Working On…An Animation on Legacy

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!

(◙◙)