It’s been a few months since I’ve started making my Next Big Animation, so naturally it’s about time to share some of the details. This new project is already over half done, so I have a lot to catch you guys up on!
Post-Fortnite: What’s changed?
One of the common questions I get when meeting up with people is:
Them: So how has that collab with Fortnite affected your Gildedguy work?
Me: Kids are still calling me the Fortnite guy. I can’t tell if it’s being done ironically or unironically anymore.
The Shortnite 2 premiere was a big signal boost to my animations, and my following has gained a nice little bump in numbers. I believe the positive impact of the collab is more on the “prestige” and honor side of things. “Gildedguy” has gained a bit more legitimacy in the mainstream. This past holiday, several parents emailed me asking for GG related gifts for their kids, quoting my Fortnite skin as the source of inspiration.
I am humbled and greatly pleased by the reception – but I am itching to release this new animation, to assure loyal viewers that the glamor hasn’t affected my work. Gildedguy & the Rock Hard Gladiator (Story #7) is proving to be a very steady production, and I’m hoping for a jaw-dropping, dynamic finish.
So read on and let me tell you more!
Rock & Stone
Rock. Hard. Gladiators.
A silly name to some, but RHG has deep roots in the stick-figure community. This first formalized stick-man OC battle system created by Travis “Stone” Stevens. RHG was founded in 2005 via the site RockHardAnims.com, which would later transform into FluidAnims.com.
(For reference, YouTube was also launched in 2005).
Under RHG, animators would simply challenge each other to battles by animating each others characters beating each other up. Sound familiar?
On those early sites, Stone and many other talented stick artists produced a variety of innovative animations, demos, and stories for several years.
I was never an active participant on the site, but I was an avid viewer and fan. As I watched, I practiced flash animation by myself at home, only sharing my stuff with close friends and family.
Eventually FluidAnims (and RHG) were sold off to StickPage, which has since deteriorated into internet ruins.
Note: This was just my own abbreviated understanding of the history of early 2000s stickman/web animation. For a more detailed overview, check out Sopple’s stick-figure-timeline here.
And if you want the FULL story, you should bug Hyun & Pluto about filming that stick animation documentary…
Historical Reference
To hammer at the theme of Rocks & Gladiators, the setting of Story #7 will be the mysteriously abandoned colosseum, that I’ve been teasing at since Gildedguy vs Oxob (and maybe as far back as vs. Jade).
The production team and I have been meticulously drawing ancient Greek & Roman style architecture for the backgrounds. The plaques and reliefs are excellent opportunities to sneak in RHG history (as well as Patreon Cameos)!
In addition, I’ve set a personal challenge to myself to use novel color palettes not found in my other animations. All of these elements will hopefully paint this animation in a distinct look that contrasts the nostalgic past against the stark present.
Andre
Why the history lesson?
I’ve been fortunate enough to be allowed to feature Stone’s character, Andre, as a combatant in my new animation!
Andre is a brown stickman and serves as the founding RHG. He wields a massive, rectangular hammer that emits lightning. It is an awesome honor to bring his character back to into the fray, since I was (as aforementioned) a big fan. This will also be reflected in the actual story – Gildedguy was a big fan of Andre too!
Gildedguy in the Middle
Picking a legendary character to fight against is not just some act of fanboy-ism. I want to pit Gildedguy against an idol of the past, and see how he measures up. The phenomenon of meeting (& beating) your heroes is a fascinating one to me, and it’s something I observe happen all the time on the web.
My friend Ben calls it “the ascended fan”. Sometimes an inspired viewer of your work, through talent and toil, reaches and surpasses you in a very special way. It doesn’t matter how old, young, close, or far away the artist is – on the internet, the connection between creator and fan is miniscule. I’m starting to see that relationships between online artists are less about “students & masters” but more about bubbles of influence. We pull styles from whatever, and whoever, catches our eye. I’ve experienced this torch passing from the side of both the receiver and giver.
This is why Story #7 can’t involve only two fighters. I’ll be placing another “new” character alongside Gildedguy in this struggle between past & present.
Wind
On the opposing end of rock we have our featured windy character, Arzon! Arzon is a young typhoon-fighter who can shoot and ride the element of wind. Hanif created him in 2014, and has animated an impressive amount of battles.
I find Hanif to be incredibly hard working and consistent, and I can tell he cares deeply about storytelling. I’m surprised his work is not more popular, for his videos (which boast full animation & voice acting) deserve more attention!
Arzon, in his modern form, is quite different from other RHG’s. He’s expressive, speaks out loud, non-violent, and feels more like a heroic character you’d find in a cartoon today. To me, he’s fresh.
This aligns well with his wind element, and allows me to pit my two chief themes against one another. Which wins out in the end?
Strong tradition or dynamic progress?
Past vs Present?
Rock vs Wind.
No Reference
Aside from the multitude of Tibetan cloud swirls and ivy leaves, I’m hoping to represent “wind” as an invisible…”force” in this animation. On a more meta-level, I’m attempting to allow many aspects of the production go unplanned.
We’ve already switched lining styles twice, and are now trusting in a “no-cleanup” process of animation. Whereas we’d normally trace over the rough linework with clean lines, we’re skipping it! The inspiration is partially from Disney’s 1990’s strategy to ink straight from Xerox, as well as my amazement at the quality of anime studio’s “genga” work. This might be one of the few chances where us being messy actually aligns with the story!
