Numero Sesenta: New Year, New Challenges.

What's good, true believers? (I'm feeling my inner Stan Lee at the moment. Heh)

Happy 2010! To begin, this year promises to be one of the best ever. OK, scratch that... truthfully I haven't a clue what the year holds, and frankly I'm glad. All the better to make matters as I see fit, I say (or get blindsided by inevitable outcomes). Either way, I'm ready to do all sorts of lovely damage all over the interwebs and all over your face. I promise it won't hurt... much.

Although school is about to set off once again and I'll be casting myself into the flames of academic mania, I'm applying some rigid maintenance techniques now. This will hopefully allow me to remain insanely devoted to my studies as usual, while simultaneously poking holes in my schedule for the creation of light & magic (but not quite the industrial kind). Over the holiday break I've taken time in between consuming one or two too many cocktails to lay pen/pencil/stylus to paper/tablet and get projects moving forward.

For one, I have been able to take some steps forward in the long-halted, long-stifled production of Gun, which has been better than sex with a circus clown (not that I would know). I am also devoting time to practicing some more rudimentary stuff, namely anatomy and body dynamics. I noticed over the past year that I have an annoying tendency to produce very static illustrations and I'd like to remedy that, especially in the context of Gun, which is after all an action-oriented series.

With that in mind, I've taken some of the stuff I've been reading about dynamic poses in illustration and begun utilizing it to make more robust pieces, the first of which is naturally dedicated to Gun character, Kai. A linework version of the first Gun piece this year is below. It's still a work in progress, so I've signed it as such (FYI - I plan to share works-in-progress more often now, if for no other reason than to have a larger body of work available to the public).

Unfortunately I can't remember at the moment which artist's action posing materials I referenced for this piece, but when I find out, I'll add a note of thanks here. He or she (and many others around the net) have great things out there for fellow visual artists and animators to learn from, so if you're an artist of some sort too, have a look around. There's lots to build your style and technique upon, if you just comb around for it.

Be seeing you soon, hopefully with a substantial, massive, mouth-watering, panty-wetting Gun update.

Arrivederci.

- Fred

click the thumbnail below to see the full-size version.

First Hurdle Jumped. On To The Next One.

What's good people? (i.e., whoever the hell is actually reading this)

Just a quick update with zero substance. Today marked the official end of the first semester for me, having handed in all my final projects, attended all classes, and sufficiently ground my brains down to some material slightly resembling oatmeal. Apart from administrative shit, I'm actually at liberty to (finally) recollect my sanity, and more importantly spend the next few weeks devoting some real time to Gun. Another relatively useless screenshot is below, for shits and giggles.

So my plan is to attack attack attack (x3) this shit with a fervor and obsessive mania rivaling that of my approach to my grad school classes. I'm basically going to try and drive myself insane with creativity, doing shot after shot (not alcohol... well, maybe. lol), and scene after scene, hoping with a sense of unappealing desperation that I can not only make major progress with this last giant scene, but that I can actually finish the episode in its entirety. Aiming high? You bet.

Yeah, I know... I've stated similar hopes in the past several months, maybe even years. However, I'm hoping that my now habitual diligence will rub off on my artistry, and turn me into a productive monster. If that means I need to hurl myself crash-test-dummy style into my works, then so be it.

What I'm really hoping is that in so doing, I can effectively undo the massive left-brain damage of the past several months of academia by giving my right brain the masturbation it so desperately craves, and rightfully deserves.

Prepare for an artgasm. Wear a raincoat.

- Fred.

click thumbnail to view larger version... bitches.

Recovery Room.

Well hello there.

I write to you now with an air of placidity and a bit of nostalgia. You'll have to pardon my random utterances at the moment. I'm now recovering from a massive dose of battered haddock and chips, prepared in true British style, by actual British people (unfortunately, at American prices!). Deliciously painful. Once I'm done digesting this food sometime next Wednesday, I can probably walk a straight line and sit upright again. But I digress...

As you might recall I mentioned awhile back bringing to everyone a "blast from the past" in my typically vague manner. Well, I'll be vague no more. I recovered the lost original cut of the unfinished Gun Episode 1 from 2003, and I've finally patched it into a working file for your entertainment.

