Story 5 Animation Update, Runtime is now 10 minutes :O (Patreon)

Hi guys, here is an extended update on how the new animation is going. (Contains some screenshots but no major spoilers.)

Size Has Doubled

The scope of the animation has doubled in size since I started it. Originally going to only last the duration of the main song (3-4 minutes), I've added a few more minutes of animation to the beginning and end. I've decided to do this because I feel it will provide a more satisfying viewing to the animation as a whole. The shorter version was a fun watch, but wasn't meaty enough by itself. I really do believe the added "content" is integral to the story I'm trying to tell.

With that being said, the ending storyboards are 100% done, set in stone. 

Adding onto the workload is the heightened polish and quality (new stuff I learned from the FM3K project). So this, once again, has inadvertently turned into my most ambitious animation yet!

More Hands on Deck

Fortunately, several artists have offered their skills to help out with parts of the animation. Certain tasks in animation can be very time-consuming and repetitive for me. This includes stuff like inking (coloring), cleanup (tracing), and in-betweening (smoothing out the animation). 

I've been delegating out some of this work to volunteers, and it is really making an difference on productivity. We've hit some strides where we'd be pumping out 1-2 seconds of polished animation a day.

Example of a scene inked and animated by volunteers (Irascor & Andi)

Although I have to keep operations small for now, I'm excited for what this means for future animations.

New ETA

Because of what I mentioned above, the new animation is just over 50% done. With the added help and clear path ahead, Story 5 is estimated to come out towards the end of spring. I apologize for the delay.

Trailer!

Now that a final look and story is set in stone, we can begin building up hype. There are many amazing scenes ready to be teased to the general public. Keep an eye out for a trailer in the coming weeks. We'll give the patrons an early viewing of course.

Thank You

Thank you again for supporting my art. Not only do I want to make this animation good for you guys, I also want to make it good and satisfying for me. Not every artist has that kind of creative freedom, and it is one afforded by the generosity of you patrons.