Episode 10 Update - 08/24/21 (Patreon)

Alright, the pieces are coming together now.

The person handling my water came through after all, and I think we're good to go now.  The water in this episode has a much more stylized look, and it fits a lot better with the scenery and characters.  I don't think it's perfect, but it's definitely a step above the water in the last episode, and it looks really cool in motion, especially on a couple of shots in particular.

The person handling my Snow FX has also come through.  I've just submitted my corrections to the latest preview he's given me, and judging by his progress, all effects on the final snow scenes seem to be almost complete.  I believe he will be able to submit the final draft to me within the next two weeks, if not by next week.  This was the biggest worrying factor for me in getting the episode finished, and now I am no longer worried.  Though after this, I don't think I'm going to be doing anything with snow for a very long time.

Additionally, my sound guy has reported to have finished all the foley for the fight scenes, scene ambiance, and all retouching on the vocals.  He's currently working on the final mix and has now assured me he can finish in September.

I have been working diligently on Scene F.  I think I've tightened up all the loose ends and gotten a good handle on the lighting.  There were way more loose ends than I'd anticipated.  This final sequence is massive.  To put it in perspective: Episode 9 had 21725 frames of 3D animation total, and Scene F alone has 14000 frames.  Regardless, the opening is locked down, the setup is there for a majority of the middle scenes, and I think the lighting is about halfway there overall.  I believe I can finish the lighting completely with the rest of the week.

I am now more confident than ever that I can finish this in September.  After lighting F, all that's left is special effects and detail work.  I hope I'm not underestimating everything, as I often do, but I believe we're about to round the corner.  Thank you so much for staying with me through this.  It's taken a lot longer than I wanted, but we're almost there.