The Cuphead Show premiering February 18 on Netflix!

 Here's the most recent trailer for The Cuphead Show with many shots that I tweaked making it into the trailer and a scene I got to animate at the end with the boys walking and singing! Can't wait for the world to see it.

Still Kickin'

 HEY! Long time no see. I'm still alive, still kickin'. Anyway not much has happened since I'm still on The Cuphead Show at Netflix BUT the movie I worked on came out a few months ago on Netflix AND a preview for The Cuphead Show was released a few months back. Here they are:

Arlo The Alligator Boy

This was the last project I worked on while at Titmouse and it was my first feature film! Go check it out on Netflix!

The Cuphead Show! w/ Wayne Brady as King Dice

And here's a short clip of The Cuphead Show revealing Wayne Brady as King Dice! I did some minor animation tweaks for several of those scenes and the spotlight scene with the characters on the balcony was probably my third assignment?? Anyway enjoy that clip for now as there is still not revealed release date yet, so stay tuned for that!

Cheers for now!

Netflix Animation

This past week was my first week at my new gig! I'm VERY excited to work with The Cuphead Show team as an in house animator at Netflix!!! It's so wonderful being reunited with some familiar characters! The Cuphead game was my first job in animation and I am so grateful I get a chance to work with this property again. It holds a very special place in my heart. So here's my Cup-sona, MugMarco, I made in 2015 when I interned at Studio MDHR reunited with an old friend.

Cuphead @ The Annies and Video Game Awards

Cuphead's getting some recognition!!! 

For the 45th Annie Awards Cuphead will be the recipient of this year's 'Special Achievement Award'!!!! Which according to their website is:

An Annie Award for Special Achievement in Animation is given to an individual, individuals, or a company for unique and outstanding achievement in animation not recognized by in other Annie Award categories. This special award is given by the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood, by a unanimous vote, when such recognition is deemed desirable. 

This is freaking amazing!! Holy cow!!! 2 animators who worked on the game, Hanna Abi-Hanna and Tina Nawrocki, are also nominated for Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in a Video Game! Super cool!!

At 2017 Game Awards, Cuphead was nominated for 5 categories and won 3! Cuphead received Best Independant Game, Best Art Direction, and Best Debut Indie Game!! It was also nominated for Best Score/Soundtrack and Best Action Game.

https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/939212959812907008

Even Justin Trudeau went out the way to congratulate the team! I always told people who were on the fence on buying the game to get it so they can "support Canadian content!" A lot of people tend to forget that it is!

***

This is insanely amazing to see Cuphead receiving so much attention and praise! The creators and those who worked on it put so much passion into it that I can't help but be so happy for them to see their dream project succeed. Cuphead is still continuing to pop up on other website's Game of The Year Awards lists it's exciting! 

Cuphead is available now!!

Cuphead is available now! The game was my first animation gig and I had the wonderful opportunity to work on it briefly 2 years ago! Go buy it and play it! The team put a lot of passion and hard work and I hope you enjoy it for its challenging gameplay and wonderful art and animation.

Available on Xbox One, Windows 10 Store, Steam, Humble Bundle, and GoG!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/268910/Cuphead/

https://www.humblebundle.com/store/cuphead

https://www.gog.com/game/cuphead

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/cuphead/9njrx71m5x9p

Cuphead @ Gamescom

Forgot to post this here! But here's some sweet new gameplay footage of Cuphead from Gamescom with an interview with Maja Moldenhauer! Some clean up work I did can be seen during the mermaid level, specifically the water fx around her waist and the coloured fish she holds to shoot projectiles! Super cool to see it put together!

Cuphead comes out September 29!

Cuphead Release Date - September 29

This week during E3, Cuphead, the game that I worked on 2 summers ago, finally got a release date! YAAY! Super excited to play the final product! Worked on just a few of of the levels that are in this trailer and it's amazing to see some levels in the final stages that I saw only in early stages of development while I was there! 

Get excited! Pre - order it now on Xbox One and Windows 10. Also available on Steam!

Microsoft Store

Steam Page

Cuphead Website

Studio MDHR Website

I'M A TINTERN!

I'll be interning at Tinman Creative Studios this summer and I start tomorrow!

