WIP, Updates, and Model and Positions Poll Results (Patreon)

Alright! Let's knock this out.

As you can see, I'm working on another Street Fighter animation by Stoned Dude, and it's quite the handful.

I also have a Morrigan animation from Lazy Procrastinator, with their own custom model that I am absolutely in love with.

And last but not least, a remaster that was requested on our Discord, Nyotengu taking on double trouble in cosmic horror.

A lot has changed since we last released a Studio Release. Of course, I can't recall it all. But I'll try to give the best cliff notes I can.

As some of you know, we switched over from a custom codec with Quicktime to h.264. I looked at h.265 briefly, but the quality change was not noticeable, and the size difference was not worth the time to render. This isn't to say I won't consider it again down the road, but the h.264 will be the new standard for now.

Remasters and Alternate angles now fall under one featured tag on our main page so that compilations could be added. The original tags are still there, I just updated them to include a group one so that compilations would be able to fit. Also, any patrons who want to request alternate angles rather than just remasters may do so in the same tab of the discord as the remaster channel. That was a mouthful.

I've mentioned in past updates that textures and lighting are two major things within SFM that can cause it to look inferior to other animation programs. With that said, I've purchased a drawing tablet and I am researching upscaling programs to help with this. I am a bit rusty on texture work, but I should be able to jump right back into it once I get used to it. The upscaling program I am checking out at the moment is Topaz Gigapixel AI. I personally love it, but I am curious what else is out there that's available. If any of you have input, I would love to hear it.

Speaking of the new drawing tablet, I have been working with ScoutsSFM to start bringing character models out as public releases to give back to the community, being you, SFM artists, and Rule 34 fans. Instead of doing this as a monthly deal and ending up with half baked models we will do it on a commission/contracted basis with ScoutsSFM's timing. When the model is ready, it's ready. We're currently in the final phases of our current endeavor; a model I haven't wanted to do since I started in SFM, but didn't have the skills to do so. Scouts will do what they do best, and I'll assist with textures when needed.

We're always pushing the envelope, and that isn't about to stop. When possible, animations made after this week will be jumping from 15 to 30 seconds in length. I've already taken to lip syncing animations with sound, and I realized that in the process of changing my work flow, I might as well see if I can double our length as well. This is going to be a bit crazy on very short animations, but should make for much more variety. Of course, there are scenes where this just won't work. For example you the viewer and other people (the Street Fighter example above in the WIP) for instance, has so much going on that there's no way I could realistically make a 30 second animation. BUT, I'm sure as hell going to try. Otherwise we just won't know what's possible. Some animations coming out within the next couple of weeks are already true 30 second animations, so keep your eyes peeled.

We have a new voice actress joining us in Sylaise. She's new to this, but she's very eager to learn, so be sure to stop by her twitter, say hello, and show your support!

Patreon posts for Polls will either be pinned (if that's possible) at the top of our Patreon page, or will be inserted as links to keep everyone aware of where to go to vote. With how long our official Studio Releases can take (you know, the occasional endemic happening) I figured this was a good idea to ensure no one misses their chance to share their voice.

I think that covers most of the new stuff. At least that's what my brain can conjure up. On to the poll results! To save time, I won't be tallying up all of the votes from now on, as it's kinda pointless. I'll instead just post the winners and losers.

Unfortunately, Metro's Anna and The Witcher's Shani will have to bow out for this round as they had the least votes. Our winner is World of Warcraft's Sylvanas! This is a great example of an underdog coming back over time, as she has been coming back to our polls as a runner up for some time now. And what will we do with Sylvanas? Our positions polls show Spread Eagle, Doggy Style, and Reverse Cowgirl as the winners. Myself and the team will discuss story and scenes this week!

I think that covers everything. I'll be doing the new polls tomorrow. Thank you all again for the continued support!