I warn you now -- this movie is beyond bad. If you thought that the official Episode 1 was bad, you'll probably think it's a fucking Scorcese picture after you've seen what it could have ended up looking like. The differences between the old 2003 version and the official 2006 version are indeed staggering. And the differences between then and the current state of Gun Episode 2? Psh. No comparison. I really cannot wait to share episode 2 with the world. It will be epic (for maybe like a week, because let's be honest, ain't nobody that interested in it, 'cept for my friends & associates). Heh.

So, I figure the best way to kill the waiting time of now 3+ years until episode 2 is released is to check out the old-school 2003 version of Gun Episode 1. It is complete right up to the point where my old computer pulled out a Beretta and blew its own silicon brains all over the wall. The mess was ridiculous. I was scrubbing the paint with easy-off for like an hour and a half. Computer suicide is serious business. For real.

Click the image below to check out the original shitshow. Grab a popcorn and prepare for the horror! You've been warned -- after watching this, you might end up dead on the floor, with your face all twisted up like that girl from "The Ring." It's that bad.

Enjoy!

- Fred

Mile Markers

Greetings from the Front lines,

It's been an interesting week. Or maybe an uninteresting week, depending on how you look at it. I've been slowly disseminating the news that my life is going to change drastically in the next few months. Different people are taking it in different ways. I won't bother spreading the news here, because this is all about my work, not about my daily goings-on. At any rate, I've decided to step back and take some perspective. I've been finding it exceedingly difficult to achieve the things I want to achieve lately. I'm not sure where the root of this problem lies, but I know that if I stop running at 150mph and slow down for awhile, I'm more likely to spot it and find a solution.

In keeping with such a motive, I've sequestered myself again, in a manner of speaking. Limiting my contact with the outside world to necessities only, slavishly hewing away at this monstrously ambitious project of mine, trying to make my dreams come alive.

All I can do in the meantime is continue to report on my baby steps until they lead me tiptoeing across the finish line, and occasionally publish little tidbits worth staring at. More on that later.

Oh and the reason I call this post "Mile Markers"....

Today marks three years since the official release of Gun to the public. Here's to milking the successes of one episode for far too long.

... and here's to getting through what lies ahead. Drink up.

VIEW GUN EPISODE 1 ON NEWGROUNDS HERE (part 1)

- Fred

I won't explain anything here. It's incomplete, but it's just more of what you're not getting yet. Just look and enjoy.
NOTE: shot features art by Ramon Rodriguez. Click here to visit his website.

(click to view at full size)

SPECIAL REPORT - Uro City Explodes

Hello everyone,

I am posting this entry in response to events that occurred yesterday in the nearby American city of Uro. The Herald has been covering this from minute one. Their cover story from this mornings issue is here...



This is the latest that I'm hearing from the radio stations...
"... there were no less than 8 found dead at the scene. Bullet casings and blood are everywhere. The only fingerprints found belonged to the victims. Minutes later, a massive explosion rocked the Logan Bridge, causing mass terror and killing two people, who remain as yet unidentified. Apparently their bodies were charred beyond all recognition, but they were armed."

People aren't whispering. People are screaming. People are scared.

The atmosphere is growing darker. Politicians are being assassinated, a mass killing occurs within a week, bombs go off during morning traffic over the isle. What the fuck is going on in the city of Uro? Is this a sign of what's to come?

The Herald has been closely watching these events, but information is being tightly guarded by the authorities of Uro. I managed to snag a copy of the cover, which ran this morning to a hungry populace. Reports indicate that the Friday issue sold out within an hour. The image above is all I was able to procure before I encountered a cyber-block, preventing me from downloading content on these events... I might possibly be under watch in Uro's civil judiciary system for posting this, but there it is for all those who haven't heard about this yet. It's worth the risk to let the world know of the chaos that is erupting right here on American soil.

This is the first visible sign of the terrible downward spiral that Uro has been locked in for a long time now. The shock of these events has stirred the citizens to unprecedented levels of paranoia, with voices echoing a million different theories about the direction of the city. Some say this is an isolated incident. Others say the worst is yet to come. One thing is for certain...

The city is on fire... there's no turning back now.

- Fred

Lines in the Sand.

So...

It feels like it's been awhile since I've put dribbles of the digital sort to this paper. I might as well just give you more bad news, since you're used to hearing about it from me anyway. Yes, Gun is kind of on a hiatus right now. I'm in the process of moving, and my technical limitations will be many and arduous. Not to mention, I'm starting a new job and I simply don't know yet when I'd find the time to work on it, even if I did have the tools at my disposal. As it stands right now, I'm unable to move forward with the episode for the time being, due to boundaries of equipment and productivity.

