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artistunknown
I've been interested in animation for longer than I can remember. I'm mostly self taught, and seem to be improving with everything I release. I hope to one day further my skills. I love making cartoons.

Age 29, Male

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Florida

Joined on 12/13/08

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Things Changed

Posted by artistunknown - November 11th, 2018


I wanted to make this post on Halloween, but I'm an idiot so whoops!!!

First off, before I get into the meat of this post, for Halloween I released a short film I started making in 2016, The Chicken Choker.  It's only on youtube because it's live action, although I know that is allowed on Newgrounds, and maybe I should've uploaded it here since one of the characters is a puppet and there's even some animation, but I just felt like there were too many issues with it, the camera quality and acting aren't very good, but I still think it's pretty funny and I'm glad it's finally done and out.

I did upload the soundtrack on Newgrounds though, as well as the credits song.

 

And now some quick followups to the last news post.

-I got my GED!!!

Pretty quickly in fact.  Also it turns out I'm not as much of an idiot as I thought, because I scored high enough on some of the tests to get college credit, so that's cool.

-album

I did finally end up putting out my FAWM Album, originally called Fap All Wankin' Month, renamed to Rehash, because it was more thematically fitting.

You can listen to it on Newgrounds, youtube, or bandcamp.  The bandcamp version has commentary on each track, as well as instrumental and demo versions of each track when you download.  The youtube version is also nice because there's no pauses between songs so it flows how I intended, though I guess you could also get the same effect if you download the newgrounds versions and play them in media player or something, though maybe the newgrounds playlist also works like that (nope just checked there's a slight delay between songs, dammit Tom!!!)

 

All right, onto the bulk of this post.

 

My plans for the rest of the year have once again changed because... wait for it... I got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, turns out I AM capable of working, who'd have thought.  I applied to a ton of jobs, and I even got an interview at Chipotle, but none of those went anywhere, until one day I decided to check one of the "matched jobs" that Indeed kept sending, and it seemed like something I could do so I applied, and then the next day they said they wanted me to apply in person, so I did, and then like a day later they called me back saying I had a shift available.  What the heck how did that go so smoothly!!!!

So the job title is "event staff" but basically it's just janitorial work before, during, and after events in the Orlando area, so it's pretty interesting, I'm constantly working a new job essentially.  I've worked at 5 (I think?) venues so far, though it's mostly been at 2, but each time is different.

I've been working since October 13th.  It's only 2 to 4 days a week, and the shifts are only 4 to 8 hours, but every shift has been pleasent and it's been (mostly) keeping me distracted from my bad thoughts and I've been making money so it's good.  I actually feel fufilled for once.  I feel like I have a purpose again.  Getting to and from work has been a pain in the ass though, if my roommate can't take me then I have to waste serveral hours on a bus, or waste a lot of money on an Uber to get there faster.

I also got a bank account, because oh yeah now that I have money I kinda need one of those, huh?

The whole process of setting it up was a huge pain in the ass, I really should've set it up BEFORE I got employed, but you know me, if I don't think I need something at that moment in time, then I don't need it.  Except I did because boy it would've made things a lot less stressful.  So it turns out that I actually had FIVE paychecks waiting fo rme when I finally went to pick them up, totaling like $320,  from the 6 shifts I had done up to that point.  I still couldn't cash them though because although I did have the bank account, I didn't know the account number so I couldn't actually use it.  The bank was supposed to send it in the mail.  They never did.  They did send the debit card though, which I couldn't activate because I needed the account number to do that!!!  After way too long, my roommate finally just took me to the bank (10 minute drive vs 1 hour walk) and I got everything sorted out, however I still can't do the online banking because every time I try to set it up something just fails so now I gotta call them.

Anyways, that's enough ranting about the bank.  I've still got plenty of things to do.  Next thing up is getting my driver's license and saving up for a car, because that would save so much time and money getting to work, and then I'll be pretty much fully independent, which will be great.

I was fearing this for a while, that I wouldn't be cut out for the real world, that I wouldn't be able to hold a job, but that fear is slowly going away.  I work hard and try to not fuck things up, and my employer has even said they really appreciate me, which feels weird but it makes me feel good.  At any moment that fear could still be realized though.  I could do something to fuck it all up, or maybe I'll crash and burn, but for now, things are good and they're going well and I feel good.

