#122 - Animation Station

 Hello everybody! I've been working on a lot of miscellaneous stuff. There are really only a couple of things I'll share more about than just a mention. So, what have I been up to?

I've read So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Young Zaphod Plays it Safe, and Mostly Harmless. I have seen the 1981 series and 2005 movie for The Hitchhiker's Guide as well as My Senpai is Annoying, Panzer Dragoon, and Old (2021). At long last, I also finally watched the last two OVAs for Black Jack. I even picked up the manga for Patema Inverted despite not being able to read it (beyond the three chapters that were translated online).

I've been working on 400 Tiny Books and the Stories Within. We are now at six contributors and 49 entries. My current estimation was that we will be done in about 18 months. My current stream series playing Infdev+ is still going on, with still mostly sticking to two streams a weekday. It is a little tiring though, but I think I'm starting to get used to it. I finished Doom Eternal and Ancient Gods Part 1 for the Switch, so now I am on Part 2.

And now for some unfortunate news...

But first, actually, a backstory. I probably didn't mention it here because it involved my birthday but now that it was months ago, I can recall the story of something that happened the Sunday before my birthday. I bring this up now before I can share the unfortunate news. (Turns out, I did mention it in post #110, but here's the full story).

On the Sunday before my birthday earlier this year, I went to the college-age group at my church as usual. I was sitting in my chair waiting for class to start. Unexpectedly, one of the other attendees had a gift for me. I'll call her L. I was not expecting anything from L, nor anybody else. Even when it was the birthdays of other folks in the group, she only ever gave one to me. It was a small, hand-made card with cute drawings in and on it. I was not expecting a card, or anything else that day. My cupcake celebration in the group was a different day, so this was separate. L gave me a birthday gift. That was a special action for me.

Time passes and she ends up on my mind some more. She even has been in a couple of dreams or so since that day. Why did I become infatuated? I don't have a definite answer- it's probably multiple things. It was enough for me to invest a few days and some creativity into a birthday puzzle for her though; that's for sure. L managed to adjust my view of her though with a single move. I've also realized that she reminds me a lot of myself. And if that's the case, then perhaps, I am viewed as special to her.

Somewhat related, but last Saturday the college group had a pool party with s'mores and chicken and a firepit that struggled to stay on. It was about as I expected- fun in the clouds. Yeah, I anticipated some rain. It didn't happen though, but it was cloudy for most of it. We all had a good time though. I even was able to see one of my old classmates from high school. It's been close to 6-7 years since I last saw them.

So now for the unfortunate news. L's family is leaving soon. They are heading out to Tennesse, or something like that. I will no longer get the opportunity to see them at church. I expect to only have a few more weeks with them, so I want to take good advantage of the time I have left. What am I doing? I started a brand new animation. It'll be hand-drawn like the other two I have finished. This one will not only be the longest animation I've done (at around a minute and a half) but it will also be fully voiced.

There are things I want to say to L, but probably would be too nervous to say them all in person. If I make a pre-recorded video though, then I can say all that I want without being nervous. I've also been wanting to work more on another animation and this is a good opportunity. L, if you ever read this, congratulations on being the second person to receive a dedicated animation from me. These are time-consuming to make, which must mean I value you so much, that my time and resources spent are worth it to make you... Happy, maybe? I don't really know. It's mostly serious, but I can't think of any better word.

I started writing the script for it on Wednesday and finished it yesterday (Friday). I also recorded all the lines before doing my first Friday stream. After the second stream, I made the art for the first three "scenes." Today I made half the art for the fourth scene. It'll be done with one set of frames overlayed on the other. Most scenes will be made this way for how I want to present the visuals. Today I also scanned the 52 currently completed frames and plopped them in the timeline.

I was planning on animating on 2's... but the character movements were too slow. I then proceeded to adjust the timing so that all 24 frames every second show a unique image. Not only did it make the movement smoother, but it also was a lot better with the speed of the movements I was wanting. I still just draw one frame after another and hope it looks good. The good news for me is that I have a few weeks and I'm already about 20% complete. I will make sure the video is as good as I can make it. This has the potential of being the last thing I can ever give to L other than text messages.

Tomorrow at church I expect to see L again. That now brings me a small sense of happiness. Next Sunday our college group will be having lunch and a game day. That'll be fun in (probably) a different way than the pool party was last week. And also tomorrow I'll be going to an outdoor market with my sister and cousin. I've been having more game nights with them. I will say though that I do look forward to seeing my younger cousins again- it's already been a little while.

Remember how I keep saying that I talk a lot about things I like? Thank you all for reading. Bye!