Battle Animation Almost Done! (September 2024 Update)

Hi Patrons,

Hope you've all had a good summer - here is an update post on what I've been up to. Lots of WIP gifs to share so read on!

Animation Progress

Violet vs Dummy is chugging along nicely - last month we were about half done with the battle animation, and now I am happy to report that we are 85% done now! There has been a lot of dynamic choreography involving illusion magic and archery, so I am hoping you guys will enjoy it.

Batching Assignment Files

Something contributing to our speedy pace is a new workflow we've employed. Normally during our productions, the director would assign scenes to animators in sequence (one at a time). I did this a lot because often times the animatic wouldn't be done (heck the story wouldn't even be written yet either). Thankfully, we benefitted from a fully storyboarded fight from the get-go, so in an effort to delegate more work, we batch-processed all the assigned scenes from start to finish.

Even though we do not have as many hands on deck, having the animation directions already set in place really helps (as an animator) pump out scenes. Essentially we've separated the creative thinking and pure drawing/draftsmanship steps apart from one another. We "think" up front, then draw afterwards.

Teaser Trailer & Promotion

All I can say is: we're still working on it! The side effect of the above batching method is that we don't get a very deep "vertical slice" of the final product. But we'll be focusing efforts on getting some polished scenes out for a trailer.

Alongside the production, I've been working with Kero to bring some Violet vs Dummy-themed merch made! Here are some WIP's.

GildedGala - Cirque Du Dummy

I've been putting a lot of hours into programming the multiplayer GildedGala event in anticipation of the premiere. Previous year's gala had a handful of activities, rooms, and features to simulate a fancy party.

I've doubled the content for this year's gala with the addition of carnival mini-games, equip-able food/items, and even some light combat. If you tune into the Twitch streams, you may catch one of the public play tests and try it out early right in your browser!

Join the beta test server here: https://discord.gg/K8YygQ9B

I'm aiming to run this event for multiple days instead only a few hours this time.

A fanart I did for Oxob's animation in progress.

That's all I have for now, thank you for your support and see you on stream!