I am a little worried at the moment though, because I was supposed to work a 9 hour shift yesterday, but I decided it was best not to, since my wrist was hurting really bad after my last two shifts, and if I did work that other shift, I know for a fact the pain would've only gotten worse and then there wouldn't be enough time to recover before the next shift.  And I really didn't want to risk the pain getting worse, because what if it lead to something really bad to where I can no longer use my righ thand?  Then I wouldn't be able to draw and fuck knows that wouldn't be good. 

I guess I shouldn't worry too much about not working that shift, since I told them before hand that I couldn't do it and they seemed cool with it, and since all of the shifts are optional anyways, it probably doesn't matter, but I can't help but feel I've let them down.  They did change my schedule to give me that shift specifically, and I couldn't do it.  I shouldn't think like that though, nothing good will come of it.

Also, the thing I hate most about working is now I have less time to work on creative projects, and I'm too tired to work during the time I can, but now I have the drive to work on creative stuff again, but I can't.  Hopefully this will be a wake up call though, if I ever do get all the time in the world again, I won't take it for granted.  God I miss just being able to make things, and it really fucking sucks because I wasted a lot of time this year just wallowing in depression.  Nothing I can do about that though other than just make sure I'm using my time better in the future and not succumbing to the depression.

 

And now for my new plans for the rest of the year!!!!

Since there was no way I was gonna be able to do the rest of AU Reviews this year, I had decided to just do 2 more for now and save the rest for next year, but now I'm not doing anymore this year, instead I'm doing 2 more cartoons, plus another one that's a bit more special, and is going to take a bit of time so it probably won't actually be out this year.

One of those cartoons is a video game parody (oh no) and the other is kinda like my Retsupurae animation, only not Retsupurae and a lot shorter, but it's the same sorta idea, making a cartoon out of dialog from a youtube video.

And the special cartoon is a music video, I believe I referred to this in my last news post as a "super secret music video" which it still is, though I'll spill the beans a little bit.  It stars some characters from a series I've been developing called "Pollywogs", which started off as a comic here on Newgrounds, but I always wanted to do it as an animated series, and I lost interest in doing it as a comic, so now it will be a series again, but it won't happen for a long time.

The music video isn't necessarily part of the series though, but it does detail some events that happen in it at least, and it stars these guys:

2672668_154197222021_theclass-animalkin.png

Old-ass designs from 2016

Joey and Lophat have the biggest roles though, and I started refining their designs a while ago, and I was even posting some art on twitter.  I'll just include it here for convenience though.

2672668_154197248993_joeyredesign.pngJoey Design comparison - 2016 vs 2018


2672668_154197254371_lophatredesign.png

Lophat design comparison - 2016 vs 2018

 

And here's some shitty drawings I did while trying to refine their designs:

2672668_154197263623_joeyandlophatsketches.png

 

I'll get around to designing the other two at some point.  Not right now though because my wrist still kinda hurts.  I probably shouldn't be typing this much.

 

And finally, I still plan to get an EP out by the end of the year.  All the instrumentals are done and I've got temp vocals, and 2 of the tracks are already 100% done, but idk if I'll have time to record the final vocals for the rest of the songs.  Hopefully though.

Also there might just be something to celebrate the 8th anniversary of FMTS after all.  It's not going to be anything too special, but it will be something at least.

 

And that's something.


4

Comments

See? Told ya you could do stuff. Anyway, welcome to the next level. What a post, though. Sure was awesome reading it all. Its good to see that you've managed to bounce reality a fastball grenade.

Yeah, I gotta stop doubting myself, lol. It's so hard though, but I'm getting there. Gotta get shit done so I can get the shit done that I want to get done!!!

Well at least you posted this 13 hours ago! So that's like the 31st, but in reverse, right now... optimal coincidential response time!!!

Entertaining stuff with that film. XD I guess you're the main character there? Smooth work lipsyncing the puppet too. Recording quality's not optimal but as far as the production goes: solid. Also I think you looked at the camera a couple of times!

Congrats on the GED! And the job!! And on having such a helpful roommate!!! It's crazy having a car would actually be cheaper than taking the bus over there though. They really aren't encouraging collective transport. Or banking. XD Seems like everything's working out though, one thing after the other! Really cool to read.

Free time, yeah... you do start to appreciate it more when you have less of it. No use fretting on what could've been though, just gotta make the most of what's to come. :) I spent a few years studying at a distance, which was super-leisurely compared to actually working a job, and having to get to/from that job and all that shizzle... maaaan all the time I could've spent on better things when I was doing that, put way too much of it in similar energy-sapping thoughts and time-waste when I just didn't have the mental energy to do anything worthwhile. But tis a part of the past now! Feels like just getting away from home; getting back again keeps you going. All you really need is to get out of your comfort zone to really get back into it when you get back. Or something like that...

