Animation

"Grant me the power to revolutionise the word" is a pretty big ask!

Anything is possible with the power of anime on your side, Michael David!

"We must be stronger then yesterday" from Naruto

No quotes, just to leave behind some creative work for the next generation.

Is this good enough to be a short silent animation

What Was is No Longer sounds interesting, Crystal Rollen. Unique concept and funny character name, and it has themes people can relate to. I think it's good enough to be a short silent animation. I'd watch it!

Well, I used to see character that he use mentally chill. They kinda like inspired me. I guess I used the dog. I changed the noon though. I thought it was kind of chaotic. I shouldn’t be no kids film and I don’t want it to be an adult film. I kind of want it to be on Family side so I changed his name to Pugsley. Now the story call Pugley world

I used the dog in mentally chill but his name had to go

Maurice Vaughan me too, but then I wondered if animation writers adapted some of the Element, to suit their animated projects?

I just remembered, Geoff Hall. I wrote an animated pilot for a 30-minute series in Finat Draft 12. I think I used the TV template and five acts.

Wow, Maurice Vaughan how did you work five acts into a 30 minute episode?

I found an article online about writing a 30-minute pilot, Geoff Hall.

Maurice Vaughan me too, Maurice. Thanks for checking in. I used the same template, but dropped the ‘Acts’ element.

Banafsheh, I agree about the tonal shift in season 5 — the darker direction added emotional weight, but the pacing didn’t quite allow the transformation to breathe. It’s interesting how long gaps between seasons can affect creative cohesion. Still, the visual evolution was impressive.

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh I am a HUGE fan of Samurai Jack. The way they build tension in many of their episodes with the use of silence is masterful. I do agree with you though. In Season 4 you could see them losing steam. Typical when you have plotted out 3 seasons and did not expect a 4th. I had the same issues and praise you have for season 5. I appreciated the cleaner more structured art and the seriousness of the themes and his emotional arc, but it definitely feels like a huge departure from the original tone, which was a bit of a challenge to accept initially, after such anticipation of the series continuation. It did feel like a rush to just end the franchise. Overall though, still a master piece for me.

For sure Charmane Wedderburn, I really liked how Jack was hallucinating following losing his sword, as well as his internal battles with Inner Jack, and of course his redesign following the loss of his sword. I wish it would've lasted a bit longer to make regaining his hope even more satisfying.

Agreed wholeheartedly Kevin Jackson, even though I wasn't entirely a fan of how isolated most of the episodes in the first four seasons felt (one of my favourites was when he learned to Jump Good; I hated how in following episodes he completely forgot how to do that when it would've helped him), they had that undeniable cartoon energy we all love. I missed that in season 5 where it was noticeably more grounded and cohesive (but again, rushed so it didn't hit like it should've), devoid of much of the hijinx in favour of maturity. Hence my saying it both works and doesn't.

I feel like season 5 would've been better as a standalone spin-off geared towards adults rather than part of the main canon because like you said, it really did feel like they rushed to end the franchise. I think the decade-plus hiatus before it contributed to that as well; it's very hard to maintain the same energy and even enthusiasm as when you started after long stretches of time.

Banafsheh, yes — stretching that arc would have deepened the emotional payoff. When a character’s identity fractures, the audience needs enough time inside that instability for the restoration to truly land. The hallucination device was powerful — it just needed a bit more narrative runway to make the hope feel earned rather than accelerated.

Because Kiki's Delivery Service deals with universal themes like finding your place in the world and also feeling like you're lost, and of course it's a whimsical story with a lot of heart. It feels like that friend who always knows what to say to help you feel better, to calm you down when your heart's caught in a storm. Every single one of us has been Kiki at some point in our lives.

Studio Ghibli has a knack for capturing universal themes in surreal realism. I don't know how they do it, but no matter what the film is about, it feels relatable. The art and animations are amazing and timeless.

The storylines often tackle very complex, layered emotions, truly testing the protagonists. Almost all the storylines are heroes' journeys but on an emotional or cerebral level.