It's a small studio located literally right next to the Exhibition GO train stop, it's like a 2 minute walk from it. They have created a lot of web content including their recent web series Super Science Friends which is a series about a group of famous scientists with super powers led by Winston Churchill. Check it out the first episode here. And here's a link to their website:

http://tinman.tv/

I haven't really announced it anywhere since I got the job at the beginning of March (actually it was the day Zootopia came out because I remember watching it to celebrate). But since I'll be starting tomorrow I guess it was time to post it! I'm also lucky enough to be interning with a group of really close friends so I'm super excited to start. I can't wait to see what this summer holds.

And alas here's my portfolio and demo reel that I used to get in! 

http://animation.sheridanc.on.ca/portfolio/2017/riverama/

(oh boy some of these stuff are already outdated haha)

And if you're wondering I did receive one other interview from another studio the same week Tinman had interviewed me. I had not received any interviews or offers prior to those two. I learned a lot about portfolios and what studios were looking for in interns. So here's a list of things that I learned in the process!

• YOU'RE A STUDENT. First and foremost you're a student. Take advantage of it. Studios are looking for amazing artists and animators, but in the end you're a student. They aren't expecting the best in order to replace their animation supervisor or art director, they're looking for someone that can do the job that they're going to ask you to do. But if your stuff ends up looking top notch even better! You're not going to be in a higher position since you're an intern for 4 months, so don't assume your portfolio needs to be filled with experience. Studios know that the majority of students don't have industry experience, but if you do that's a bonus! You're doing an internship to GET experience so don't sweat that you don't have much relevant experience, they know.
• The demo reel may be the only thing they see. One studio only looked at my demo reel and nothing else, while the other ended up contacting me directly through my email that I had only listed on my resumé and not through my school's job board. As someone who was looking for an animation internship, my demo reel and the order in which scenes appeared was crucial. Generally (not a rule) the order would be:
  
  
  BEST > SECOND BEST > AWESOME STUFF IN THE MIDDLE > THIRD BEST
  
  

  Your demo reel must CONSISTENTLY BE GREAT WORK YOU'VE DONE that showcases what you are capable of doing and your interests. The end of my demo reel has that Mr. Fairway walk cycle that many industry people responded positively to, so at one point I moved it very early in my demo reel and showed it to more people. They then said to have something at the end to make sure they're hooked IF they watched it all the way through, some don't and that's important to know. So I ended up returning the walk cycle at the end and got the same good feedback as before! I rearranged my demo reel so many times until I was satisfied with it. There were a few pieces that I was hesitant to put in but industry people ended up liking those ones the most, so never doubt your instincts! If YOU think it's good it probably is. And just a few more notes about the demo reel:
  
  -MAXIMUM 1 MINUTE. IT CAN BE LESS. I just had enough stuff to show off and most relied on dialogue, I've seen people with 30 second demo reels and less. SHOW YOUR BEST. Don't add anything bad because that could even alter their decision on you!
  - Rough animation? That's fine! You're a student! Pretty much all the industry people I've shown my demo reel to did not care that some of the stuff I had were not clean. Just make sure your performance is CLEAR. I asked them if they did and every single one said the same similar thing, "We're looking for the performance and how clear it is, not how pretty it looks." But don't take this advice as truth, guaranteed when you're a professional in the industry, something like this would not fly with companies.
  
  
• Be good at more than one thing, but not everything. In both my interviews and portfolio reviews with other studios, I discovered that studios want people who are versatile. If you're a one man show, the moment your job is done you'll be out of work and useless to the team. Being good at two or three things is best. This doesn't mean you need to be good at animation and layout, look at the subcategories in those skills. For myself I had stated my main interest lies in character animation, lip sync and enjoy broad cartoony acting. As for my other skill, I said I am currently practicing and enjoy doing SFX animation ever since doing it on Cuphead. If you say you like everything, then you're unsure of what your skills are, making studios unsure of where to put you. They want people who know what they want and what they do. Have a clear direction of what you want to do. Although, just like with everything I've been writing here there are exceptions. There are some studios that just want someone who can do one thing really well. I found that being capable of doing other things allowed me to apply to more jobs. In both interviews, both companies had pointed out when I mentioned also doing special FX animations and one of which asked for my resume to write a note down that I did FX citing that every company is always in need of FX animators.
• Be yourself in interviews. The biggest thing I dreaded the most was the interviews. I hate them and I'm not good at them. Each company has their own way of deciding if an interview went well or badly, so I can't really chime in on that aspect. All you need to know is that the interview means they like your work, now they want to see how cool you are. I'm not joking. So be cool, be yourself. Animation companies tend to be so relaxed and inviting. They have the same interests as you, so just act like you normally would and treat it as a conversation. So relax and have fun, 15-30 minutes goes by in a flash.

