Fuck yes, it's Madness Day here on NG! There are going to be some badass animations for sure...but also some crappy ones.

Happy Madness day

I think I'm getting sick...which sucks ass. No, like majorly sucks ass. My throat is KILLING me and I keep getting light headed. I was fine until last night.

I'm pretty sure what started it was me screwing around screaming to "Schatten aus der Alexander Welt" which scratched up my throat during karaoke really bad. Well, seems like that allowed some infection in and now I'm getting tore the hell up.

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As far as SFvsDBZ goes, I'm working on it when I can. For now I'm getting the really easy things, like character bios, out of the way. Here's a screen cap of what the bios for the characters will be like. OMFG is that drawn? Yes...but, not really. It's based off of actual images and all I did was mimic them. So don't expect to see me submitting anything to the art portal or anything like that.

Oh, shit yes. My user icon and my account icon have been changed. Yes, I drew them. Yes, it took me for fucking ever. Well, forever is 3 hours. I do have a larger version, which you can see over in the Boom De Ah Dah Collab section. I originally did it for the Artist Bio section of it.

I'm very happy with how both sets of images turned out. While I enjoyed the sprite ones since they reflected the type of animation I do here on Newgrounds, these new ones are just more professional. I made one for Wyldfyre1 as well.

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I would like to say I've made a ton of progress on SFvsDBZ, but I haven't. One of the reasons is that I was no where near happy with the first few moments of the fight between Ken and Balrog. So, I redid it and I ended up wanting to redo ALL of what I had so far on it. In the end, it's going to be better. While doing so, I even managed to score some better animations for Balrog.

Some actors have needed an extension so it has been granted. The really good news is, I can do most of the fights without need of the voice files.

As for the voice files I have received completed thus far...holy crap. The quality of the deliveries is AMAZING. I REALLY have to really step up my own game in order to keep up. Granted, I don't have a lot of lines, but the ones I do have need to be up there in the same quality.

Each actor was to do three takes of each line, and let me tell you, in at least one of those takes, they hit it so perfectly, I was actually blown away. Yeah, even with the talent recruited, I was blown away!

All in all the project is chugging along. When will it be done? Well...I'm giving the Blizzard answer of "When it's finished"!

Here's a cropped image of the menu select screen. Why do I keep cropping the title/menu section? Because I don't want to reveal the title yet.

Mario: Shell Trouble

Mario finds a green shell on the ground and wonders what to do with it. After deciding to kick it like a manly-man, hilarity ensues!

There are ten skits, each one just a quick jaunt of funny, which is why the file size is so small.

This actually started as one of the skits for Holy Sprites 2 (put on hold until further notice) when I figured that it deserved to be expanded on and turned into a number of random skits.

Full V-Cam support, about three days of work, and a lot of fun. Enjoy! Please vote and review.

Mario: Shell Trouble

It's not because I'm lazy, oh far from it. I haven't worked on ANIMATING it which is different from working on it. Making sure the images I need are high enough quality, individualized and the music is selected take time, too.

Also, this past Saturday (09-05-2009) I was taken out for my B-Day (which was actually the 7th, but that was a Monday) so I got belligerently drunk...in a good way.

Don't let anyone try and tell you that I won't embarrass myself for the sake of some funny video and a good time:

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Yes, I am a sexy beast. You can hear my brother and cousin laughing their ass off. 35 shots in 1.5hours makes me pretty agreeable to a group to make an ass out of myself for the sake of THEIR entertainment. Oh, I had fun, don't get me wrong and no, I didn't have a hang over.

Also, as I'm waiting to animate somethings which require the files from my voice actors (they still have a while to get me their work), I'm working on a short animation. Right now I'm just trying to figure out how I want to do this next scene. So far there are 10 "takes" and the file size is less than a meg with very high audio quality, but no preloader and no credits roll.

I'm debating if I should do more than 10 skits or keep it simple. This screen shot is all you get for free.

First off, let's give congratulations to the cast:

Ken - Adidaas

Gohan - Shintoku

Eliza - Nakoruru

Chun-Li - Rina-Chan

Balrog - Dmman33

Ryu - XtreemMak

Sean - VaughnJohnson2000

Nwalme - Myself
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Well now...where should I begin? Yeah, I know that the beginning is always where I should start, but what beginning should it be? Ah, I know, how about how this project all started out and how it came to be what it is now?

How it started
I had just discovered I could produce sprite animations when I couldn't hope to do any kind of drawn work. After quite a few scrapped projects, I had produced Captain R: The Game Ranger. I learned how to correctly "anchor" sprites so they didn't bounce around, knew how to make the voices sync up.

I was learning how to make scene selections thanks to Game Ranger 2 and decided to try something other than that series. For some reason I think it was after seeing the SFvsMK that I decided I wanted to try making something similar. So, I started in on it, making a rough layout for the scene selection, made an opening scene which was nothing except for static text against a moving background with the song "Oobukuri Eeumi" playing giving the plot of everything. From there it went into a fight with Balrog and Ken.

The fight played out on a strictly left and right plain. There was NO V-Cam support. Yeah, that's right, I didn't know about the V-Cam at this time. All pans, zooms, and fades were the result of multiple layers and tween resizing.

My friend, Wyldfyre1, was voicing Ken and I was voicing Balrog. Uh-huh, Wyldfyre1 was going to be the original voice. Who was going to be everyone else besides Balrog? I had NO idea and was even thinking just the two of us would act each part, changing our voices and adding filters to get the desired effect.

For some reason I completely abandoned the project. I'm pretty sure it was because the scope of it all would be much too difficult with how I knew how to animate at the time. Since I was resizing manually, making all characters into movie clips (I didn't know I could make them symbols instead to see the actions and where they ended up), and not getting the right voices. Also, I was working on Game Ranger 2 and it was taking up all of my time.

I even restarted this project using no voices and only dialogue boxes. Guess what? Yep, that was scrapped, too, because of a lot of the same issues (not knowing how to properly produce the animations), and the general scope of it all.

Well, now I'm actually ready to take it on. With the V-Cam, knowing how to properly make the character actions, knowing new action script commands, having a better respect of the community resulting in access to more voice actors, and the desire to finish it I know that I can make this happen.

Premise of the Animation
Three months ago a battle between two powerful warriors raged on. As one fighter began to gain the upper hand, the clashing of powers shatters a seal no one knew existed between two different worlds. Seeking escape, one of the fighters rushed to the open portal. Wishing to end the fight as soon as possible, the other warrior followed quickly behind him.

Ken Masters, unknowing of the two fighters, has just returned to his home after a local tournament to find his wife, Eliza, has been murdered. Enraged beyond anything he has ever known, Ken sets out to find the murderer of his beloved.

Why Street Fighter and Dragonball Z?
No, this is not an Exiles story. I respect R1665 enough to not encroach on his series and have enough ideas to make my own.

People have been doing the Street Fighter versus Street Fighter and Street Fighter versus Mortal Kombat almost to death. Now, I'm not insulting those people who have done so extremely well, like Proxicide, R1665, or Suroy. I'm just saying that if I did another SFvsMK movie who would care? Also, there are a few SF vs Marvel movies going on as well. I needed something different.

There obviously are Dragonball Z animations out there and I think three animations at most (by HadoukenDude) crossing the worlds of DBZ and Street Fighter, and two of those are the same movie only with different endings. I figured that I could do an animation crossing these two and not be thought of as completely unoriginal.

I'm using Dragonball Z: Hyper Dimension sprites, so it really forces me to be creative with both the choreography and the script writing. Well...it forced to me to be creative with the script writing, seeing as the script is already done. The Super Sonic Warriors sprites and the Shonen Jump sprites don't match well enough with the Street Fighter 3 designs.

Fight Mechanics
Okay, I know what some of you are thinking: "Great...DBZ...thirty second charge attacks will fill up most of the time in the fights and beam battles will be all over the damn place!" No. There will be ONE, count them, ONE beam battle and it won't last very long. As far as charging of the characters go, again, there is one time you actually see it happen on screen. The rest of the time it will be implied.

Thanks to the V-Cam, I can produce some great fights without having to worry about making the character resize correctly after tweening the zooms. Now I can make a smooth, fast moving, hard hitting, moving fight without all the major problems I was running in to the last time.

All the choreography is going to be my style and not based on anything else. Don't worry, I have experience in choreographing fights. I have choreographed martial arts demonstrations, fights for independent films, and even sword fights (one sword fight was even taught to 8th graders for use during a Zorro play). So, yes, I know what I'm doing. It's really not much different than knowing what your live actors know how to do using sprites who's movements are already set.

Characters
What made me decide on the characters? Well, Ken isn't used as much as Ryu, and he had something I could take away in order to really piss him off. Akuma doesn't have much desire other than to fight strong people. Ryu just wants to hone his skills. So, I decided to murder off Ken's wife, Eliza, in order to get him going.

