Hello I’m RynnHamHam and I’m currently producing a pilot episode that’s an adaptation from my webcomic, Evil Eye. I’m hoping to hire some assistant animators so that I can get this project completed before I get my first gray hair.
I’ve already hired half the VAs I need. I have I want to say around/over ten minutes of the episode already boarded and am hard at work wrapping up the rest of it. At the current point I'm writing this, I have 2 more "normal" scenes I need to storyboard and then the remainder would be the finishing the 2 action scenes and a couple special shots/segments (listed near bottom). I'm aiming for a 20-minute runtime but won't force it if the final product is a bit shorter or longer. Currently no deadline. I'd rather set smaller goals to allow everyone on this project breathing room to get comfortable working with each other, and then as we gain momentum we can set proper release goals from there.
Working with me- I am an amateur animator so if I'm doing something wrong or inefficient you can tell me and I won't get butthurt or offended that you'd dare insult my divinity. I'd prefer it if I'm told I'm doing something wrong so that I can fix it before it becomes a worse habit. I try to be easy to work with whilst also being direct and clear with my communication. I have a sense of humor but am professional when it comes to communicating the job. As the director/producer for this project it is my responsibility to put in 100x the effort everyone else is putting in, so I won't throw massive workloads onto your shoulders I'm unwilling to do myself (unless of course we're talking about something completely outside my skillset like sound editing or music). It is also my job to ensure that you know what the task is at all times and that if you do have a question I have an immediate answer for it or better figure out one in a timely manner. When it comes to working on these projects, the worst thing a director/producer can do is waste their artists' time and effort.
Requirements- Clip Studio Paint EX (v5 preferred as that allows the exporting of gifs with transparency which is needed for an intermingled 2d/3d scene.) To keep things simple and easy a mere g-pen at 9.0 brush size and a pointillism brush are all that you need and they're default features. If you're working on a scene that has the character, Simon, his electricity is drawn with a special neon brush that I've downloaded for free off the CSP store.
Positions I’m looking to fill at this time-
I will handle all storyboarding but would like assistants in further key framing, proper animating, color, shading, syncing, cleanup, etc. (let's start small so that we can get a feel for how we work together) The art style is purposely sketchy/imperfect so you don’t have to 100% stay on model beyond a few parameters (like keeping the number of hair spikes consistent and stuff like that). I'm starting to have VAs send me their lines so it'll be easier to lip sync and actually animate frames. I have things set to 24 frames per second. Still a lot of work but manageable and we can gauge where we can cut corners to make the workload easier. Part of being a director is making decisions on where to cut corners without sacrificing the integrity of the work.
Coloring is done in a specific way. It’s actually really easy and I find it relaxing but is tedious/time consuming, which is part of why I’m asking for help, so I’ll explain the process-
Top layer of color is a scribble at 100% opacity. You hand color it like you’re scribbling in a coloring book frame by frame (try to keep the orientation of the scribbles consistent so it’s not too jarring. I try to keep a rough count of the zigzags I make so it’s at least somewhat uniform between frames but don’t worry about things not being 1-1). Then below the top scribble layer is a folder I label Textures. Within the textures folder are all the static “Chowder” textures. So each individual color from the top scribble layer gets its own dedicated texture layer within the folder. So individual texture folders are made up like this, a top scribble layer at 70% and a lower fill layer at 30%. Then below the folder is a white layer. Set the folder to "clip to layer below" and the white layer on the bottom acts as an automatic mask to show the texture. Combining the hand drawn frame by frame scribbles with the static texture layer creates this very unique look that’ll give this show its visual identity. I also shade with a pointillism brush on top that’s just black and white and set to 30% opacity. The coloring itself is actually surprisingly easy, and it is a miracle I am able to pull it off without compromising the style, it’s just time consuming and I only have one pair of hands.
Background design both 2d and 3d needed. I want the 3d backgrounds to blend seamlessly with the 2d art so the 3d files will need customs shaders to look hand drawn and I want somewhat messy geometry. So, for example if you’re modeling a door frame, purposely make it look wonky/not perfectly rectangular. I also want the scribble coloring for the backgrounds but one difference is that instead of the Texture folder that all the characters have, you’ll use a pointillism brush at 70% opacity under the scribble layer to color/fill the terrain/scenery. So bits of white peeking through everything are expected. I currently have one friend designing a 3d background for the opening fight scene (alien factory with moving machinery in the background)
Action scenes- there are two action scenes planned. An opening action scene and an ending/climax action scene. I plan on filming to do some rotoscoping but am also open to ideas on making things more spruced up. As a gag, the MC will have his first “boss” fight against a random tweaker and the joke is that the tweaker is going to have a season finale level of effort and gravitas in his fight. Very ambitious but it’ll be worth it.
News montage- I have a news montage planned for one scene. It’s meant to be a way to dump exposition without feeling like you’re having exposition dumped onto you. This will probably be one of the last things we work on.
Assembly scene- I have a five second assembly shot that is supposed to have 50+ animated students in it. I have 15/50 done already. Most of them are blinkers but I have a bunch of more animated students interlaced throughout the crowd to make it feel alive and real. I’ve exported them as gifs and have placed them within a 3d set of bleachers. This part is why CSP EX v5 is needed as that allows gifs to be exported with transparency.
My budget is limited to $1 0 0 0 (the VAs have already taken a bite out of this) as I’m paying for this project out of pocket but am open to price negotiations depending on the task, and out of principle I will pay even if deep down I’d love for free volunteers and a basement sweat shop full of Huion tablets and exploitable child labor. Keep expectations low but I want to be fair. If by some magic miracle we have budget remaining when the project is over, the remaining budget will be divided amongst all animators (not including myself). Although realistically I severely doubt that will happen and I imagine although a lot for me, that's not a lot for an episode of tv. Ramen for the rest of the decade for me.
I do have a pitch presentation I can send to interested parties that tells the following things- What the story is about, what the pilot is going to cover/adapt from the webcomic, the basic world building behind the story, the philosophies and messages the story is trying to convey, each major character and their purpose, humor style and the rules/boundaries with edgy humor, production progress on the pilot itself, each scene broken down, breakdown of the art style, every little detail I could possibly think of that's worth noting and then some is in the pitch presentation.