The second episode is in no way, shape, or form scrapped. Gun WILL be completed. It's not over. Not by a longshot. It's just going to take a few extra steps before I can get there.

What this means is simply this - until I can get back to Gun work, I'm going to be pouring my artistic energies into areas that I've largely ignored in recent times, just in order to stay sharp and focused and give my mind that casual bit of respite it seeks from time to time. What this means is that in the coming weeks, there will actually be consistently new content on the damn website for once! As soon as I find the avenues through which I can air new things, it will be on the world's stage that we call the internet.

I'm wishing I could just cap off my pride and joy and finish this episode now, but I'm looking forward to the active reprieve. It should result in many fun and interesting things. Fingers crossed.

See you there.

Stress Rap.

Week Four (so to speak), was a major week. The week of change and transition. The week of massive stress. The week where I realize how much shit I have ahead of me, and how little time I have left to get it all sorted.

That's the week that just passed.

Last night, I sat down on my couch, started watching some "First 48" (I love that show), and I passed the fuck out within the first 15 LOL. I don't think I've ever been more tired and stressed. Things with this job have taken massive, massive turns and I'll be explaining more about it in a short while. When the time is right.

This is just a small update to say that Real Life has made me its bitch this week. I want to work on Gun so badly, this moratorium is killing me. Especially facing the challenges that are ahead, this is going to be a total uphill battle on the creative front. I'd like to be cranking out new art, making headway on the final scene of Gun, and updating the website, but it's so hard to get the downtime to do these things, and it seems like whenever I do get a little bit of time for it, I'm so damn drained that I literally fall asleep at the computer. I wish there was more I could do to make this shit work better in tandem with the "life stuff." All I can do is wade in the water for now and see where the hell I end up.

At least today is Saturday.

Whirlwinds.

Hi, hey, ho,

What's good.

I'm updating people on the status of shit in "Heretik Land", AKA my life. So basically here's the scenario... I haven't had chances to work on Gun consistently, and that does suck. But it's with very good reason. I'm gonna explain to you now what's been happening and what's about to happen (sort of).

In early April I started a new job with Yale. I'm a survey administrator, based in New York City. This means that I've been going around to countless elementary schools in Brooklyn and Queens and administering surveys to students and teachers. It's a pretty cool gig. I get to hit up so many different parts of New York that I've never explored before and I'm never in the same place twice, which I like. I enjoy working with students and teachers are usually cool and have interesting things to say, and they and their principals have valuable insights into American education.

However, this job entails that I generally wake up every data collection day sometime between 4:30AM and 5:30AM. Then I have to take very long, very irksome, very early subway journeys to various neighborhoods in the outer boroughs of New York. Then I have to go to sleep around 10PM. This is not normal for me at all. Usually, I work on Gun during the wee hours, since this is my only real quiet time. But now that quiet time is dedicated to sleep. And what little other time there is, I devote to my social life, because I am NOT giving that up.

So that's the current sitch. This gig lasts until the end of this month. THEN, the people at Yale have offered me another research position, to begin in June. This one might actually require that I move. It's a summer position, from June through August. I still don't know if I'll take it, but it's very tempting, and I am leaning towards saying yes to it. The work is really interesting, and is largely related to what I'm working on now. Additionally, this could turn into an even further development beginning in September, depending on the work I do and the choices I make in the next two weeks. Suffice it to say, my brain is like a cauldron right now. Not to mention there's lots of personal shit at stake that I won't even get into right now.

So you see where I've been and why it's been difficult to really move forward on this final scene of my pride and joy of a cartoon. I'm devoting as much of that downtime as I can to finishing it.

These weeks have been a fucking storm of epic proportions, and I'm taking it one day at a time. Thanks for bearing with me. I'm the suckiest animator ever for making people wait so long to see my shit. I apologize again and again.

I'm trying my best. Just stay with me.

- Fred

The Sunday Stripe

So...

I know I said I would try to finish Gun episode 2 by May 4th. I also said that it would be extremely difficult, or damn near impossible. I wasn't kidding. Not only is the work onerous, but it's been significantly held up because I started a new research job, and I'm sorry but those responsibilities are paramount, boys and girls. I'm trying as hard as I can to find the time in between the work and waking up at 5AM to take long journeys to different areas to do my job. I'm really used to working long, late hours when it comes to Gun, and lately it's been rare that I'm awake past midnight. So the Sunday deadline isn't happening. Sorry kids.

