I finished this a couple of months ago, but haven’t posted it until now. Better late than never, eh? Anyway, please allow me to indulge myself in sharing the story of how this animation was made.
This short was inspired by the fear of not getting into college. I desperately wanted to be an animator, but I had no art background beyond tracings from anatomy books and doodles I made while watching Squidbillies. With no portfolio, how would I get into a good college? How would I make something of myself?
By creating a short film! I worked more nights than I care to remember, and my end result was what I call “Fan + Cramp,” in that I cramped up in shame and self-loathing whenever I saw it- the timing was atrocious, the graphics were below anybody’s standards, and there was no soundtrack.
I used it for college applications anyway. Thankfully, I got accepted to a college, which, as it turns out, doesn’t require a portfolio for acceptance. I was happy because I now had a career path, but still disappointed- my work did not match my vision. I was never going to let it out of my flash drive again.
I happened to run into Colin Levy (of Sintel fame, as if you didn’t know) at an Alice in Wonderland screening. I asked him for some tips, and he encouraged me to post my work on BlenderArtists.
Of course, I couldn’t post my short in its current form, so I dedicated myseld to revamping the old film. I retextured everything, fixed all of the animation, used compositing, found that Nat King Cole song, and basically made it something to be proud of. It took a year, and there are still a few things wrong with it, but I finally feel like I can show this off.
Since I need to move on with my life and make better animations, I have vowed not to fix this thing anymore. However! I still need critiques in order to grow as a filmmaker!
looks great.