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    Tuesday, March 31, 2009

    Love Your Pet Expo Screen Shots

    Dear Smirk Studios Fans,

    *Update - 3/31 8:30 am - Scene 1 of 6 completely outlined, awaiting color and lip sync.
    *Update - 3/31 11:00 am - Scene 2 of 6 completeley outlined, awaiting color and lip sync.
    *Update - 3/31 11:40 am - Scene 3 of 6 completely outlined, awaiting color and lip sync.

    >>*This post will be updated throughout today and possibley the rest of this week. The purpose is to bring you screen shots as I create and update newer stuff on the LYPE toon. They should appear chronologically, and the newer ones should be closer to the top. Tune in!*<<

    3/31 - 11:40 am
    In this cap, we see Gizmo the dog talking to us about the "Kids' Korner," and then shows us a chew-toy her owner made for her out of a piece of rope.


    3/31 - 11:00 am
    Here we meet Dora the Donkey in scene 2 of the toon. She tells you about her favorite part being the costume contest.


    3/31 - 8:30 am
    In this screen shot, we see the first character besides Expo that appears in the toon. The motivation in this shot is the excitement Ronnie the rat expresses while telling you about the pet parade, in which, "I get to ride WAY UP on the human's shoulders, where I can see ALL the COSTUMES!!!"

    Monday, March 30, 2009

    Love Your Pet Expo Outlines Started

    Dear Smirk Studios Fans,

    The Outlines are started, and it's time to start showing you what I've been preparing for! Here is the first ever LYPE screen shot!

    In this pic, we see Expo in the first scene in which he introduces himself and the expo itself. Within the first 50 frames (20 frames per second) we see some of the most innovative movements I've ever animated!


    Make sure you're following me on my Twitter to know what I'm updating, and when/where to find whatever it is I've done. Stay tuned here and on my website as well for more on paid advertising cartoons from Smirk Studios!!!

    Friday, March 27, 2009

    Love Your Pet Expo Bones

    Dear Smirk Studios Fans,

    If you've been following my Twitter, you'll know that I just got back from a quick vacation. While it WAS in the middle of my animation time, fear not. The Love Your Pet Expo cartoon will be completed as quoted!

    I do not have any screen shots again today for you, but on the other hand, I do happen to have wonderful news for you. I have structured most of what is called "the bones" or "construction" of the animation, and that is the hardest part. I have only 2 scenes left for structure, and then it will be time to outline and color.

    Thanks for all your patience, and keep it right here!

    Thursday, March 19, 2009

    Love Your Pet Expo Story Board Ideas

    Dear Smirk Studios Fans,

    For the commercial, I've decided to make Expo the dog appear to be a kind of amatuer reporter. He will wear a dress clothes and have lots of trouble standing still as he exitedly informs you about the Love Your Pet Expo. His friends will pass by, causing him to get even more excited, allowing you to connect to him more on the excited dog level as opposed to a reporter.

    His friends should be wearing something related to what they are talking about. For instance, Dora the donkey talks about the costume contest, and therefore I will have her wearing some sort of silly costume (but making sure you can tell she is a donkey).

    Here is a pic I did as a concept of what Expo will look like in the cartoon! Be sure to leave feedback by clicking "Leave a Comment" at the bottom of this post!

    Tuesday, March 17, 2009

    Love Your Pet Expo Audio Cuts

    Dear Smirk Studios Fans,

    Sorry for the 2 days of no updates! This does not mean our deadline will be missed for this commercial, but for anyone looking forward to the release of Teen Pijinz this Sunday (March 22), due to personal issues (both good and bad), I will be pushing the deadline to around April 11th (my birthday). Sorry for the inconvenience.

    For the Love Your Pet Expo commercial, we are still on schedule. After some yard work at my parents' house, I was able to cut up all the audio and put it in chronological order with all the final takes. It is clipped up and ready to be inserted into Flash. I will be producing a storyboard for it this week, and it should be done fairly soon.

    It sounds so great, I wish I could show it to someone!!! LOL but alas, I must wait, just like you. Stay tuned, more updates will be here! Keep an eye on my Twitter for constant daily updates and little snippets of what's happening here in the world I call my studio!!! Peace and love!

    Friday, March 13, 2009

    Love Your Pet Expo

    Dear Smirk Studios Fans,

    Good news! Jeffery Short and 2 members of his crew have finished the work for voices on the Love Your Pet Expo commercial donation! It sounds GREAT! Jeffery Short does the voices Expo the dog, Bill Rinaldi does Ronnie the rat and Lennie the llama, and Lori Starkgraf as Dora the donkey, Gizmo the small dog, and Gertie the goat. Exciting, huh?!

    This means I will be working on the storyboard pitch for a structured look at what the cartoon will look like. I usually don't post my storyboards, but I will updated you upon finishing it, and let you know what Suz and Katie (the recipients of this cartoon) think. Thanks for tuning in!

    Thursday, March 12, 2009

    Love Your Pet Expo

    Dear Smirk Studios Fans,

    Ok, the first update for the upcoming Love Your Pet Expo is here! I have a couple images for you to see what I will be working with.

    First, here is what the character already looks like before I try to recreate him. You can see that he is a happy dog with plenty of personality in his expression. Say hello to Expo the Dog!

    As you can see, that gives me plenty to work with. The only thing is, it's not as simple as just moving the picture's mouth around and flipping and re-sizing. I first must get to know the character and position him in a variety of ways to fully understand how I will move him. This takes lots of drawing, and I start with getting to know his basic shapes first. After carefully examining the drawing above, I created my own version in which Expo is still happy, but with a mouth closed. Also, you may notice that he is looking directly at you as opposed to off to the side. As you can see, this character will definately connect with an audience very easily, which is a plus in having a cartoon featured with such a friendly character. Here is is!

    In other news, Jeffery Short and his crew have sent me some of the raw audio for the voicing of all the characters that will be featured. I must say, it's definately some great work (as usual). I have the entire scripting for Expo FULLY recorded, and even a couple of the animals as well. Hang in there, guys! It's gonna be a good one!

    Wednesday, March 11, 2009

    Love Your Pet Expo

    Dear Smirk Studios Fans,

    EMERGENCY!!! I have to come up with an animation that will be displayed at a pet expo by April 4th, and it wouldn't be such a big deal, except I've had the script for almost 2 WEEKS now and didn't know there was a ticking clock!!! That means I've gotta get in shape and get this show on the road!

    As a special favor, I'm going to attempt to call upon the forces of Jeffery Short and the "Sketched Crew" for help on the voice acting! I figure since it's for a good cause, he will come through, but HOW SOON?! We will see.

    Keep it tuned right here for the next set of updates coming to you about commercial animation!!! Make sure you follow me on Twitter for frequent updates on ALL SORTS of stuff!!!