Yes, I am working at it though. Just not as quickly as I'd like to be able to. Sigh. Such are the tribulations of a lone animator and his humongous animated feature.

If I could send you all something really cool as a thank you for waiting so long and putting up with my constant delays and push-backs, Lord knows I would. But I can't. So you'll have to settle for my sincere thanks and apologies.

Also, no one got that damn image correct from ten days ago, so I'm ending that. All I got was "it's Casey Jones." and I realized that it does really look like his mask as well. Fact is, that isn't a terribly original design, but my decision to use it wasn't at all inspired by Casey Jones of TMNT fame. No, it was a semi-obscure but well-reviewed animated feature from around the early 1990s that did it. I am speaking of "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm", and the title character in particular, who was really cool and badass. I loved that movie as a kid, and still do, so that was my nod of homage. In case you don't know what the Phantasm looked like, here ya go:

So that's that. Like I said, similar yes, but there's some obvious differences. I won't go into detailing them because well, that's pointless. You'll see it when you see episode 2. SOMEDAY!

Til' then, take care and don't crucify me for my turtle's pace. I am but a mere man with but one computer and one program. If I had a team of animators, this shit would be off the chain!

Oh well. I can dream. Bye folks, I got some Gun work to do.

Sexytime.

Hey lovely little people...

wow that was really gay. Sorry about that.

Anyway, this is a quick update. I just threw up some lucky charms on heretik studios.. if you visit the site now, you should notice a shiny little badge in your address bar, declaring the glory and splendor of Heretik Studios that is filling your browser like a slutty girl's mouth on prom night. And that ain't a milk shake she was drinkin either. Sticky icky icky. ooh-wee. Too bad her last name was Spitzer... ooooohhh.

Disgustingly vague sexual references aside, I also hopped on here more importantly, to show you fine folks a little something i've been working on lately. I mentioned awhile back that I was toying with a new illustration for Gun. I won't go into details of how this came about, but suffice it to say Artboy is a douchebag and I have a really big fucking mouth. It will be fully developed into something totally new later on, and its very much in the creation stages, but here's a little preview of it!! cha-cha-cha.



By the way, that's not a screenshot from episode 2, but there actually is a similar-ish shot in the episode. i wont bother posting that because... well frankly I don't feel like it.

What can I say, I'm a little shit! haha. My birthday is tomorrow and I'm feeling some pressures outside of this creative artwork world of mine. But the Times isnt for personal ranting normally so... Ignore that last part.

OK back to Gun!!!

The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown Down.

Realizations, Realizations.

I came to one last night as I was working on episode 2 of Gun. It's coming up on 2 years since episode 1 was released. Yeah. Two fucking years. I was going back over some of the scenes I've completed so far in episode 2 and just realizing how much I had limited myself in terms of sharing content with viewers and fans. This is mostly due to the episode content itself. The way it's structured... It's.. well it's complicated. Anyway, as I was going back over these scenes I was editing little things here and there that I thought needed fixing... and then I watched it. I like allowed myself to sit back and watch episode 2 so far... and I fucking love it.

I seriously have to get this episode out! No bullshit.

And in realizing that the 2-year anniversary is 30 days away, I threw down a gauntlet. I issued myself a challenge. The pertinent question here is this:

Can I complete episode 2 by the time the 2-year benchmark comes around?


Truth is, I don't know. It's a seriously dangerous and EXTREMELY difficult undertaking, considering how much work I'm putting into this and the fact that I'm doing it all by myself. I'm gonna lose alot of sleep. But I don't care. I have worked too damn hard so far on making this episode bigger, cleaner, badder, and just generally one-upping episode 1 in every way.

So that's my task. Complete Gun - Episode 2, in the next 30 days.

Can he do it? Who knows. All I know is it's gonna be a really... really hard, bumpy road ahead.

We'll see what happens!

Also, I'm gonna be releasing Gun episodes into new channels. While working on the episode itself too. More on that as it develops.
Also, my knee is injured from over-exercising while running laps. I'm stuck at home and bored so come visit me this weekend and pity me.
Also, my birthday is coming up next Wednesday. Hooray for me.



In the meantime, go vote on ep 1 if you haven't already you lazy bastards!

Gun Blogcast #2 - "Fan Service"

Hola,

Bienvenido al segundo Blogcast de Gun the Animated Series.

