Working on…An Origin Story

Intro/Summary

My current project is a music animation that depicts the beginning of Gildedguy’s overall story. It takes place in a never-before-seen home town that I’ve nicknamed “The Life Factory”, which is a mega structure that houses a self-sustaining community of stick-people.

This blogpost will go over some of my motivations for this project, some meta-thoughts on my art, and what to expect for the animation’s release early next year.

Why I chose this project

In my previous post, I mentioned I had 2 candidate projects, either next episode in the series (#7) or the origin story (#0). After mulling it over for a few weeks (and wrapping up leftover fulfillments from Vs. Oxob), one of my musical contacts gave me the green light for the song for the origin story.

Nature of Origin Stories

So going with Story #0 is a practical decision, with some nice story telling benefits. I often get questions about my inspiration for Gildedguy, the extent of his powers, and, basically, what his origin is. Answering these questions sooner rather than later will help viewers focus on what’s important: the current moment.

Having a definitive beginning also aids in the foreshadowing and setup for an overarching story. You need a Point A alongside your B if you want to get the trajectory for C. Without a starting point, the plot can feel aimless.

About my story

It should be apparent by now that the character Gildedguy is a big ol’ self-insert: he’s my avatar, my way of expressing myself. And if I’m going to write about his origin, I have to draw from my origin. I really want to ask myself: “When did I actually become Gildedguy?”

The simple answer is when I quit my job and became a independent artist.

Yet, there was a richer, deeper decision that clicked in my mind before that. The complex answer. I look back at the weeks leading up to my career change, and I always find it was a cocktail of personal motivations, triumphs, and disillusionment. The memories are hazy, and the story sloshes around in my head.

But there is always a distinct feeling that remains sharp: it was the morning after I quit. I felt reborn. Because quitting wasn’t just about the job, it was about taking full control of my life. All those years quietly going along with the crowd, ignoring my instincts, and appeasing others for daily approval. For once, I didn’t need to do that anymore, in a visceral sense. Like, literally.

That morning, I felt like I could get hit by a car and still smile, because I was that confident about the future.

But it all started from that little click in my mind. I hope to find out what that paradigm shift was through this animation.

New Techniques and Production

I’ve noticed that whenever I start a new project, I try to set my target “visual quality level” as low as possible. Because, time and time again, I have a habit of over polishing the animation with more details. This is both a blessing and a curse, since the added fanciness comes at the cost of time. Often, this is the death of an ambitious project.

Thanks to my supporters, I can now afford more time, in the form of recruiting more artists. I will still set the bar as low as possible, because money still needs to be spent wisely. But it seems that my fellow teammates share my habit of adding detail.

For this production, it is the background art that has been receiving a major upgrade. This is the first project where I have let other artists render my environments for me. I established a direction for the backgrounds through concept art (surroundings, props, characters), and then, for individual scenes, drew layouts.

Layouts are the key to outsourcing background work – they act as the skeleton for others to draw on top of. This makes the concept art the skin, and the background artists the skin grafters…in a way.

I’ll stop being gross now.

But I’ve noticed this pattern repeat itself outside of background art. Whether it’s directing an animator or moderating a server, it’s all very similar. Setting up a system entails creating a macro scaffolding, and then providing micro examples of the final vision. Then you let artists have at it.

The pairing of setting requirements and providing inspiration is a powerful one, and one I wish to explore as a creator.

Ma and Pa Boss

I always wondered why so many animated films start with a young protagonist dealing with problems stemming from a parental authority (or lack thereof). Like, can’t we just have a normal guy with a normal childhood fight off some bad guy? Isn’t that enough? Maybe not.

On a psychological level, I feel like the most interesting stories involve a struggle with a personal flaw. Some sort of weakness that seems outside of our control. Perfect parents do not exist, so neither do perfect childhoods.

The Boss characters in this animation are a sort of amalgamation of authority figures in my life, including my parents. For all intents and purposes, they are my “creators”. Growing up, they taught me how the world works. Thus, The Boss provided my model for the world.

So when it comes time to forge an identity, and become a creator, there will be conflict with the worldview they instilled. In an origin story, it’s appropriate to have a hero that challenges authority.

Is this cliche? Only when it’s done out of a desire for control: To change others, instead of oneself. That is no good.

The parental figure may seem to be just another character to add personal drama, but it’s often deeper than that. Because if we want transformation, a change for the better, we cannot fight people, we must fight our worldview.

The Music

The feature song for Gildedguy Gets Up will be “Gold Rush” (2014) performed Emma Stevens. I was introduced to this song through a user’s song request on my live-stream. It immediately jumped out to me as a tune that provokes an overwhelming, invincible feeling. Also, it fits very well with my golden stick man theme.

Emma and her team have awesomely allowed me to produce my origin story with their song, and I hope that they enjoy the final animation. As always, I want to do the music justice, this song deserves it.

Side note: Please do not bombard their music videos with “I am here to represent Gildedguy!” comments. I’m flattered, but it reflects poorly. The song by itself tells its own tale, something which needs to be respected in that particular forum.

Side-side note: Please do not start flame wars on other comments about this.

Conclusion

This animation is probably going to be the most personal story of mine so far. Personal stories tend to be riskier, because by relaying your own, unique experience, you might alienate who you’re talking to. The previous fight animation had some broad appeal built right in – who doesn’t love a good stick fight! And my goal was to impress and go above and beyond.

That’s not the case this time.

I’m in a lucky position to animate about something that I know needs to be said. I’m fairly optimistic, but disaster and misfortune can strike at any time, no matter who you are.

If I could tell only one more Gildedguy story, it would be this one. It’s very significant.

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