Another invisible force I’m choosing to trust in is the ending. Normally I plot out exactly what happens after the end of the battle – this is not the case this time. I really want to animate the climax in an untethered way. All I know is that I want to put tons of effort, freedom, color, spirit, and MOVEMENT into the last dozen or so seconds of the battle. I’m hoping (confidently), that we’ll produce a sequence that reveals genuinely surprising techniques and symbols.
While most of the screen time will be monolithic stones and the dusty arena, it’ll be these invisible, windy forces that I believe will make the animation as a whole, feel alive.
Present Day
On a more personal level, this animation will be dropping at a rather pivotal point in my own life. I used to wonder why my favorite artists would allow “life to get in the way” of their passion. They would mysteriously slow down, show less quality, and eventually, quit from producing animation online. As I’ve said before, it’s quite disheartening.
As we enter the New Year of 2022, I’m feeling my own priorities starting to shift. Parents, peers, partners – we’re all getting older. I have a team to pay and patrons to please. No wonder why artists loosen their grip on Passion.
(Combine that with how the world is becoming ever-so-weary of the global pandemic).
The whole “winds of change” thing is no joke – people will move on with their lives, and one can easily get swept along. I titled this as “an animation about legacy” because of Story #7’s emphasis on the passage of time.
I feel like time itself is eroding me – so I better get with it!
(◙◙)
In my personal opinion, Gildedguy & the RHG stands as my second favorite animation you’ve made yet! (Gildedguy v.s. Oxob being no.1) Great music too! Great job on this one!
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GG. You are a massive creative inspiration to me. You put so much dedication and your own personal self into your work in a way that never feels like you are just self-inserting just because, but instead that you are making something that speaks to you while allowing your creative pen to flow.
Something I love about your art style is that it feels like anyone could have drawn it, but when you sit down and look at the animation as a whole, there’s real attention to detail and a genuine appreciation and usage of professional animation techniques. The characters you animate may look quite simple, but the way they move is nothing but simple and takes a lot of work to get it to flow right. It’s like a young boys imagination come to life in the most badass way possible.
Anyways, times do change and with it so do our priorities. This is a sentiment I can relate to dearly as a college student. And if these winds of change result in you putting the pen down and moving on to greater things in your life, then so be it. As an avid fan, it’s a little saddening sure, but you’ve done so much already for the stick figure fighting community, and just fans of good animation that you more than deserve every good thing and new path that life opens up for you as things change.
Bravo for such a wonderful animation GG!
Can’t wait for this one! You said towards the end that you’re feeling your priorities shift and “time is eroding you”. Does that mean Gildedguy’s journey is ending soon? How many more stories do you have planned?
Fun post to read, thank you. I can tell a lot of thought and effot was put into it.
Can’t wait to see the animation when it comes out! I’ve watched the trailer about 5 times already and I have so many questions I’m hoping to get answered! GL GG!
Hello Gildedguy, I just want to say thank you for the amazing work that you give us. You are a really big part of my animation inspiration and I have been animating stuff after I watched your Green Eyed Cowboy, then i watched all your other vids and it was magical, and inspired me to animate myself, Again thank you so much!
For the upcoming animation of yours, I hope you and the rest of the team are getting the rest that is needed, in order for you guys to create the best things you can for the next one. Good luck!
Hello, Gildedguy. It’s nice to see you still going strong after everything that’s been going on in the world. I’ve been on Youtube for years and followed countless channels (including yours) that fueled my passion for becoming a content creator on a platform. Many inconveniences have made it difficult for me to do so. They include my family life, mental health, social life, intellectual capability, motivation, and most importantly to me, commitment. I had the desire to create content but lacked the motivation and commitment necessary to do it. I still lack a firm enough grip on the first four obstacles I mentioned previously, as well. However, what I do have now that I didn’t have before is something I think you also acquired at some time in your career: a vision. I conjured up a series of fictional worlds set in universes different from our own. Ones where everything was different from our own and I had full control of them. These mental playgrounds were things I would get lost in while listening to music, playing video games, watching movies/shows, and drawing (once in a blue moon). They invigorate me. And they do it enough for me to write notes relating to everything that happens in my adolescent mind. Stuff I plan on using when I feel willing enough to dive back into animation and drawing. I have you and others like you to thank for that. Your work inspired me to look into 2-D art and continues to enliven my desire to accomplish my dreams of becoming a visual storyteller. Keep up the great work, and thank you again for everything you’ve given me over the years!
Honestly i appreciate all the effort you put into your story telling and things even like this and your website. The themes and lessons in your stories are always so great in a way. i feel inspired watching your work and finding myself extremely overjoyed whenever i hear about your progress in animation or just about gildedguy as a whole. Recently i was able to get your fortnite skin (i dont know if that supports you directly) but i wanted to show support in some way. I cant wait for this new addition to gildedguy’s ongoing story (Or if this is the end idk yet) but i hope you have a nice night or day. stay golden
You’re truly an inspiration and one of the reasons why I wanted to learn animation… I cannot express my feelings enough
The fact that glide guy started this animation around a moth and its 56 percent done is amazing
good work Michael
be carful for burnout though
congrats to the team
Thanks for the nice comment! Do note that I began preproduction before the previous release in summer, so its been a few months!