OK enough of that. Today I'm giving you an inside look at the process of crafting a small but scintillating shot. Or actually titillating would be a better word. Yes.

I explain here the steps that I took in creating a small part of an animated sequence involving Alex (again). In it, I show the various techniques I employed in animating a shot of Alex closing up her stealth suit as she puts it on in the final scene. She was naked before, but now her clothes are on, and we get to see how that happens. I talk about my use of varying layers in the creation of the shot, and the additions I had to make based on the needs of the storyboards I created. I also talk briefly about my use of graphic symbols and provide a little insight into the direction in which I tend to approach my animation.

Plus we get to stare at boobies for ten minutes. (somewhere, a man is smiling right now... no, not me. Pervert.)

This was a fun blogcast to create, simply because this time I wasn't completely underwhelmed by my work, unlike with my running water sequence (see blogcast #1). Also, I'm running a bunch of other programs at the same time, as evidenced by my buddy Matt popping up on my MSN Messenger, which made me laugh in retrospect. I also noticed that I tend to suck my teeth a lot when I have no idea what to say next. It's an unconscious habit, so you're just gonna have to deal with it and learn to laugh at it. One of my many quirks.

Anyways, I also decided to make this one a little more presentable (and probably will do so with all future blogcasts as well) by providing titles and some sweet, mellow background music by Tortoise, which I mixed myself (poorly). The song is called Djed and if you don't know Tortoise, I'd suggest you go get to know them, cuz they're great, really relaxing, chilled out music.


So pop some corn, or corn some beef, or beef some... nevermind. Just watch and enjoy.

Also today is Artboy's birthday, so happy birthday to him (again).

Peace and Hair Grease.

Gun Blogcast 2 - Fan Service

Coffee and Naked Ladies.

Yo whatup...

I'm drinking cup after cup of the hot stuff. Not trying to stay awake, though. Truth is it just tastes pretty good, and I was having crazy fits of anxiety today after my eating habits yesterday (don't ask). Suffice it to say, I have problems. But that has nothing to do with why I'm posting here tonight so...

ANYWAAAAYYYY...

Nothing can make a man feel better than spending several hours crafting a sequence involving a naked woman (unless he's gay like Ramon Rodriguez, haha). So, tonight I finished up a short sequence of just such a sort... ooh tingly. Funny part is, I'm thinking of scrapping it. Well not entirely scrapping it, but changing it quite a bit. Maybe... I dunno, usually when I work so hard at a shot, I can't just junk it like that. Takes too much effort and time to produce for me to just toss it out the window.

So here's a little screen of the first shot in the sequence...



This is actually the biggest graphic symbol in the episode so far. If you don't know what graphic objects are, then I'm not gonna explain it. It's a flash animation thing and you probably won't wanna know anyway if you're not into animation or care about it. Suffice it to say that these "symbols" are a driving force behind animation in flash. I use them plenty. This particular one is about 4 times bigger than the stage itself, and contains 4 layers of animation, all of which are moving at different rates (except one). Yikes. That was a mouthful... it was also a "mouseful" (waiting for corny ass drum for the joke.... eh, fuck it). This screenshot is actually only the top of the shot, so you're not seeing about a good two-thirds of it.
Yeah it took awhile. But I made some great use of transparencies and was dicking around with some new water effects, including making very clever use of steam in this shot to conceal her goods. Hey, no complaining dammit. My intention isn't to just stick in shots of tits and ass, OK? I want viewers to see this and understand that yes, she has a sexual quality to her and can be that seductive leading lady, but that's not what she's about.

Tonight I'm wrapping up the second shot in the sequence. Fun stuff.. oh and if you didn't know already, the girl in the shot is Alexandra, or Alex, from episode 1. Seriously, if you didn't know that, why the hell are you reading this? Do you even know what "Gun" is? Follow the links on the right and go see it already, you lazy prick.

No, seriously, I loves you alls.

Gotta go. Got things to see, and people to do.... ummm... wait.

Currently listening to: Common - Finding Forever (its hot sheezy!)

Peripherals.

Hey,

Quick update here - My good buddy Ramon Rodriguez has just released the 4th episodic installment of his Plate of Butter Series. He told me that this one was rushed and the actual planned episode is much more elaborate. Hopefully we'll see that extended content before too long. But don't count on it! LOL.

Anyway, check out the fourth episode of Plate of Butter here.

Also, it dropped on Newgrounds today, and you can view it here as well and be sure to cast your votes, children.