I hope this advice helps! Heck, I'm still learning the process! If I think of any more advice I will update this post.

Cuphead at PAX East!

New gameplay and features check it out!

Fan Expo + Cuphead

I noticed I didn't post about it here! 

But last thursday was my last day at Studio MDHR!

During that same day Fan Expo started and Cuphead was there for all to try out! I managed to attend on Friday with two friends and seeing Cuphead in the Xbox area was freaking awesome! Watching people play, enjoy, and talk about it was an absolutely wonderful experience. It was definitely the highlight of my day there and my entire summer.

Post E3 and during the summer, the game still felt like a small indie title even after all the press it got (with the addition of a Cuphead mascot at PAX). But finally seeing it at one of Toronto's biggest conventions in person and having its own booth under Xbox, it really hit me that this was even bigger than I thought. Not to mention the fan reactions I witnessed which was absolutely wonderful and a dream come true.

I've always wanted to be the creator or be a part of something that people have such passion and excitement for. I've always been on the other end of that and finally being part of the creation side was such an amazing moment and a dream that was fulfilled. 

I am so glad to be part of the team and I hope people enjoy and look forward to its release. One of my friends that tagged along heavily enjoyed the game and I hope everyone will as well!

***

School started again yesterday and I'm back at it for third year! A lot of people also knew about Cuphead and were excited for it and I'm so happy that everyone seems to be genuinely interested in it! Also extremely looking forward to the rest of the year and I'm eagerly awaiting to be assigned a group for the group films next week. 

Let's see how this year goes, bring it on third year!

Cuphead in "Don't Deal With The Devil"

Since the end of June I've been helping out the team at Studio MDHR with the wonderful traditionally animated cartoon videogame Cuphead! A videogame with a 1930's cartoon aesthetic AND animated in 1930's style: drawn and inked traditionally on paper! Even the lettering and UI!

I've been looking forward to this game since it's first trailer and having the opportunity to have a hand in helping with its production is a pretty rad experience. It's also been really cool to be able to work on it right after it generated a ton of buzz this past E3. The team is spread across in different locations but I've been working directly under the art director Chad Moldenhauer, one of the brothers responsible for coming up with the idea. I've mostly been doing inking/clean up, colouring, some additional animation, as well as printing, scanning and filing the mounds of drawings they have and a bit more stuff. 

If you haven't seen this visually stunning game here's the trailer! Available when it's ready™ 2016 on Xbox One and PC:

" Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles. Inspired by cartoons of the 1930's, the visuals and audio are painstakingly created with the same techniques of the era, i.e. traditional cel animation (hand drawn & inked!), watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings. Play as Cuphead or Mugman (in single player or co-op) as you traverse strange worlds, acquire new weapons, learn powerful super moves, and discover hidden secrets. Cuphead is all action, all the time. Do you have what it takes? "

Cuphead website:

http://cupheadgame.com/

Studio MDHR links:

http://studiomdhr.com/
https://twitter.com/StudioMDHR

https://www.facebook.com/studiomdhr

***

Above is a drawing I made of Cuphead and myself as a Cuphead character! MugMarco? Mugco? I drew, inked and coloured it the same way they do with the rest of the game.

An inked MugMarco! I made sure he was much of a caricature of myself as possible with a square head, glasses, a square handle to represent my earring and a rounded triangle for a nose. I also made it so his cup head is a pencil holder because I like drawing and I keep my art utensils in a similar fashion on my desk.

Coloured and looking jolly!

Different coloured variations with a bonus black and white version that I still like. In the end I just stuck with making it look like Cuphead in terms of a colour scheme.

I drew this Cuphead in the same pose as the typical Mickey Mouse pose you see on every shirt he's on. This was actually just a test to try out the style as well as the inking (I didn't have a 0.5 marker so I had to use my 0.3 to thicken the lines to achieve a similar look) before drawing the one I made of myself. 

Coloured with an opened eyes version, he was originally casually shooting a projectile.