New Rough Tests

A few people have asked to see the stage straight on. So Here it is. It's basically the rough test with sound and a hint at the title.

P.O.M. on Cartoon Brew

Just wanted to say thanks to Jerry Beck for including Parade of Monkeys on the Cartoon Brew site. I've been getting a lot of encouraging responses from people who may have never found this blog.

And thanks to Joe Merideth over at Chewbone for pointing Jerry in this direction.

P.O.M. LIVE on STAGE!

My goal for this film is to project the animation on multiple screens in a theatrical setting, mixed with live performance, lighting fx and live music.

This is a test I put together to get an idea of what this might look like. I'm hoping it will help sell the idea when applying for grants. Explaining this on paper has proven to be difficult. The animation is just the rough test I posted earlier composited onto the stage mock-up. I added fx's and stills from other scenes to help communicate how the story might unfold visually. The multiple screens will rise to reveal the full screen which I'm assuming will be rear projected.

But first things first...I need to finish the film. The production is being designed and planned so that the film can stand alone, ready for festival submissions and the adapt to create the live show....which will be a whole different animal. Surprisingly, I've been teaming up with some people here in Minneapolis who are supportive and willing to help make it happen.

MODEL SHEETS

I finally got around to creating some official Model Sheets.

My delusions of finishing this film as a one man operation flew out the window a few weeks ago. As a result, I've been focusing on getting my shit together.

Texture

Inspired by the design style of Todd Hemker, I've been playing around with adding some texture to the character and/or the background.

As promised in the title of this film.....

A big part of the film still in development.

So big in fact....It's almost like a second film.

If this is ever going to be a finished film, I really need to start applying for grants again.....but it's been difficult convincing people my cartoon is "art" so therefore they should give me money. Perhaps it's my a self effacing approach drenched in false positivity and peppered with obviously fabricated budgets that turn them off. Maybe they just hate cartoons.....or monkeys (an impossibility by the way).

I've been having trouble connecting this film to any social relevance.....an ear-perker for grant givers. Because I am hoping to have the soundrack performed by a High School marching band, maybe this film can help premote keeping Music and Art in the public school system, something I actually support and have an opipnion on. Hell, I could even teach an animation workshop in Art classes and screen student films with this one in a High School Auditorium at a fundraising event to supprt Art and Music programs


If anyone has any wisdom to share on writing, recieving, and utilizing grants for animated films, or any information on organizations that support music and art programs...
please feel free to leave a comment or email me : mike.humdinger@gmail.com

The first time ever I saw your face

I finally made it to a scene that features Guys face in close up. His basic, long shot design has a very simple face, but in close-up, it seemed to limit his range of expression. So I decided to ignore the simple design and draw his face to fit the expression rather than force the expression to fit his face.

These are a few frame grabs from the first pencil test of that scene.

Partial Pencil Test

Here is an edit of some rough animation. It tells the part of the story where things begin to go horribly wrong for Guy.

Animating a 10 minute film is a daunting task especially when it feels like you are basically animating one long scene. I haven't decided yet if this makes me an idiot.
But it is fun. My next goal is to convince someone to send me a weekly paycheck so that I can devote all of my time to to this one long scene. Any takers?

Seriously. Click the DONATION button on the side. You will be my friend for ever. If you donate a substantial amount...you'll be credited as my Executive Producer as well!

Render Styles

The only time available to work the film was spent playing around with simple Photoshop filters and settings to help me develop the render style.

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Desktop Motivation

I constantly find the need to remind myself to work on my film
I'm usually staring at my monitor all day working on everthing else
So I made this my new desktop

I animated 2 scenes last week and 1 scene this week, so I guess it's working.

Who is Guy Whitey?

With each new scene, each new action, and each new pose, I learn more and more about the psyche of Guy Whitey. Currently his outlook on the world and perception of himself are holding up despite the unexpexted turns in his path. But the journey has only begun and the situation will only get worse.

Falling back into animation

Almost a year has past since I last animated Guy. I've doodled him a thousand times and thought about him everyday. The last time we saw each other, he had just lost his shiney red box and was about to take a long, hard fall.

I decided early on to forget everything I learned about animation production by choosing to animate each scene in sequential order. That way I could take this journey with Guy and see where it takes us. I do have a storyboard but I haven't really looked at it for almost three years. The basic story structure is in my head and has been for a while, but it's open to unexpected twists and turns. The scene above was not in the original story.

The scene plays much better if you imagine him screaming like a little girl.

The Main Character

This film will primarily be a solo performance for Guy Whitey.

His co-star is a shiney red box.

The Background Layout

Guy Whitey
The star of the film
Proudly displays his most prized possesion
In front of The Background Layout

Notes

Posting my notes
Is an attempt
To be organized

Plus,

some people like to look at shit like this

Well....

I do anyway

Style and Color

After years of searching and experimenting with the look of the film, I am currently settled on this.

It could change tomorrow. Nothing is sacred at this point.

But I do like this one.

The Beginning of this Blog

What you are now reading is the start of a production blog for a film I've been trying to make for the past four years.

The storyboards are complete.
The characters have been designed.
Rough animation test have occured.
Grant money has been refused.

So I am giving up my freelance life, looking for a real job, and seeing if I can actually make it through the production of...

"Parade of Monkeys"