Ain't support fun?

Blogcasting! (Appeasement [Capitulo Dos])

Okay, so now that I'm back for another round of updating and it's only been a day, I'm actually pretty happy about that. However, the stuff I'm chitty-chatting about right now doesn't please me. Oh no it doesn't.

Basically, yesterday when I said that I wasn't going to upload any screenshots or anything for people to look at, I felt like I was coming off like a real dick. While it may be true that I am in fact a real dick, it doesn't mean I have to do that to people who might actually want a bit more substance from me and the work I'm doing in leading up to the release of Gun ep. 2.

So with that in mind, I ventured to create my first video blogcast. It was a pain in the ass to record and encode and sync, thanks to the shitty functionality of CamStudio. ugh. The first time I tried it, the frame rate on the video was like 4 fps. Just plain awful. So I finally figured out a way to do it well, and instead of bothering with uploading it to my own server, I just slapped it on my myspizzle so I could stream it here. Should take care of the red tape.

Anyway, this blogcast is about a short animated sequence I was working on last night, specifically a shot of water running into a drain. I'm no expert in animation, let alone in animating running water, so I totally winged it, and as I did, I went back and looked at it and got turned off by the result. It was bugging me all day so I decided to share it with you fine folks with a twofold purpose in mind - to get some opinions/ideas/advice (if anyone has something relevant to offer), and to provide some actual content for the Heretik Times.

We're gettin' straight up LIVE NEWS in this bitch!!

Hahaha. OK, so here it is. Check it and hit me back. You might want to full screen it, although I have NO IDEA what it might do to the blog page itself. Enjoy.

Gun Blogcast 1 - Running Water Woes

Appeasement Please

Yeah....

So I've received some complaints regarding the updating of my blog. Mostly from that pretentious asshole Ramon Rodriguez (who by the way makes some dandy art stuff). Saying that I should update more often and let people in on the more detailed parts of the creative process from day to day, or other day-to-other day.

Truth is, whilst I toil away at this episode, I don't feel like there's anything of substance to put out there for you people to read about. Unless I make some major stride, I keep my effing mouth shut. This is pretty much my practice in life as well.

So what's there to say? Well ok I can tell you a little more about whats happening at the moment...

I'm basically working on the fifth shot of the last scene... A very simple one, that most people will forget before they even realize they saw it. However, try to grasp the scope of just how painstaking it is to single-handedly animate something, let alone something the length and magnitude of episode 2 of "Gun", which will essentially be the length of a fully animated half-hour anime (I'm including time for advertisements), which roughly comes in somewhere between 20 and 24 minutes.

I estimated that this final scene would be about 6-8 minutes, roughly. Lets see... this is the fifth shot and I'm already about a good minute in. and here's the part that will simultaneously excite you and piss you off if you're a fan of this series - This last scene has WELL over 50 different shots in it. and I do mean WELL over. try closer to 100. Exciting because you can expect alot of content in this climax (ewww, that sounded oddly sexual.) Pisses you off because you realize soon after getting excited that this means that it will take a lot of work to get to the very end.

I'm not gonna upload a screen shot tonight. I thought about it, and honestly I have nothing of value to offer that's worth staring at. I might have uploaded some storyboards, but my fucking scanner is working about as well as Britney Spears' career these days.

Also, I'm not gonna keep working on this anymore tonight. It's 2AM and I am bizarrely exhausted, despite having slept a little later than expected. May be the fact that I have about a solid pound of cheeseburger in my gut right now, but I am sleepy as all hell. I've been laboring on this shit since I got home this evening and groovin' to some old Isley Brothers jams, which are fuckin dynamite shit. If you ain't up on soul, you're missing out on some great music.

But I digress... I know that there are like a handful of you who are still waiting on tenterhooks for this new episode. It will happen one way or another. If I didn't honestly plan on continuing this series, I wouldn't have bothered doing all this work over the past 21 months (OMFG has it been almost 2 years already??!!!??). Fear not. Just stick to my side, and I'll reward your patience with a shiny new episode coated in ooey gooey goodness (again, vaguely sexual and disgusting).

Just stay tuned, you know what I mean. I'm going to bed. My eyelids aren't listening to me anymore when I tell them to stay up.

Bon Nuit.

One Small Step For Man...

One giant leap for "Gun" fans.

