Your Support Brings Joy To Our Hearts And Alleviates Our Stress And Anxiety About The Uncertain Future.

Making this post for the AlBalawi Family @yasminalbalawiigaza @bisanalbalawi18 who I have been dm’ing and emailing for a couple of weeks now!

They have been vetted by 90-ghost here and here.

They have started a NEW GFM with a smaller goal for immediate survival funds, but I have not seen it shared here. They also received the additional displacement orders 💔, which they shared about in their original GFM here.

PLEASE consider the conversion rate/fees! For example: I sent $5/USD, it converted to like, $3/USD. And that’s not even considering any instant transfer fees.

And they are also a part of Gaza Champions on IG. Their new GFM was set up by their Champion pen-pal who is helping them with fund transferring.

I have been working on creating a raffle art-raising on my non-game dev side of things, but I have fallen sick 😖, and can’t move as fast. But I’m still working on it! I’ll share it once it’s done.

@‘ing people for reach!

@el-shab-hussein @gaza-evacuation-funds @riding-with-the-wild-hunt @nabulsi @northgazaupdates2 @90-ghost

2D Planning for CG Shots

Because posing a CG character involves manipulating a number of individual controls, it can be slightly time consuming and disrupt the creative flow when first exploring the acting. For this reason, I’ll sometimes draw thumbnails of my ideas or make a pose test in 2D before posing the character in CG.

Not only does this workflow help me arrive at my ideas quicker, but also allows me to explore shapes that I wouldn’t necessarily have arrived at had I jumped into the CG first.

If the performance in CG requires something more complex, like dealing with object constraint setups, or posing a unique character rig, I’ve found a 2D pass helps me iterate on my ideas quicker, instead of being bogged down by the technical.

Even if the drawings are rough, it allows me to plan out things quickly so I can invite other departments, like FX, to collaborate earlier in the process, which can lead to great discussion and iteration to improve the original idea. I find it’s a great tool for visualizing things in context, especially when there’s a back and forth interaction between the character and FX.

Here are some things I’ve found helpful when making a 2D planning pass:

-I’ll use a playblast of the layout as the BG for my 2D drawings, especially if there’s a camera move involved. Sometimes I’ll keep the layout animation of the character as reference in the BG so I’ll know the size of the character when I draw it.

-Sometimes I’ll draw with more detail when I’m “feeling” out the idea, and other times I’ll draw extremely scribbly to keep things loose and keep the flow going. One time, Mike Gabriel told us a story where he found he was more efficient with his 2D animation by enlarging his thumbnails in the xerox machine, cutting them out, taping them to his animation paper, and using them as his animation keys. When I was on Moana, I tried the modern equivalent of this by shrinking down my digital canvas size so I was forced to make thumbnail drawings. I found the thumbnails forced me to keep the poses clear and not get too focused on the details.

-When I’m done with my 2D planning pass, I’ll add the mov file as an image plane to the camera, but I’ll have the image plane off to the side as reference, not directly behind the CG character. I’m not rotoscoping the CG to the 2D, but instead I’ll want to match the spirit of the pose/idea using the rig.

-I consider my 2D planning as the step before the actual Blocking Pass. If I feel there’s a better option as I’m posing in CG, I’ll pose that instead. If you look at the video at the top of this post, you’ll see I’m sometimes deviating from either the timing or poses in the planning for a better idea (Note how the baby raccoon reacts differently in my final version in the gif below). These ideas can come from directors, yourself, or your peers. Just remember, your 2D planning pass is like a rough draft. Don’t be precious about it or unwilling to change it. It’s just another tool to help tap all the entertainment potential in your shot!

Via my personal art account! Post from a few weeks ago. The game it actually almost out, and the itch io page is up! https://bloomzeye.itch.io/bubble-bumble

this lil bee is Kiwi

lol I don't even feel like logging into my game dev tumblr @bloomzeye to post this...ANYWAYS! I'm making my first indie game (it's almost done!), and here's Kiwi the Bee, my main character!

ain't she precious?!

sea salt and mangoes

Hello my friend, I am sorry for the inconvenience. I'm trying to get my family out of the Gaza war. My father is sick and needs medical care, and the costs of treating this are high. Can you help me with this? I will be really grateful to you.

Vetted by @/90-ghost! As I am unable to donate due to me using USD and this GFM being set in euros, I encourage those who can to donate, or at least share. 🤎

jars of honey

‘the truth about turbulence’ - just a little doodle from a frequent(ly anxious) flyer.

tried cleaning up my aggretsuko oc

For artists and creatives that are indie game lovers, it’s always awesome to meet new artists and developers! I’ve found fellow artists and game devs by doing game jams (essentially, quick concept / prototype games traditionally made between 72 hours) since I first started making indie game.

I do all my game jams through itch.io, but there can also be in your local indie dev scene and other online platforms.

Game jams are also a great way to test how you work with others, problem solve, and lean how to communicate yourself. Builds confidence too!

I am being so serious when I say: if you have the financial and time privilege to get a group of friends together and make an indie project, PLEASE do. Indie games, indie animations, indie comics etc etc

the art industries are kind of in the shitter. It’s not so much because of AI (though that doesn’t help) but because studios just aren’t hiring people and funding projects anymore. People who’ve been in the industry for decades are finding themselves struggling, and once you have a mortgage or kids it’s harder to do something as risky as making something on your own.

completing projects is hard. it takes a lot of time and effort, and most people can’t afford it. so if you CAN afford to make art, even at the risk of no financial gain, I strongly encourage you to be as resilient as you can. We’re at a point where these industries are not going to turn around by themselves, and waiting for jobs to open up again in order to get experience and portfolio work might not be realistic.

people have been making art and telling stories longgggg before we were getting paid for it, and people aren’t going to stop just because no one has hired them to do so.

for everyone else: support indie artists when you can!!!! That person who made that cool indie game or youtube animation or webcomic might be doing this full time! your support might be the only reason they’re able to keep doing it.

and if you have already started an indie project: you’re so brave and I’m very proud of you!!! in fact, drop a link to it in the reblogs if you want! 👇

Urgent Appeal for HelpGazaChildren: Help refugees flee to Khan Younis!

Because of the looming invasion and brutal bombing throughout the most densely populated area in Gaza, Rafah, many refugees are looking to evacuate to Khan Younis!

The bombing is random and even the areas not included in the evacuation notices are bombarded. Many refugees are asking Hussam for funds to help them evacuate to Khan Younis to help keep their families safe.

The above is a screenshot of a facebook post from someone in Rafah. A tent can be as much as $700 and the transportation costs anywhere between $250-$400 per family. This cost is primarily for gas alone!!

Please donate so that people may be able to evacuate while also being able to afford basic necessities.

Even if you're unable to donate, please share this post and the fundraiser even outside of tumblr and on other platforms! This is incredibly urgent!!

Donate to our GoFundMe which goes directly to Hussam, who manages camps in Rafah, with NO middleman in between!

HelpGazaChildren Notion Site || #helpgazachildren tag

GoFundMe Link