January Patreon Pack 2017 (Patreon)

Hey guys! It's time again for our asset pack! This month we've got all the backgrounds in MAS and a background of Beezen attacking Twilight with a lamp, drawn by Pencils. I'm a little late on this due to being on the east coast for Ponycon.

We've had some big changes this month. The first, and quite a major one, is that Pbn - also going by NormanRangle - is stepping away from Dawn Somewhere due to some other comittments, and that means the guy who animated Gym of the Romantic Journey and Jaycartoons is no longer with us. His leaving won't specifically bring a halt to anything. We've sat down and figured out how we want to handle the loss, so now Copy and I will be doing Jaycartoons alongside other projects. Since Jaycartoons are stick figures, we'll use them as a chance to experiment with our software and our technique.

Speaking of experimentation, the rig for Peyton is now done and I've had some slight plan changes for the series. I think I'd like to shorten it down a bit, but make the production values a little better. Chasing the "long, derivative, repetitive" thing the Youtube algorithm wants isn't really going to lead to a lot of good work, so I'm also putting together a cute little Peyton figure for anecdotes during her rants. It's quick and easy to draw. The first video will be eight minutes - it's hard to say how long it'll take to complete but I'll know once work on animation really begins.

Peyton's rig is the most sophisticated I've built so far while still remaining pragmatic and useful. Among other things, I've looked into the lighting software of Toon Boom. It's not perfect, but I think it'll work to make some quick and dirty lighting as long as I'm willing to make adjustments when necessary. I may apply the same technique over to the MAS rigs because it is really nice to give characters a better sense of volume, but again, we'll see how it feels trying to work with this in Peyton before I begin revamping other projects.

Finally, there's the news letter! My girlfriend, Claudia, offered to help us out with that. Pbn prepared the first letter and we were going to transfer the responsibility to her, but Pbn's leaving was a tad abrupt and I've been very busy in the first two weeks of the month. Claudia and I will get the thing figured out, and we'll start sending out mailers again soon! They've been getting caught in spam filters, but over time, and as long as people open them sometimes, e-mails will begin to recognize them as trusted and they'll be snagged as spam less.

In any case, onward to a new year! We've got a lot planned, and it's all possible thanks to your support! You're the life blood of the team, guys, so I hope you're enjoying our stuff and that you're having a good day!