I am very happy to report tonight in the wee hours (as I am often prone to do anyway) that I've finally reached the editing stages for the final scene of episode 2. I rejoice. I revel... and I wince because I know just how much work will go into this scene.

I figure since I'm so bad with updates, lemme give you a little rundown of what's been happening...

The last scene that I completed is actually a compiled scene composed of 3 mini-scenes, each with its own relevance to the plot of the episode. The first sequence took the longest, and its the one I last posted a screenshot from. The one with the fat dude, heheh. That sequence got the ball rolling though, and I finished the second one within about 2 weeks, and the third one really kicked into overdrive. I finished that one in 4 days.

As much as I'd absolutely love to take some rest, there's no way in hell I'm doing that. Not when I can finally see the light at the end of this tunnel of perpetual work, tedium, annoyance, and meticulousness. There's only more of that to come, but at least I know that with this... It will finally be time to rock your collective world with this bad boy.

Will it be the greatest thing ever? Probably not. Truth is, I don't give a shit. I just want those who support me and the series to enjoy it to the fullest, and to appreciate that the nearly two-year wait in production hasn't been me being lazy - this episode is a fucking monster. I've never worked so hard on any single creative project in my life before. So I hope the results show that I haven't wasted my time or the time of those who have actually been waiting to see the next episode.

Ok... so now that we've said that... I'm going to bed. Tomorrow, the last hurdle begins.

Fuck yes.

Contradictions for Sale

So here's a wee bit of a "huh?" moment.

I'm editing firearms. Weapons. Instruments of mankind's worst intentions. Bringers of chaos, fear, and suffering.

As I'm doing this, I'm listening to some of the absolute calmest music I own.

Not terribly profound, I know, but it was a weird little contradiction I noticed tonight. Work continues. I'd like to post something substantial here, maybe a new screenshot or two, but I don't know which one(s) to choose. Plus I don't really think many people are reading this anyway so why bother. People will probably be checking this out more often once the episode actually comes out. and by then who the hell cares about a screenshot?

Blegh.

I should go read. Go visit my buddy Ramon's website. He's redesigned his logo and layout (I think) and is working on a "Gun" inspired piece now.

Clickety Clack.

Lesson Learned and Musing

Today I realized something valuable about editing in FBF with Flash, which I hadn't really considered until tonight. Editing the frames in a rough, uncolored format makes FBF work easier.

It's funny too, because I've done it before, but I never really thought about it. Tonight it just hit me as I worked on another short FBF sequence in the next episode of Gun. Much easier to edit and manipulate single parts of a moving image when there's no color fills getting in the way. I'm sure many other animators already know and utilize this tactic, but it's a first for me, so there you go.

Another day, another lesson learned.

Additionally, this episode of Gun... it's an absolute MONSTER. I'm actually considering splitting it into THREE parts, but I doubt I will. I have a hard enough time splitting it into two. I think part two will round out somewhere around 12-15 MB when the .swf file is published. Yikes.

I can't promise it will be worth it, but I can say with certainty that I think and hope it will be.

Also, while skating today, I bailed and rolled over onto my neck, in full backflip fashion. I mean like full body weight on my neck. It was pretty funny to see I'm sure, but oddly didn't really hurt much.

Best part - didn't spill my soda.

Therapy, Labors and Radiohead

Fuck.

Yeah i said it. I always say it. It's like a recurring theme for me. Today my fuckin elbow was absolutely killing me for a long while. I have no idea why the shit wont heal, but I'm trying to convince myself that I won't need physical therapy, despite the fact that it seems to be exactly what I'm headed for at this rate. Should be fun handling that with no fucking health insurance. lovely.

At least I finally got some more work on this episode done today. Not alot, but progress is progress. I don't think motherfuckers realize just how much work this shit really is. It normally takes an entire team of artists, animators, and designers of all different talents to put together one 22-minute episode of a cartoon. and that shit can take weeks.

So imagine me going it alone. doing EVERYTHING alone. Screenplay, direction, sound, art, animation, production, technical details - EVERYTHING. It's an insane amount of work.

I heard the new Radiohead album "In Rainbows" today too, which they basically gave away about a week ago on their website. I dunno if it's still available, but i got it, and its pretty good. Not as remarkable on first listen as Hail to the Thief was, but good. I have to re-listen and judge again.

And now i'm off to wrap up tonight's animation work, and go read my new book, since a certain someone ruthlessly bullied me into buying it :)

Bed awaits. Sayonara.

Currently Reading: Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk