If The Terrible Boy Isn't My F/O Then He Has To Be My F/E (Fictional Enemy), At The Very Least

Miyazaki’s visual storytelling thrives on a sense of flatness that doesn’t diminish but rather enriches his worlds. By compressing the layers of his compositions—merging the foreground’s details, middle ground’s action, and background’s context—he crafts images that feel like living illustrations. Take the Warawara swarming with dishes in "The Boy and the Heron" or the jubilant feast scene in "Spirited Away" : both are packed with vibrant details, yet the visual plane feels collapsed, like a tableau unfolding all at once. This "flatness" isn't a flaw but a deliberate technique, pulling us into the frame as if we’re unrolling a scroll of visual wonder. It’s not depth that Miyazaki aims for—it’s a sheer density of storytelling in every frame, a reminder that 2D animation’s strength lies in its ability to immerse without imitating.

Blaze and Heights

Its really funny how many times you see Blaze high up/willing to go up somewhere high when Sonic is involved lol

And then the latest issue she's just: no, screw this. I'm taking a car, thank you.

Sonic really is her exception huh lmao

He makes her feel safer

This video made me cry so I wanted to put it here

oooh is Gangle's design confirmed for your Gamemaster au? She looks great but it also said shes subject to change! (oh and is it okay to ship Ribbun in your au? I rlly like them hehe)

Yeah she's looking much better and concrete now:

I was struggling bc I wanted her ballerina outfit to be fully made of ribbons but could clip onto her body and be undid into long tentacles used for faster movement in adventures. That's still the case but her ribbons that the appearance of clothes and she can change their look at will!

In terms of her role in adventures, she's the best at close combat, especially with using her legs. Despite her tiny form, she's got a surprisingly powerful kick, and is the most agile and sneaky of the group.

And if you wanna ship GM! Ribbun then go ahead!! <3

Video essay by Jellybox about what's good and bad about indie animation!

Wanted to share this in case it's helpful to anyone wanting to pursue making animation independently. It's also for fans of indie animation who may want some insight into how an indie studio works, why indie cartoons are always selling merch, why release schedules are often erratic, etc.

I also wanted to clarify the video's context, because it seems to have been somewhat misconstrued in some circles. Not long ago, WGA and SAG strikes, followed by TAG negotiations were very much in the news, shining light on the struggles the artists, writers, and actors in the Hollywood studio system are facing. In response, the words 'just go indie' have been tossed around quite a bit lately.

Gene and Sean at Jellybox approached us a few months back explaining that they were planning to make a video about the realities of running an indie studio/producing indie animation, largely in response to that 'just go indie' attitude. They were curious if we'd be willing to share our experience, including information about actual costs and the various difficulties and complications we've encountered. We said yes! We'd like for people to know what it's like. As much as it might look appealing next to the currently very broken studio system, indie has its own set of problems, and we think it's a good idea to be transparent about that because talking about problems is how you begin to address them.

Of course, while you get creative freedom and you have no shareholders to appease with indie production, the primary struggle you're always going to face is funding…and funding avenues are limited. Banks aren't eager to hand out business loans to freelance artists making cartoons, for instance. Social media algorithms reward frequent updates you can't swing with hand-drawn animated content, so you can't rely much on things like AdSense. You can't really insert sponsored ads into your animated videos without being too obtrusive. You can take on client work, but that interferes with your ability to focus on own animated project. Crowdfunds can be great for seed money, but they're also a ton of work to fulfill, and fulfillment itself will tend to eat up a considerable amount of the funds you've raised. Once your animation is produced, there is no well established way to sell the animated episode itself like there is for, say indie games sold on Steam. So, while we consider ways to try to make the terrain a bit more hospitable to indie creations, if nothing else, let this explain why productions rely a lot on merch drops!

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And hey, if you're an animation fan, consider supporting the independent productions you enjoy, whether you're tossing a few dollars their way, buying their merch, or just mentioning them to friends:

The Far-Fetched team is launching a crowdfund very soon to help them complete their pilot!

The Monkey Wrench team is killing it lately, and they deserve so much more fanfare than they've gotten!

And of course, thank you to the excellent folks at Jellybox for starting an important conversation!

Lovely Flowers.

(Catoon & Eliza)

she's actually so gorgeous

Cookies 'n cream seals 🍪🦭

curled up with mama.... protected by mama.... let's be warm with mama...

Just a bunch of sketches. I had a large audio list and initially there were more scenes, but I got stuck on it for too long and got lazy.

@sm-baby

@hootbon

@tadc-harlequin-au