw in 8th grade. It was funny, gritty, violent, and exciting and I just loved it. Conan had always been around when I was younger, I’d see his comics and cheap paperbacks in drugstores, but I didn’t know much about him until the film came out. When I was older, I eventually got around to reading the Conan books by Robert E. Howard. As I was gearing up to write the first Fangbone! book, I devoured a huge pile of Marvel’s “Savage Sword of Conan.” Oddly, now that I think about it, Skullbania’s vast deserts and rocky vistas are probably inspired by “Planet of the Apes.” It’s hard to escape those early influences.