Why Balrog? This isn't the same stable, canonical world from the video games. In this story, Balrog is a top ranking member of Shadoloo and Bison is still very much alive, but he isn't the mass murdering, super evil person the games make him out to be. Balrog is also a character that isn't used very much in animations. Since this is obviously a different world, I could also give him some other abilities using his existing movements for an interesting fight to reflect that he is a much better warrior in this reality.

Now, where Sean is concerned... Sean is actually a last minute write in character. VaughnJohnson2000 originally auditioned for Ryu, but I didn't feel his voice was a good fit for the character. I was thinking for maybe Balrog, but then I realized his voice could be put to much better use as Sean.

I'm sure the other thing you're thinking at this point is that if this is SFvsDBZ and you only recognize Gohan's name, he must be the bad guy, and if not, then who the hell is? Who the hell is Nwalme??? Sorry, but for the answer to both of those, you're going to just have to watch the animation.

Focus of the Movie
Even though this is an animation where I want the fights to stand out, there is a good story line, character interactions, and some twists. Yes, I do want to the fights to be the highlight of this movie, so I'm spending a lot of time and detail on them. From the camera positions to the actual movements have to be spot on, or else I fall into the category of "Dude on NG who looks up to the big boys".

General
Well, if you're still reading, thank you for sticking around. This is the most ambitious thing I have decided to undertake. What I'm going for with this animation is to prove that I do things like Phoenix Wrong, Game Ranger, and sprite collabs in the manner I do for a reason and not because I don't know how to do anything else.

When will it be done? Well, I'm not sure. Like I said, this has to be done right. If I'm not happy with something, I will redo it. For instance, I have a very still opening with some hits against a static background, but it's only for placement. I still have to do the V-Cam movements and all that, but if I still don't like it then it goes bye-bye.

Right now the only thing that is 100% finished is the opening to the menu screen and the script. I haven't even done a proper preloader yet!

Oh, and one of the other things I have to overcome with this project is the fact that I don't have Photoshop nor do I have After Effects. Crazy, eh? I'm doing all the sprite edits and effects using both Flash and Paint Shop Pro. In addition to that, I don't have a pen-mouse and I'm not very good at drawing, both of which slow me down for the still images I'm making.

I will do my best to keep updating as much as possible and even drop off screen shots of the action as I produce it all. For right now, enjoy this screen shot and remember that it's all a work in progress.

Sorry, it's not Game Ranger 4. That script is proving more difficult than I ever thought!

This is, by far, the most ambitious project I have ever undertaken. The sheer scope of it all is a little intimidating...and by little I mean a lot, and by a lot I mean OMFG this will make or break me as a respected animator.

The script is finalized and I'm sending it out to the actors today. My "little" script turned into nine pages. Granted, some of that has larger fonts for scene change notifications, camera directions, and brief descriptions of the background to help the actors, but still...

I'll be posting on the 2nd of September, 2009, who the actors are for each part and some more information as to the project as well.

Well, as I said before, I'm going for something that's bigger than my previous animations, to show that I can use Flash to produce things other than Pheonix Wrong and that I do the Game Ranger series in the manner it's produced in on purpose, not because I can't do it any other way.

If you've been checking my news posts, the information I've provided on this project obviously reflects that it's a type of cross-over of worlds between Street Fighter and DBZ. Oh, don't worry, the enemy isn't going to be Cell, or Frieza, or Buu. So, no, you won't be seeing me animate those people. As a matter of fact, the only person from the DBZ universe in this one is going to be Gohan. Well...technically there will be two characters from the DBZ universe, but the second one is a completely original character by me. That's all the detail I'm giving in this news post about all that, though.

I'm aiming for between one minute and four minutes for the major fights. How am I going to keep the fights interesting and not drawn out for that long when I have four...YES FOUR...fights to animate? Well, each one is going to be styled differently because of the characters doing battle. Who are the match ups? Sorry, but I can't reveal that. If I did, then that would give off some major surprises!

Okay, so, that's enough of the update for now. On September 1st, expect a larger update, on the front page as well, with much more information to all of this.

Oh, and the screen cap has been cropped.

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Ah! I almost forgot! I made myself a banner and redid both my User Avatar and my User Image (the latter two using custom sprites). What do you think?