And now I'm getting to responding 7 hours later, which rounds 13 to 20, fun.

Yeah, I'm the main character, and the puppet technically, sometimes, I was puppeteering at least, and I did the temp voice, but the final voice was very clearly not me ;3

With The Chicken Choker, I wanted to see if I could make a live action short film entirely by myself, or at least mostly by myself, which ended up being the case. I had very limited equipment to work with, I knew the video quality wouldn't be too great but it was good enough and since it was a "horror" film I felt the lo-fi quality was kinda fitting. At the very least I knew I needed to get a tripod though, otherwise it would just be impossible for me to get certain shots. A greenscreen would've helped too, but I managed to pull it off, though I did make my own red screen for some shots with the puppet by taping red shirts to the wall lol.

The lipsync was a pain, since it all had to be on 1's AND 30fps. It didn't take too long though, compared to animating a cartoon. It was kinda fun, but it was also the reason the film was delayed another year, not that it took a year to lipsync it, just, I only had a few days left to finish it for halloween last year, and I needed more than a few days to lipsync lol. And yeah, I definitely looked at the camera a few times. I'm pretty bad at that lmao

Well, having a car isn't necessarily cheaper than taking the bus, but it would save a LOT of time, and having more time is more important to me than having more money ;3

Yeah, I really do appreciate the freetime that I do have now, and really, this has given me the drive to work harder, both in real work, and on creative stuff, so that I can impress and maybe one day make enough money so I can finally have more time to work on my passion projects, and maybe all the time again. That's the goal at least. And that bit about getting out of your comfort zone is so true. I wish I had done this sooner, though, mainly because I wasn't doing much with my time to begin with, at least this year. Though I have grown a lot this year, just in the past couple months alone, so I don't actually think me from earlier this year could actually pull this off. That might just be my self-doubt kicking in though. No way to tell!!!

Congrats on the liferino

20 hmm... 20... oh 20/20! Perfect vision! That's not so bad either.

Yupp. :) Also cool to put a face to the name. For some reason the picture wasn't a surprise at all, I mean: you look like you seem to be. Maybe I've seen some video material before hmmm...

Ah yeah, lo-fi does work with the genre. oh man how many red shirts do you have? XD Interesting details... regarding FPS, what do you usually go with for regular animation? 24? Or does it just have to be so much smoother in film when the character's not still/static through a certain amount of frames? Hey practice and perfection you know. :D I've always heard that looking at the camera's a big no-go, but still I don't think I've really believed it... until now! You notice it more than I thought. When the viewer's not supposed to be perceptible in the story. So strange that with videos that speak TO a viewer it's totally OK but as soon as the context is different it seems out of place...

That is true! Plus you can earn more money with the time you save so maybe it does end up cheaper after all...

How's it been in the past though? Just a recent low between school/whatever's after? That self-doubt's crucial for these creative crafts at least. ;) Seems every artist has them... hmm... Kanye came to mind. Maybe not. Most artists though. Humility fuels ability?

Yeah, I've done a few live action videos in the past, so it's very possible lol.

I've got like 1 or 2 red shirts, which clearly isn't enough lmao, so I borrowed some from my mom. I normally animate at 24 fps but the camera shot at 30 fps, and since it was constantly moving the animation had to also be constantly moving. It was certainly an interesting experience.

Yeah, looking in the camera is weird. You can't even frame a shot completely front on otherwise it'll look like you're looking at the camera instead of at a character off screen, behind the camera.

Mmm it's a bit complicated. The self-doubt is just a small part of whatever mental issues plague me. I seem to have an inferiority complex, 'cause my self-worth is really low, which might also stem from the depression. I'm getting better though. Working and feeling like I have a purpose again definitely helps, but some days I fall back into that slum again. It's a lot better than it was earlier this year though, that's for sure.

Also 7's a lucky number.

7 is always the number I go with when I have to guess a number. Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's close lol

Good to know. XD Also about the shirts. Think I have one or two too. And FPS. Theory held well. And the camera thing. They do always seem to film slightly from the side, or film characters looking to the side when it's straight from the front... it's almost like an illusion... and the 7's.

Well good to hear it's getting better. In the realm of artistry, humility and
sociability at least you're definitely superior to a great many people out there!