Animation Update and Other Stuff

DeviantART Status

I'm more than a little miffed at dA, so I won't be renewing my Core Membership any time soon. However, this doesn't have anything to do with the infrequency of my posts. I'm just very busy these days, so stopping to scan my drawings has effectively become a massive hassle. I refuse to post phone-photos on dA, because my photography is rubbish.

Plus I'm not drawing much that doesn't form part of confidential production files for the Valiard trailer, so yap.

Stop in at my Instagram if you'd like to see more frequent updates: www.instagram.com/ezzymoneyfac…
Valiard also now has its own Instagram if you only care about the book: www.instagram.com/thevaliardma…

The Valiard Mansion: Animated Trailer

As many of you know, Valiard is getting an old-school 2D animated trailer, Disney style. The Golden Bell team and I are already knees deep in it, with Valiard itself having gotten one of the priority spots at the company. (I feel so professionally pampered haha!)

Team Valiard now has about 20 members, who I'm sure we'll introduce to everybody in due time. We've hired on animators and layout folks, we might have a foley artist, and we're currently looking at composers. Final touches are being added to the storyboard by yours truly, after which we'll be issuing scenes to our animators. I'll be acting as Supervising Animator over everyone, by virtue of being the only person who can keep everyone on model.

I'm also happy to announce that although much of the animation will be done digitally, I will personally be cleaning up the animation by hand on real paper, which will then be scanned back in and coloured digitally. I really like CG and digital-2D animation, but the drawback for me is that no human hand has actually touched the final product seen by the audience on-screen. I hope that by having actual pencil lines in the final product, some of that traditional magic will seep into the Valiard production.

Hey, it's worth a shot!

Still Want to Work on the Animated Trailer?

We're always open to folks who'd like to contribute. We'd never turn down more character animators and we still don't have an effects animator.

Attention, Voice Actors!

Speaking roles have doubled in the new trailer, so keep an eye out for updates if you're an actor and you'd like to audition for a role.

I'm sure it's okay if I gush that Lord Redmere (Joshua Valiard, Sexy Hobo Beard, first of his name) is confirmed to have a VO in the trailer — so if you fancy you can do a very ghostly, posh aristocratic accent (think Downton Abbey), we'd love to hear from you. OOGITY BOOGITY!

Ruth, Theodore, and Gangfield are naturally up for grabs. Adam and Dennis will have speaking roles, too, and more female roles have also opened up, so it's not just Ruth in the running. Off the top of my head, Emily (Theo's sister), the Witch Melora, curator lady Mrs Dunswick, and Millie the maid will need voices.

I'll make a proper post about that in the near future, though, with a character list and audition lines and the whole shebang. Fair warning: if you get a role, Co-Director Marc Goldner will likely require you to read the novel in its entirety. Which, if this isn't your kind of story, might be mental anguish cringe for you. MUAHAHA!

And that's it!

Back to work, Ez!