My best animation so far

Last year, I accepted a project - making cutscenes for an ipad and iOS game to be exact - and did the best I can for three whole months, even if the project budget is only for 1 month, and being under an NDA until the game is ready to be released.

The reason for this is that I wanted to test where I am, skill-wise on making animations. The budget didn't matter, nor the NDA, I just want to know what will be the result of my full effort. Eventually, I finished it, and the weird thing is that it didn't even bother me knowing that other people won't be seeing my hard work until a year or so.

I forgot about it and moved on to other things.

Fast forward to this day, the client suddenly contacted me, telling me that the game is about to be released on July 16. It's time to release the project to the world! Somehow this didn't excite me, but as I watched my work again before uploading it, the feeling of wanting to give everything I got to making a project suddenly came back to me. I miss that feeling - you're totally exhausted to the point that you just like to sleep for a week, yet you're happy cause you never held back. I think I'm going to try that once again soon, but this time, I'm gonna make sure it's for my own personal project.

Anyway, here's one of the cutscenes I'm talking about:

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/620651

I did the art and animation, my good buddy Patrick did the voice overs, while the client provided the story.

How bout you, when was the last time you worked really hard for a project? :)

My best animation so far

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ZenithQuinn 2013-07-01 10:01:47

That was bloody amazing! Love the color schemes, what program did you animate in?!
The voice acting was a bit annoying after the first minute, it's too heavily editedm but other than that it's great! Gonna check out the gameplay now.

boybogart 2013-07-01 10:01:47

Hey thanks ZQ! Just flash cs3 and some post editing in After Effects.

TomFulp 2013-07-01 11:58:02

Do you mean July 16th? You said June 16th both here and on the movie page.

Great work on the cutscene!

To answer that question about working really hard... I'm not sure how I define really hard for me anymore. Like I have projects that I've put A LOT OF WORK INTO OVER A SUSTAINED PERIOD, like Cathode Raybots, but it's nothing like the life-no-longer-matters-only-finishing-this-pro ject that defined Castle Crashers, or even the string of all nighters to get Madness Accelerant done in time for Madness Day. I basically stopped the All Nighters after having kids and everything is more evenly paced / less pressured... But I feel proud of The Room Tribute and Video Falconry was a solid hustle to throw together... Cathode Raybots was more off and on over a few years but I'm proud of all the pieces that were built to make it work.

When you look at how proud you are of the BIG projects, it makes you resent all the little things that manage to distract you along the way. Like so far this morning I've just been catching up on PMs and emails from the weekend... Important stuff of course for the ongoing life of NG but it doesn't leave something tangible to look back on ten years from now... Unless NG is thriving and I can have enough perspective to say "my answering of those PMs and emails was part of that."

But yeah bottom line, big and hard projects are worth doing / worth finishing.

boybogart 2013-07-01 11:58:02

Haha yeah, thanks for pointing that one out, it's July 16 like you said.

Your point about working consistently over a long period of time is something that I've been aiming for the past year. I realized that projects get done with less effort and stress+ higher quality when done a little each day instead of going all out in a blaze of glory for 2 weeks. This is a tough realization I had to face cause I really love the thrill of cramming and racing to make it to the deadline. Also, working on all nighters may seem like a great idea to get more work done, but I'll just sleep longer the next day so why bother.

I can totally relate to just disliking the little chores that bothers you from actually just doing the work. I'm just in my late 20s right now but I feel like I wasted a lot of time and still wastes a lot of time. I realize that I should be doing my best to pump up big projects right now while I still have the freedom of not being married or having kids.

morcov 2013-07-01 12:24:54

I've sadly never spent over a week on a flash. i really should. maybe get into steady habits of working on animations bit by bit, day by day. It sounds easy enough, but I'm always moving on to the next thing.

boybogart 2013-07-01 12:24:54

Yeah man, that sounds like a good plan. For me, one week is too short of a timeline for a project if you want to make your viewers time worthwhile.

BoMToons 2013-07-01 12:30:53

That was really impressive. I think the extra touches in a labor of love help it stand out as something special, shows the soul/personality of the artist much more than your average cash grab. The mood and art direction were really solid and it was well paced.

Basically, I want to have your babies now.

boybogart 2013-07-01 12:30:53

Thanks man, it's interesting to hear that other people actually see those little things. Now let's make them babies!

PM-Seymour 2013-07-01 15:04:00

Kevin I have had the pleasure of working with you countless times, and I gotta say, this really is your finest piece of animation work ever, you should be damn proud of it! :D

boybogart 2013-07-01 15:04:00

Thanks comrade seymour! Without you it wouldn't be possible.

MindChamber 2013-07-01 18:41:31

nice scenery, and some great colors and composition.

I suggest you change the narrator before the game is released, you have a chance to rectify it now, and you should, find someone with some real gravitas.

boybogart 2013-07-01 18:41:31

Thanks man! I talked to the client just now and that's the very same thing that he wants. Hopefully I can get it done before next week.

TomFulp 2013-07-02 11:09:59

Gradual and consistent works for the most part but it's also amazing how much you can accomplish during a crunch. I also think I get sillier / weirder ideas when I'm working in the middle of the night and I feel like a day schedule is hurting that. There are also a lot less interruptions in the middle of the night - less or no people, no calls, not many emails... It really helps you stay in the flow of things and there's just a different mood to working at night that I miss.

boybogart 2013-07-02 11:09:59

Totally, working at night time is perfect for concentration. :)

hamorhage 2013-07-03 08:12:49

Really paid off dude. It has that old Batman cartoon vibe, which was one of the greatest shows ever. So kudos! I am currently also working on an underpaid iOs game doing cutscenes lol I have the same idea as you described, give it your best. Screw the money, it's all about testing your limits. Raise the bar, and then raise it again and again and again. Very inspiring man!

boybogart 2013-07-03 08:12:49

Really true man. Is that project still the one you got while we're studying under Mike or is it a new one? Either way, I'm really glad you're getting a lot of love from clients. :)

Celshaded 2013-07-05 06:23:03

Damn dood, this looks like a studio did it. I catch myself afraid to go all out because I have issues with time, but seeing your work makes me want to at least try. Great work man, it's especially rewarding to see something you did so long ago still holds up.

boybogart 2013-07-05 06:23:03

Yeah, you have to do it man! Your skills are already good, so I'm sure it'll come out great!

yundili 2013-08-03 14:40:43

i love this animation so much! it seems that the only issue here was about the script/story.. it was rather long. while the voice actor was narrating, i couldnt help but hold my breath by how wordy it was. overall, you really did an amazing job.. like... wow... kudos!