End of August Update and plans for September

August Update

Hi, how's it going? I feel like I got a lot done this last month, but also... I don't think I have a lot to show for it. I'm still failing at getting jobs or internships, so while I'm poor and unemployed I've been putting my work into my debut video on YouTube and my art. I was able to find and download a free 3D modeling app, which I've slowly been getting used to. I'm liking how the modeling is going so far. Next; figuring out how to model moveable and realistic clothing. I have all the time in the world to continue improving.

Here is what I got accomplished this month:

• One character design sheet

• Started on another character design sheet

• An entire YouTube video (It's 54 minutes long)

• Half of a script written for another video which I plan to post by the 15th at the latest

• Started on a 3D model

I think this is a lot considering the video took about eight hours to edit, the character design took about an hour all together, the 3D model has taken about 2 hours so far, the script for the next video has taken about an hour, and the next character design has taken 20 minutes so far.

Plans for September

For September, I think I've got a better idea of what I want to get done since I can see what I've got done this last month. I think instead of posting a YouTube video on the 1st and 15th of every month, I'm going to post on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month. This will allow me to build my catalogue faster, and I was very impatient to get my video up on YouTube because I was so excited. In fact, I uploaded it on the 31st rather than the 1st like I intended. The next video is planned to debut on September 12th.

Without further ado, here is what I have planned for the month of September:

• 2 videos (one on the 12th and the other on the 22nd)

• 2 character designs

• finished but untextured or colored 3D model

• learn to animate clothing

• start a storyboard for an animation project

All of that should keep me busy for the next month.

August's Projects

In this segment every month I will talk about the projects I worked in depth.

The Video

My very first video was kind of a spur of the moment thing that I wanted to do because I saw that no one else was really talking about it. Ever heard of the otome gacha game Love and Deepspace? Well, it's a Chinese dating game that gained major popularity ever since its release in January of 2024. It's also a gacha game, which means it has competitors such as Hoyoverse games like Genshin Impact and Zenless Zense Zero. If you like that kind of stuff, and like to look at fictional hot 3D men, I recommend it to you. I play the game myself, although not as much recently, and I love it. The story is amazing, the characters are amazing, the art is amazing. As a 3D animator it really inspires me to get better at my craft. It's also given me higher standards for dating men, which means... I mostly don't date men now. Anyways, the company that owns the game, Infold, is known for not releasing their English dub casts of their games. Nobody knows why for sure, but this was an important aspect of the controversy my video covers.

Because they've never released the English cast behind the characters, the voice actors are speculated. Because the voice actors are speculated, some fans have put together in their heads that one of the love interests, Zayne, is voiced by an anime voice actor, Mike Haimoto. This is where the controversy begins. Mike Haimoto was a Sentai voice actor, who was fired from every single one of his rolls after allegations were made by his ex-fiancé and former fellow voice actor Avery Smithhart. Avery alleged that Mike was abusive emotionally, mentally, and sexually to her while they were together.

If Mike Haimoto were the voice actor for Zayne, it complicates things. Nobody wants their main love interest in an otome game to be voiced by an alleged abuser. It may trigger some of the players who have a history of these abuses. So, in my video I go over the allegations (as well as I could anyway, the evidence was a mess) and give my opinion on the situation. I worked long and hard on the video, and I hope whoever sees it likes it. The thumbnail for the video was made by my close friend and graphic designer/painter Hannah Bradley. I'm going to link to her website along with the YouTube video. A big thanks to Hannah and like and subscribe!

Hannah's Website

YouTube Video

Character Sheets

Since I was busy figuring out the 3D modelling app I downloaded and getting a taste for my editing style with my video, I've only gotten one character sheet completely finished. However, I did get another one started. The finished one and it's process was the background to my YouTube video, so check it out if you'd like to see the timelapse of the drawing process. My process is basically:

1. I think up the character in my head.

2. Either grab a reference or sketch out the pose of the character. Grabbing a reference from Pinterest usually takes me less time to draw the character.

3. Completely draw out the naked body (minus the genitals) of the character. This not only give me a better idea how how the clothing will look on the character, but also gives me a nice blank template for future use if I ever want to expand on that character's wardrobe.

4. Sketch out the basic shape of the clothing and hairstyle.

5. When I have the general shape of the clothing drawn out, I go in and sketch out the outfit in finer detail.

6. Do the line art.

7. Do the undercolor of the drawing. This then allows me to mask the actually colors I want onto the intended sections of the drawing.

8. Base Colors.

9. Detailed coloring.

10. Finishing touches.

The backgrounds for the characters are drawn beforehand and are very simple, which is why I decided to post the backgrounds separately, but not share the process behind them. In my head, the drawings take up a lot of time, but in reality they usually only take me 1-2 hours depending on the complexity of the character's design and fashion, or because I started over. For my character design sheets I also tend to give a small biography in my own handwriting on the sides of the character since they're used in my comic. I do plan on expanding on them more, perhaps with a small artbook whenever I get more content. My hope is that no one can tell if I used a reference based off of the way the characters look, but I must admit that the references give my characters a more stable look. I'm sharing the references for both the pose and the outfit I got from Pinterest on the blog. The link to the full art is provided below.

New Character Art

3D Model

In college I was using ZBrush to make 3D models for my classes. I really like sculpting in real life, and I find it easier than sculpting on a app to be honest. Although, I have been playing and modelling with clay since I was little, while using electronics is much newer to me. I think I pick it up quickly. It always takes a little bit for me to get the hang of 3D modelling again when I don't do it for a little while, but I relearn quickly, then I don't stop. I always find the eyes and lips the hardest parts. Especially the eyes. Eventually I have to quit and come back at a later time, then I feel like smacking myself in the head because it suddenly comes so easy.

For my final animation project, the class assignment was for each individual to make their own short film or short character introduction. We had to create everything from scratch. Every single aspect of what we wanted in the film, the background, the scene, the script, the story, everything had to be made by us from scratch. We had the choice to use premade rigged characters, or make our own. I was an idiot and chose to use my own rather than a premade rig. I regret that a lot. I ran into a lot of problems with the rigging part of my characters and had to give up and use Max, the premade character rig for the animation program Maya. I'm still proud of that short film, but I worked hard on the characters and really wanted to use them in my project. So, I intend to rectify the situation. I'm going to redo the film eventually with the correct models. And creating a new model is the first step in that. With moving hair and clothing and everything. I want to make it as professional as possible. What I'm sharing today is a work in progress, but it's coming along really well. I think I've worked about 2 hours on it so far. The reason it is where it is now is because I had to get used to the new program. By the end of next month I plan to have the sculpt finished.

The Next Video

The next video I have planned is a lot more light hearted than my first one. It's basically me yapping for a period of time about one of my favorite shows, Vinland Saga and the aspects I love most about it. Vinland Saga is a manga turned anime by Makoto Yukimura inspired by the life of Icelandic explorer Thorfinn Karlsefni, who was responsible for the first European settlement in North America. He's a much lesser known figure than Leif Erikson, but the two did know each other and even worked together as traders. The characters in the show, but especially Thorfinn, are incredibly well-written and the animation is done by both WIT and MAPPA studios in Japan. I have some of the script written down already, but it's not finished yet, so I want to save the description of everything I talk about for the next blog post. Look forward to this and another Viking-esque video next month!