Character Shuffle: Czardas

Artist's Thoughts,
I have created a number of characters. In this imaginary world it's quite easy to take characters from one story and blend them into a new one. I call it "the character shuffle."

With the video I posted last week, there's already 'talk' of a character shuffle. My crash-landing character from the video, most likely, will be replaced by another that I feel is more suited for the role. How do I know their roles? Animated character chemistry? Okay. Let's go with that. The character being replaced will happily return to the revised "The Heart Of Czardas."

"The Heart Of Czardas" has revamped cinematic visuals, additional characters, and more action. I've given extra attention to the overall look and feel of Czardas. I'm also taking a closer artistic look at the other animated stories. In this story, Czardas is the name of a city.

A few thoughts on the video I posted last week. I had the most difficult time coming up with a title for this story. Is it paradise or paradox? The town the character lands in is a mixture of both.

In film, we look for the most interesting way to open a story. It's amazing all the things that can come to mind. Night. A diner. Will she binge on pancakes?

I'm giving more thought to titles, names, and scenes. I know there are some writer/artists who prefer an emotionally distant approach to their work. Although, some things do happen without an awareness, I aim to write from the heart.

Hope to share some clips from Czardas with you. Thanks for hanging out with me today.

Animated Video: "The Crash To Paradise"

Writer's Thoughts,
Here's an intro to my pixeltune called "The Crash To Paradise." I Hope you enjoy it. I will show more clips along the way and also share a few samples of my new instrumental song compositions. I'm really into this story. It has a lot of classic-style scenes and settings that I enjoy.

A Photo Oops?

Writer's Thoughts,
I saw it and I had to laugh...It was a Friday project that went into Saturday. Saturday is one of those days when you may rush a project to get to what the day is most known for, relaxing. I was building my animated downtown piece by piece. Sign by sign. Car by car.

When I finished, my tired eyes saw nothing amiss. Actually, it was probably a snack attack, that sugar-rush that rushed me to end my session. Come Monday, I took a look at the photo of my downtown scene and to my amazement there was a streetlight or pole in the middle of the car hood. They were the same texture and color which added to the difficulty in perception.

Someone had to take the blame....Whoever was driving that animated car should have been more cautious.

Everything is okay. I'm learning to go a little easier on myself...I wasn't the driver. Or, was I? Besides that, from time to time, I get that "I'm human" reminder. It's a good check. Although, not always easy.

In the downtown scene of my previous post there are some puns in the theater signage. You know the saying is "All's well that ends?"...Well, anyway, this is no ordinary city and funny things do happen. When it comes to names, they're either on my heart or in my head, subconscious, random.

 I have corrected the car-streetlight in the picture below. The scene on the left is also part of the story and in the video I will be showing. I have a few titles for the 'downtown' story. Still deciding....

Downtown

Writer's Thoughts,
First off, I mentioned in my last blog a word that I got stuck on for a project title. That word was "neon." I have a story that is in a Times Square-like setting. Currently titled "Team Neon." At times, we may use a temporary title for a story.

 This story has a downtown vibe...If you live in the country, taking a trip downtown can be a major adventure. Such was the case, back in the day. I wrote before that I have a fascination with some very stylish metros. What's my attraction? You guessed it: The designs, colors, movement and energy.

This story will be on the DVD project, which is going really well. Once again, it's a fictional city. I love creating animated scenes. Building this city has sparked my interest in the origins of a lot of things we take for granted, or have just become immune to because they are such a part of our everyday lives. Okay, who came up with the parking meter?

Here's a scene of my animated city.

Upcoming Projects

Writer's Thoughts,
I have been working on a few projects this week. I will present a video montage of them coming up soon. Of the many new stories, there is one that I've been struggling to title. The problem is, I've gotten stuck on a word that I feel should be in the title. So, I spun it a thousand ways, it seems, still without a decision. That project may need to cook a little longer.

Speaking of cooking, or something along the lines of food...Have you noticed that some restaurants have seasonal menus? Taking a hint from them, with the number of projects that I have, I will present my new stories over time. Meanwhile, I look forward to presenting my video montage.

New Animations...

Writer's Thoughts,
First of all, I would like to say, "Happy Cinco De Mayo!..." I have been hard at work all week with new designs and animations. When I converted my blog last October to being more animation and music focused, I learned a lot along the way. Let's just say, I felt a few hard lessons. But that's journey, isn't it?

I am very excited, despite the longest, most rainy April, I can remember. I kid you not, I barely remember a sunny day. I think, it affected me, in some ways. Sunlight and art. They go good together.

Here's some things I'm pondering...
Naming characters...So far, my approach has been really random in naming. Art, being non-verbal, makes it a bit more challenging. But I think, if I give it more thought, I can match the names with more meaning. Does it matter? I think so, because memorable names really stick with you. I like the names of most of the characters I've created. However, with a few, maybe going alphabet soup style is not the best way.

Character Fashions...Yes, you see lots of black. Here's why. Depending on how complex the background is, results in my choosing a color that makes my character stand out. A simplistic approach. Now that I'm going with color schemes, this will help me to keep my animated character from getting lost. Also, it's cool for secret agent types. RetroVision being retro, only tinted, made contrasts necessary.

Artists...This is an odd pondering, huh? Actually, I'm re-reading some of my favorite books by Betty Edwards. A wonderful writer who gives a clearer insight on the artistic thought process. Why would this matter to me as artist? Well, her writings remind me that.. I'm not crazy after all.

Math and Science...Math and Science are artists friends. The artist envisions the bridge and Math and Science build it. One is not more important than another...This came up as I was reading more about artists. Sounds strange.

I'm still in the design mode, creating new graphics, and composing new songs. I will write more about the new animations soon.