Paralysis of Analysis

I had to come into work today to finish up a few projects before the new year arrives. We had a lengthy meeting about the year in review and upcoming opportunities and the like. We briefly talked about something that has been a crux of companies and projects. It's called "Paralysis of Analysis" and is self explanatory: something gets analyzed over and over and over so much to where nothing ever comes of it. It goes along the lines of "less talk more work"...I think you all know where I'm going with this. Cosmic Chase has been analyzed over and over by me and I know what needs to get done and how to do it, but I don't put in the hours like I once did.

That's my end of the year analytical rant. Have a Happy New Year and let's hope and pray 2009 is the year of the release.

Everyone Loves Updates

Hi guys! Nothing new and exciting happened this month in the way of anything whatsoever. Classes end next week so I need to finish final projects. One is a 3d animated short and another is for a business class which ranged in projects to choose from. My girlfriend and I are working together and are going to do a promotional package for Cosmic Chase, so you guys will see some artwork of hers soon.

Other than that, I might have to work over the holidays. Let's shoot for Christmas 2009 release, k?

October in Review

So October has come and gone and I didn't work on CC all that much. Currently I have no idea when I will get the motivation and time to work on the project, but I do work on it inbetween homework now and then.

Total time: 3 hours 45 minutes

Weekly Update #14

No progress this week either. I ended up upgrading my computer to the fact that I ended up building one. It's a pretty beefy budget system that's great for gaming and working.

Chassis: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813141005
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150314
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

In the near future I want to get another graphics card to run SLI. The new Adobe CS4 suite utilizes GPUs now so running Flash and Photoshop should be much faster. Not to mention rendering in Maya will take less time.

9-21 - 9-27: 0 hours :(

Weekly Update #13

No progress this week. Computer was down for half the week as my power supply blew out late Sunday night. Had to order a replacement and what not. Been busy with school and other stuff.

Mega Man 9 came out today for Wii. Can't wait to check it out.

I'm selling this Guitar Hero 3 bundle of mine on ebay.

9-14 - 9-20: 0 hours :(

Weekly Update #12

More cleanup work, just taking it easy for a while. Classes began and I'm just starting to get a new routine going. Homework will eventually get in the way of Cosmic Chase but I'll try not to let it overshadow it completely.

9-7 - 9-13: 2 hours 15 minutes

Weekly Update #11

More of the same. Tying down frames, doing line work. This week I would like to clean up some line work.

I've been keeping accurate records of the project as time has passed. It's fun to look back and see different incremental saves and seeing the amount of progress that's been made over the years. In the future, I'd like to break down certain shots and go through them in-depth and talk about how it was set up and created and everything that goes along with the workflow at the time. But that won't be until after the movie is released. Stay strong.

8-31 - 9-6: 5 hours

Weekly Update #10

Not much to report, got some major work accomplished this week in the form of tying down frames.

8-24 - 8-30: 11 hours 30 minutes

Hyper Sonic

Here is the finalized animation of Hyper Sonic previously showcased last week. It shows all of the steps taken to get a sketch into full color. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Weekly Update #09

Nothing new to report. Hoping to get some work done this week before class begins next week. We'll see how that goes.

8-17 - 8-23: 4 hours 15 minutes

New Prelim

Here's a little something for you patient fans of mine:


Here's a preliminary sketch of Hyper Sonic looking badass. Another shot from the final seconds of Act 2. This image is solid proof that progress is being made, albeit a slow pace.

Weekly Update #08

Not much happened this week. Didn't have much time to work on it as I had hoped. Flash kept on crashing at work so I wasn't able to get anything done.

8-10 - 8-16: 1 hour 30 minutes

Weekly Update #07

OK, so, here's a screenshot.
You may recognize this image as the prelim was posted 10 months ago. The entire 60 frame animation of this shot has been completed, and this is just one of them. This takes place at the end of Act 2 after Sonic becomes hyper. Hope you guys like it.

8-3 - 8-9: 15 hours 15 minutes

Weekly Update #06

Lots of progress made this week. The new workflow seems to be very helpful in the development of accurate timing. The Act 2 pencil test has been finished and has received Ido's approval. There were a few things changed in terms of timing and shot composition, but it's good to go. It came to about 13-14 seconds of new animation over the course of 6 shots.

In other news, I'm still finalizing one of the shots with color so I can post a screenshot. Coloring it takes so long because the shot is over 30 hand drawn frames for 2 characters. It may take some time, but giving you guys some eye candy is a high on my to do list.

