=== THE UNDERDOG ===
My buddy Wallpaperman got sick of flash at some point and stopped making videos. Solo projects weren't getting me anywhere, so I ventured to the Newgrounds BBS where I got more involved with the community. Eventually I joined the CTSG collab, which was being organized by Rig. Being real passionate about the project, I ended up directing the whole thing. Those were some unforseen leadership qualities there. Looking back now, I think everyone involved expected me to organize the next CTSG project instead of Rig, but I wasn't aware of this at the time. Seeing as my solo projects never worked out before, I didn't exactly overflow with the confidence needed to host anything like that on my own either.
I have only just started noticing this, but by attending The CTSG Collab, I revolutionized my own workstyle. CTSG was a feel-good project, and I wanted to replicate the atmosphere of those times by projecting it onto viewers through the selection menu. Putting my trust in musicians and fellow animators, we created something that succeedingly portrayed the exact mood. I had not realized until now, but this became an ongoing theme in my future projects. Also, preparation became of big importance to me. That's how I began collecting images for reference.
I met Lochie and Writersblock at the CTSG project, whom I worked together with for a couple of years to come. Working on PO3 with them was an interesting experience. Seeing as this was going to be a point-and-click game, I planned on adding in a lot of details. This was great practise when it came to designing locations and practicing texture details! A couple of months before that, I finished an old project called Back To The Front. Also good practice, as linework and textures were key elements to this monochrome animation. I should note that I made myself a custom color pallette around this time, and it very much complimented my work! Later on, my productivity on animations took a nosedive. During that time, I made a few t-shirt designs for fun, which again; was good practise in terms of textures, linework and coloring.
In terms of inspiration, there is way too much to mention. Some of my inspiration sources from the earlier periods vanished, while others joined my collective memory. Some of my favorite animations on Newgrounds included SpikeVallentine's Love Me Forever, rtil's Metropolis Circuit and Nightwayfarer's School 13. Though at this moment in time, observing flashes from Newgrounds didn't cut it anymore, so I tried learning from professionals instead. Anime's like Death Note, Higurashi, Paprika, Tekkonkinkreet and Air Gear were among my biggest sources of inspiration. You can really see the influence they had on The CTSG Collab and A Surgeon's Lament. FLCL, Soul-Eater and Sailor Moon were later on added to the list. Mark Crilley's youtube channel was a great help too, and Junji Ito's horror manga rekindled a forgotten obsession of mine: Horror.
Those were all manga-related sources of inspiration, though anime never really dominated my style. I guess I have Mortalpoet to thank for that! Cartoons allowed for more individuality, and that really grabbed me. On Newgrounds, I loved the style, coloring and dialogue on sexysexybicycle's These Pancakes Are Tiny, Gonzossm's texture details, Catoblepas' smooth frame-by-frame work with ominous atmospheres and just about anything the Vad Flaaten Bros came up with. Then there's The Juice Joint by Sweetsweetback which features arrousing female characters plus overal wacky designs, BSMattW with his Bonus Stage series, The Flash Tub over at SomethingAwful, Sakupen's stuff, Appsro's humorous series over at Escapist Magazine, and of course there's much much more. Also I suddenly remembered Scarydoll's Los Dias Sin Dias, and could really appreciate the threatening yet touching atmosphere. Watching it still brings a tear to my eye. As for professional animations; I was always very fond of Tom & Jerry. I used watch the show and read the comics as a kid. Seeing as I sucked at writing scripts and dialogue, the non-verbal way of telling a story was very interesting to me. Although I hardly used it for reference, as my characters often had this stiff and vacant look about them. Anyway, I also liked the frame-by-frame work on these classic cartoons. Of course there were a lot of other inspiring cartoons from my childhood, such as Dexter's Lab and The Powerpuff Girls.
All of these inspirations sources were great and have influenced my work to some extent, but none of them had what was needed to affect my work on a big scale. In order to work on another project, I needed a purpose. I caught some glimpses of what it should be like, but I had had no sense of direction. It's all part of the next stage.
- Reasons To Create: There wasn't any reason for me to animate at all, but I did it anyway, because it made me feel productive. Also, I needed it to vent my inspiration. Most of the time, I had pictures on my mind that I would perfectly replicate; a pretty neat skill I acquired. Still, I didn't finish many projects; I could only find the drive when working alongside of other animators. I was well aware of this too.
- Creative Developments: A little bit of everything improved. Though I hadn't developed a style of my own yet, I did improve on linework, textures and coloring. I incorporated Photoshop to improve on my visuals too. Also, I stopped guessing about what everything looked like, and actually researched objects before I drew them. This is how I started collecting images for reference.
- Outcome: Overal, my animations improved, which raised the average score on my movies. I received some awards, but missed out on a few as well. I felt under-appreciated and concluded that there was still a lot for me to learn.
“Time spent creating is never time wasted; it’s all small steps towards being the best version of you. In the end you can either be known for what you liked or what you made.”
"Honestly, when we were children we believed that anything is possible, and did not hesitate to act upon this belief – however hard it is for me to believe that now, I still hang on to that belief for dear life."
"I feel that content-creators need to put more effort into publishing and promoting their works, rather than just submitting and hoping for the best."
[INDEX]
- A FRESH START
- THE FIRST STRUGGLE
- THE COMFORT ZONE
- THE UNDERDOG
- FUTURE PROJECTS