My Crystal Rollen, but as a voice actress I go by Alyssa hart.

WHAT WAS IS NO LONGER

Logline:

A dignified, suit-wearing dog moves through his precise daily routine until subtle environmental disruptions begin to challenge his sense of control.

World:

A quiet, contained domestic space governed by rhythm, stillness, and timing. Meaning emerges through repetition and restraint rather than dialogue or exposition.

Character:

ButtPlug — a brindle poggle in a tailored charcoal suit. Composed, deliberate, emotionally controlled. He does not overreact. He absorbs. His escalation is minimal, precise, and deeply internal.

Dancing donut. Haha. Thanks for sharing the quick demonstration, Mathew Tretola. I have some animated script ideas and scripts I'd like to make pitch material for. I'll look into Moho Pro some more.

Maurice Vaughan This doesn't even scratch the surface of how awesome Moho is. I highly recommend it. The Debut version is only $60 and both the Debut and Pro versions are a one-time purchase, permanent license.

There's also a ton of great tutorials and communities willing to help with any trouble you may have along your journey on Facebook and YouTube.

Thanks, Mathew Tretola! I'll check out the tutorials on YouTube. And I'd watch a movie/show about a dancing donut.

I think animation is great for cosmic stories, Amir Sadeghi! But live-action cosmic stories could be done since there's CGI.

Thanks Maurice Vaughan, it makes a lot of sense since Les Goobs' is a Finding Elpis spinoff and canonically the band is touring (at least in part 1) so they can cross paths, but the side characters can come across them as well so there's plenty of possibilities depending on the timeline of events. And I'd really like to do a comic/shoestring animation because I love the feeling of making something myself. And really since it's part of a life's work it's probably better I work on it entirely on my own lol

You're welcome, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. That does make a lot of sense. I need to try cameo characters in my scripts. A cameo Super Smash Bros. type script. :D

Nice Maurice Vaughan, have fun with it and let me know how it turns out!

Thanks, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. Okay, I will.

You’re welcome, Maurice Vaughan.

The link takes me to the Rooster Fighter video, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh.

Thanks for catching that, Maurice Vaughan, I fixed it.

You're welcome, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. Thanks. I just watched the Redline pilot. WOW! I have to check out the full movie!

You definitely should Maurice Vaughan. It’s one of those movies you just never get tired of, and they did it entirely for the art so I respect it that much more.

Great tips! Thanks for sharing the video, Kevin Jackson.

It all depends on the circumstances, but a solid principle for sure.

Hi Kevin,

Thank you so much for sharing these tips. This is incredibly helpful, especially for beginners trying to understand timing and spacing in a practical way. Watching animation frame by frame or at slower speeds is such a smart exercise.

I may not be an animator myself, but I deeply appreciate animation and the craft behind it. Insights like this really highlight how much intention goes into every movement.

Grateful you’re sharing your knowledge with the community!!

So many principles overlap to make for good animation. Timing and spacing as shown here need to be combined with the use of pose-to-pose animation.

Most amateur mistakes I see come from the artist drawing straight ahead instead of drawing keyframes and then backing up with in-betweens. Starting with the keys then gives you the opportunity to plan your timing/spacing afterwards.

I understand why some people and companies would use AI to skip steps in the animated process, Laquan Copeland, but sometimes those steps are where great ideas happen at. And like you said, "Those were the roles that allowed emerging talent to fail, iterate, and grow before stepping into leadership or showrunning positions."

If early pipeline roles are automated, I think the next generation of animation storytellers will come from them teaching themselves/finding mentors themselves and making their own movies, shows, etc.

My observation is that AI will destroy the studio pipeline as we know it. Those who worked in the system in pipeline-level jobs represent a small percentage of those who animate and tell stories outside the system.

Many are also foregoing learning via traditional animation schools and programs and are learning via online classes and YouTube.

Artists need to learn to be independent of the studio system, and those who are earnest and innovative will forge careers as content creators and build audiences where the studio system will need them.