So, another month gone. I actually got some creative work done, not as much as I like, but I have ideas which is always great. So much better than flailing and chipping away at things, hoping that ideas will somehow appear. I also spent a lot of time working on silly side projects–still am–but that’s okay, I don’t feel as if I should be doing something “better” and/or wasting my time.
What else? I reconfigured my PC workspace so it’s much more effective. Getting more and more practice with Affinity Photo, so that I can drop PhotoShop. Robert the Cat (TM) continues to bite me at all hours.
So, on to March. Here’s hoping for a bit more substance.
Here’s another month come and gone. What did I accomplish?
Well, based on entries here, nothing concrete, but I do have a new project in the works that might result in something longer than 30 seconds. We’ll see. I have a number of images being lined up and I think it might be interesting. Story is nebulous but the ideas are floating around. Just have to corral them (and finish the images).
Well, only a few days left in 2022. Like many recent years, I’m not sorry to see it go, but I dread its oncoming brother.
As for this year, well, I did a couple of animations despite not really having good ideas. Learned a bit more about the tools I use. Signed up for the Adobe PS plan, which I’ve kind of regretted (Adobe CC is a lot more difficult to use, while trying to be “helpful”). Started playing with VST plugins, and bought copies of Tracktion and Reaper, since Acid Pro seems to be heading out toward retirement. (If you want to kill a piece of software, get Magix to buy it.)
My faithful car decided it was tired of being faithful, so now I have a new car payment. Oh boy.
And I adopted a cat. You can see both the car (left) and the cat (center) below.
So that’s it for this year. Thanks for visiting, and we’ll see you next year.
So, October is basically over. We completed one 30 second movie, and maybe some work here and there.
Here’s a Halloween picture.
There’s a possible other project in the works, though I mostly work on it more out of obligation than real enthusiasm. It’s based on the image below:
That was created many, many years ago in Caligari TrueSpace (RIP), a 3-D animation application. Adapting it for my current animation setup means a lot of cutting, duplicating, recreating and reusing. It can be fun, and it keeps me (mostly) out of trouble. Will it be any good? Will there be anything else to it? Gather ’round kids and stay on camera, we’ll all learn together!
So, another very short video. Ideas for anything long-form are very thin on the ground these days, so anything is something…even if it’s less than 30 seconds.
I recently updated to the subscription version of PhotoShop and was just sketching around, looking for ideas, and this guy (and his friends) kind of showed up. So here they are.
And there went that month. Bye! Stick around for a while next time!
I’m nearly finished with a new animation which, like “The Window” is very short…about 22 seconds. I still have to do the soundtrack, so that will be next month’s entry…maybe. Perhaps.
So, nothing much to report. Nothing really concrete, anyway.
I’ve been messing with Acid Pro, which was originally was produced was Sony Software but is now published by Magix. Not all that enamored with Magix, honestly. I upgraded both Acid Pro (and Vegas Post, also once by Sony and also now by Magix) earlier this year (March or so). But now there are new upgrades to both, and you’d think, “You upgraded only a couple of months ago? Here’s an upgrade for FREE or at least very cheap!”
Nope. Around $150 for Acid (and $300 for Vegas). Sorry, no. There used to be (and really ought to still be) some kind of loyalty benefit for those who have upgraded within a certain time period, but I guess I’m a victim of old thinking.
As for Acid itself, I’m trying to get it to cooperate with what I want to do. However, like almost every software I’ve ever used, it’s a struggle between what you want and what it will permit you to do. VST instruments appear or don’t based on…something I cannot discern. Data is clearly written, but no sound comes out.
I use Acid because I paid for it (see above) so I hesitate to jump to a different platform, even a free one. (In fairness to Vegas, it’s mostly okay.) But sometimes you have to take the plunge.
I also went against my instincts and signed up for the Adobe “Photography” bundle, where it’s a monthly charge. I’m not really happy with that decision, to be honest. It seems much harder to find the simplest things.
Here are some works, which I could have done with CS6 (I’m pretty sure). Maybe I’ll find some hidden gems. There is a “Sky Replacement” feature which seems to work really well, so there is that.
These were both mostly hand drawn.
Robert the Cat (TM) cameos in the second one as you can see.
In other Robert the Cat (TM) news: well, he’s still here. He loves receiving affection and attention, and while he he doesn’t know how to dispense the same, he’s…learning, slowly. The other day, rather than napping in his cat tree, he lay near to me. He reached out his paw and touched my leg. Mind, he had his claws out, so it wasn’t comfortable for me, but still I guess that counts for something. Doesn’t really tally against the constant biting and slashing, but then one can’t have everything I suppose.
No real ideas for any animation projects. Things occur to me, and I’ll work on them a bit, but then they flitter off.
Speaking of which, thanks for stopping by, and we’ll see you again next month.
One of the big things on YouTube in recent months (early 2022, for those of you in the future) has been “The Backrooms.” These are short film clips taking place in an odd, yellowish series of corridors. They are, of course, inhabited by a series of strange monsters.
They follow the tradition of “found footage” movies, a genre I find mostly annoying, but they’re interesting.
I decided I wanted to do something similar, with a single static scene of a corridor. And by “similar” I mean something that generates the same sense of vague unease. My corridor is toothpaste-green, rather than custard yellow, and the camera stays put.
A Planet That Has No Sky 