7-27 - 8-2: 17 hours

Weekly Update #05

This week I have started my new workflow which aims to tie down animation quicker and more efficiently. I am able to work with Ido more cooperatively in showing accurate visuals of timing and movement. Using this method, changes are easily made as we can add and delete frames in a more timely manner without spending much time tying down poses until they see final color.

Of course, this method doesn't actually speed up the animation process at all. Why? Because I've upped the animation quality yet again. What does that mean for the movie? Basically, now that I'm able to see exactly how a shot is going to look, I can play with the timing and make the characters move more realistically and fluidly, creating a richer viewing experience. More frames = smoother animation and overall raises the bar on production quality which is what I strive to do continually throughout the animation process. It's going to be good.

7-20 - 7-26: 5 hours

Weekly Update #04

Not much to report this week. Did some cleanup work for Act 2 which finishes the line work for that specific shot. Still needed is flat color and shading and a background, then it's good to go.

7-13 - 7-19: 2 hours

Weekly Update #03

I worked on finalizing the Act 2 storyboard with Ido and did some cleanup work on the shot I've been working on for a long time now.

Week 7-6 - 7-12: 7 hours

I'm going to change up my workflow in hopes of getting things done quicker, or at least make my time more efficient. In the past, I worked on a shot from pencil test to final color and shading. Now, I'm going to finish out Act 2 with pencil tests, which allows for an accurate visual for timing, and then go back after it's all drawn out and do the cleanup work and then finally coloring.

It will be helpful in the sense that Ido and I can go over the pencil tests together and tighten up timing in a much easier fashion. It will also enable him to play more of a directorial part in the production phase. Not to mention, I'll feel a whole lot better when I see some major progress by doing pencil tests for every shot for the rest of the movie. It'll feel like I'll have more accomplished and then possibly get another hand in on the cleanup/coloring phase to speed this everlasting project along.

I'm excited.

Weekly Update #02

Production is going well. I finally started cleanup work on the the shot that's been worked on forever, soon to be colored and finished. Not much else going on in the way of CC.

Week 6-29 - 7-5: 8 hours 45 mins

Last night, my sister and her friend and my girlfriend and I went to the Jimmy Eat World concert here in Michigan and it was the most amazing show ever. It was a small venue, about 200-300 people attended and we were front row, right in front of the band. My sister and her friend each got guitar picks personally handed to them by the band. It was so awesome.

Weekly Update #01

Hokai so, here's the deal. Spring semester ended recently and I have set aside time every night to work on Cosmic Chase. It doesn't have that much more animation left, but act 3 will definitely prove to be the best act in terms of animation quality.

Cosmic Chase was started as a side project back in late 2003, after the success of Chaotic Battle. It later was modified to accommodate a wider audience and Shadow was introduced. Over the years, my self-taught animation skills have improved greatly, and with the addition of going to art school, my skills have improved even further. The quality in timing and animation is quite apparent when viewing acts 1 and 2 and now 3. Some shots will be redrawn and the movie will be retimed to have a faster pace than it already has. In doing so, the movie length may be shorter than originally anticipated, which isn't really a big deal.

I'm thinking about adding in possible extras to the movie such as deleted scenes, concept art, and maybe preliminary animation. Whether or not these features will actually appear, I'm just thinking out loud so it may never come to fruition. Ido and I have some other fun ideas and subtle easter egg-like features that have yet to be developed, but I'm sure you all will enjoy it.

Week 6-22 - 6-28: 6 hours

It's time to get excited again.

On another totally unrelated note, Diablo 3 was announced and it looks insanely amazing and I'm totally geeked about it.

Long Overdue Progress Update

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Spring classes have ended and I'm working on CC every night. I'm still finishing up the last few shots in act 2 and then it'll be full speed ahead on act 3. Even after act 3 is finished, we're still going to go back to acts 1 and 2 and do some editing.

The project is still alive and kicking.

Cosmic Chase Finished!!

I haven't updated in a while because I have been slaving away on animation frames over the past few months. It's finally done! I believe my hours of hard work have paid off and made CC into an epic movie that will be exciting to watch for years to come. There will be a closed sneak peek tonight around 8pm EST for forum members. Sonic X Cosmic Chase will be released tomorrow on NuShift and later on Newgrounds.com.

I hope you guys enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it.