A Whole Bunch of Updates (Patreon)

I've been juggling a LOT of stuff lately. Here's a small peek :V


Phalia Caramelldansen
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This was a quick little project I started on The Drawcast! While I was simply going for a chibi animation style at first, I realized that this was not far off from what Phalia's shortstack proportions would be, so I made versions with larger boobs to accommodate ;)

A .zip containing all versions can be found in the attachments section. Check it out!

Phalia T-Shirts
- - - - - - - - - - -
I started working on T-Shirt designs in May 2023. There were some pretty cool concepts! Though this quickly took a backseat when I had to focus on other projects (which will be discussed in detail later in this post). When work resumes, I will start by picking 5 designs to complete. Next, there will be a poll where everyone can vote on the 6th and final design.

I haven't found a vendor yet, but I'm hoping I can get one that'll let me create a discount code for my Patrons. I really wish I could share some of the sketches I'm working on, unfortunately there are too many issues with perspective and anatomy (particularly in the face) that need to be ironed out first. I want these to be DAMN GOOD. You deserve only the best!


Update on Phalia 3D Model by Scraggy
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It's public! You can pick it up over on ScragBoy's page:
https://twitter.com/scrag_boy/status/1714750419249860676

The model may receive several changes and additions in the future. In the meantime, feel free to play around with her! Blender is FREE and open-source after all ;)


Upcoming Shortstack Phalia 3D Model
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
My friend HelloHA is working with me to create a shortstack Phalia Model for use in Blender! This will actually be HelloHA's second time working with Phalia, the first being a silly Garfield model that he created for her in 2022. He's busy with a lot of things ATM so there's not much to show at the moment, but one thing I can guarantee is that she will be very caked up ;>

If you're curious about his previous work, you can check out his page here!
https://twitter.com/HelloHA_VRC


"Cup De Grace" with DAGames
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cup De Grace is a music video project based on the video game Cuphead, and also the sequel to Brothers In Arms, which was previously the largest project I had ever worked on with DAGames. My task is to design and create animation assets for multiple Cuphead boss battles. There are four bosses in total, each with multiple stages containing their own attack animations, idle animations, death animations, and more. I am personally in charge of design, layouts, animation, directing, and compositing for this project.

Work started in July 2022. I had a decent sized team to begin with, including several rough animators, a clean-up animator, two background artists, and others. Unfortunately, several people had to drop out early. The few who remained were barely available during 2023, and have not been available at all within the last 6 months. (This is through no fault of their own. Life is hard, and they've all had things to deal with). Managing everything on my own has been extremely difficult and time-consuming.

We've also had to put Cup De Grace on hold several times to make room for other DAGames projects, each one adding additional weeks or months of delay. No surprise, this has left me with barely any time to work on anything with Phalia. It's been tough doing so much work that I can't even share without breaking NDA... However! Just recently I spoke with management at DAGames, and they gave me permission to share some of my progress with you!

Here's a peek at some of the work I've been doing behind the scenes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHijWEX5kwI


"Know Your Place" with DAGames
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Know Your Place is a music video project based on Space Cadet Pinball. The idea was to have a circular 4-Player Pinball machine in 3D, for which I created all models, textures, and animations from scratch. The most difficult part was getting the balls bouncing around in a way that looked satisfying, and the most time-consuming part was the rendering process.

There are 8500 rendered frames in total, for which the current total estimated render time is about 300 hours. This was spread out over 4 weeks, during which the lag was so intense I was unable to run most of my animation files (this unfortunately includes most of my animation files relating to Phalia). It was extremely frustrating to deal with, but I did pick up a few skills that'll be useful for future 3D Phalia content.

Here's a peek at some of the work I've been doing behind the scenes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EePILWVlijY


Secret Lewd Arcade Project
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
There's not much I can say about this one other than that it's tentative, and that it would feature a stage themed around Phalia. My main role is at the moment is to help with 3D modelling and music. The lead artist is extremely cool, and everything he's cooked up so far looks great. I'll talk more about it as soon as things become more "official" :v


Music Production
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
I mentioned this in a previous post, but since upgrading to Windows 11, none of my project files will load correctly in my DAW. The issue is complex and difficult to explain, even to someone familiar with music production, and nobody I've spoken to has been able to help me at all. I can think of just ONE solution that will work, the only problem is that it will require days of uninterrupted focus, something that I have not been able to spare much of lately >.> Eh, I'm sure I'll figure something out.


Final Thoughts
- - - - - - - - - - -
The most frustrating thing with juggling so many projects is that there are often long stretches of time where progress on any *individual* project doesn't feel big or important enough for it's own dedicated post. I think this is a good workaround, though :)

Also! In three months, we will be moving out somewhere with significantly cheaper rent. Then, after Cup De Grace is complete, I plan to retire from DAGames. I want this Patreon to be my full-time job so that I can create art and music for you without any more interruptions. I hope this gives you all something to look forward too!