September Issue

This update shares progress on tough animation shots, a new Princess Joy collage, an inspiring Dragon Ball fan short, and a helpful Blender tutorial.

Author

BRITTNEY GALLOWAY
September 15, 2025

Happy September! Autumn is fast approaching.

A banner that reads “My Short Journey: The Elusive Green Elephant”

I've been working on one shot all month, and it's finally done. I've tried to screen record the clean-up process, but TvPaint doesn't do it automatically, and I constantly forget to save the recording when I do remember to activate it. That said, in a week or two, I'll have a progress video from the start of clean-up to the end of color. Just forgive the large jumps in progress.

Now, I'm shelving it to work on other shots that still need much animation work, not clean-up or compositing. My notes show seven shots that still need a lot of animation work. I'll see what can be done with Moho Animation to reduce the amount of clean-up. These last few shots have 2+characters and will be tough in terms of time. A couple of these shots also have the camera moving around the characters, and I hope that Moho will simplify that for me! Maybe, for my next project, I'll do some of the more complex shots first. The easy wins in the beginning were nice, but now I'm running out of steam, and there's only labor-intensive shots left, haha.

Aside from animation, I've completed another collage piece! This is of Princess Joy and uses a lot of negative space. In For Peace, Love, and Harmony, we get a glimpse that Joy might have a few screws loose. This piece has her blended with the background with a few flowers and jewels to show her form.

Animation Spotlight: Legend - A Dragon Ball Tale

I was so excited about this when it came out in [year]. I've been a fan of Dragon Ball Z since it was on Toonami. This short kept the spirit of Dragon Ball (and DBZ) when it was at its best while still being its own thing.

Artist Spotlight: Peter Keahey

Heir Porter is a Chicago artist. I've been to some of his art shows and am always impressed. He has good skills in realistic portraits, and he takes them to a surreal place with color and environment. He primarily works in acrylics and explores themes of past experiences, imagination, and Black identity.

Heir Porter’s Website:

Art Tutorial I Like: Drawing props with Deep Paint in blender

I like this tutorial by Celso Teixeira because he's using how I want to! It's a simple guide to get someone started making props and other elements. It's also a nice reminder that you don't need to learn EVERYTHING about a tool to get exactly what you need from it.

Kofi! Any support is appreciated. If I can get 10,000 people to donate $1 each I’ll be able to focus on these projects and still take care of my family. Having said that, if I have my way, I’ll have finished building the official store on the Sleepy Gallows website.

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