Photonegative

So what do you do when you want to make a hand-drawn animation with a black background, but only have white paper?

Color it in photo-negative.  One ctrl + i in photoshop later and you get stuff like this:

In case your wondering how I keep from getting a headache, it's simple really.  I made myself a reference sheet of all the drawing materials I have.  Nifty stuff.

Earworm of the Day: Dark Horses by Switchfoot

The Nature of Randomness

First off, I animated a run-cycle for Marvin last month.  Here it is:

Secondly, Chicago got lots of snow last night, and more flurries are on the way.  I have plans to make a koi fish sculpture if the snow becomes at all packable.

So I've been contemplating the logic of randomness as comedy. When I write out a conversation between two characters, what often gets the most laughs is not what I mulled over for several hours beforehand, but a stray quip that I pulled out of nowhere to fill a hole in the dialogue.  It is not Spitfire's reaction to Lisa being Super Gecko's daughter that's funny, it's the offhand mention of "a union of homicidal librarians".  It's not Roy's witty comeback to an aggressor that stands out, but Fleet's rhetorical question concerning brooms.

So does randomness always create laughs?  I don't believe so.  Take the show Adventure Time.  That show is crazy-random, but it's an adventure show, not a comedy.  I've watched a few episodes and though I was entertained, I don't remember laughing that much.  I think it has to do with the concentration of randomness.  That is, if a show is random continually, then we begin to accept the unexpected as normal for that world.

I have come upon the theory that in order for randomness to be funny, one must first establish a baseline for "regular".  One must have a straight man for the funny guy to play off of, otherwise we'll be unaware that anything's amiss.  Animalburg has it's share of absurdities--super powers, crime-fighting ninja warriors, time travel, space aliens--but all this is just the background.  This is, in fact, the opposite of random, with rules and narrative continuity holding them in a neat structure.  Randomness is found in the one-time gags, the plot-hole fillers, the filler-dialogue, and the moments when I'm stuck for a villain to fight.  It takes a split-second to write and a hand-wave to explain.  You can't plan random, that's what makes it funny.

Earworm of the Day: Background music to The TV Show.  I know I've linked to it before, but the song randomly popped into my head today and it took me a whole 10 minutes to remember where I heard it from (my first guess was a video game).

Blue Fingernails

I am fully aware that I have not posted in a very, very, very...

--one hour later--

...very, very long time.  I am sorry.  I was on vacation.

Moving on.  Here's the finished Spitfire figurine:

Painting camouflage: requires toothpicks.

I gave Spitfire to a friend for Christmas and was pleased when she proceeded to bounce around the room with joy.  I now have a request from another friend to make Beth.  I already have a plan sketched out for that, though now I'm at a lack for clay, or an accurate oven to bake it in.  Come spring break, an ~6" tall Beth should exist (and I'll have to paint more urban camouflage.  Fun!)

In other news:  I am officially tired of my fingernails turning blue.  Chicago is surprisingly warm for January (mid 40's today) so apparently I need to wear more layers.  Or invest in a pair of house shoes.  Or maybe wrist warmers, that might help (now where'd I put my knitting book...?)

Earworm of the day: Exit Calypsan (Into The Ice Cave) by Falling Up  My uncle got me Discover the Trees Again for Christmas.  I had this song stuck in my head for 3 days.  Falling Up rocks!