UPDATE 08-29-2009 --- All Parts Cast

1 - A description of the voice types needed
Ken: (TAKEN)

Balrog: (TAKEN)

Chun-Li: (TAKEN)

Eliza: (TAKEN)

Gohan: (TAKEN)

Ryu: (TAKEN)

2 - Audition lines for interested voice actors to say in the character's voice
Ken: (TAKEN)

Ken: (TAKEN)

Balrog: (TAKEN)

Balrog: (TAKEN)

Chun-Li: (TAKEN)

Chun-Li: (TAKEN)

Eliza: (TAKEN)

Eliza: (TAKEN)

Gohan: (TAKEN)

Gohan: (TAKEN)

Ryu: (TAKEN)

Ryu: (TAKEN)

3 - Method of contact.
It is best to PM me after you have sent me an e-mail (Only Used For NG Auditions). Please have the subject of your e-mail as your name and the character. Also, name the file the same way.

4 - Include a deadline!
I am extending the deadline. The auditions I have received thus far are excellent, and as such I want to make sure the rest of the characters get the quality and style they deserve.

5 - Remember that VA's should be credited just like any other audio authors
All actors will be fully credited and placed in the "Author & Flash Information"

6 - Extra Info
For those who have already auditioned and I thanked them but turned them down, do not feel afraid to change up your audition and send it to me again. I am always willing to take another listen to a different use of your voice.

One voice actor has inspired me to even write in a another character just to match his voice styling, so don't be afraid to submit!

I have also done a little bit of drawing for this, which can be seen in the screenshot (image not final)

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I've been receiving excellent auditions, mostly for the same characters, so I'm looking forward to more for the other characters. (Some of the characters have serious consideration already attached to them, but don't let that put you off of auditions)

Oh, and one last thing...many of you who send in auditions and don't get chosen for this are being considered for one of the 14 additional voices needed for Game Ranger 4 once the script has been given the final approval.

Looking forward to hearing from everyone!

I've been involved with the Boom De Ah Dah Collab for a little while now and from what I've seen, everyone's submission is looking great. A few people had to drop out and cuts were made by the person in charge, but for the better.

Oh, and yes, I did draw something for the collab. It may only be Foamy, but I still had to draw the hand gestures and eyes in order to mimic him correctly. I don't have a tablet or a pen mouse, so I did everything the old fashioned way using my optical mouse in Flash. It actually looks and moves like him, so I'm happy about it.

Yeah, I've been getting involved more with collabs lately because I feel that I've reached the point that I can do them justice. I'm also only getting involved with collabs who have artists who can make good presentations.

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Now for my second part of the topic! I have decided to revive an old project while working on the script and voice for Game Ranger 4 (no auditions ready yet). It's a crossover in the same vain as MKvsSF, however, I'm not doing an MKvsSF or an Exiles animation. Yes, it will be a movie where the battle is the central focus of the animation, but it will have a story line to go along.

It will possibly be two episodes long if I can't manage to fit it all inside of one animation. I've managed to find good character renders with lots of moves so I will be able to make everything work. For more limited animations of a character, I know how to "fake it" using different techniques to make them get around the screen.

I'm shooting for battles between one minute to four minutes long each. Total fight planned? Well...I'm thinking around three, possibly four. There's a need to make them face paced, hard hitting, and excellent choreography, too. It's funny...I used to choreograph martial arts demonstrations back in high school, and still can for film, but with sprites, regardless of the animations available, I feel that I struggle.

I will be working on a custom menu selection screen as well. In the past, and even with GR4 (based on KH2), the menu selection is good looking but simple. As a heads up: the GR4 menu looks sweet as hell, BTW!!!! In this project I want the menu to <DR Evil>have a little more what the French call...I don't know what </DR Evil>("Je ne sai quoi" actually means "I don't know what") The original version has a basic layout which is okay and at least gives me an idea of how I'd like it to look. I may end up having to Frankenstein a lot of it in order to produce something which looks acceptable enough.

Now, I'm in a bit of a state with it, though...Should the animation have voice actors or not? The MKvsSF trilogy only had the voice effects from different games an the first two Exiles movies didn't have voices, either, and both were received well enough based on the story and presentation. I do plan on having custom chat boxes, but I'm unsure if it should have voice acting in it. My original version DID have voice acting and I think it added something "extra" to it, but that would also make the file size much, much larger given the length this will be.

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That's all for now. Let me know if you think a battle sprite movie with story should have voices.

Enjoy this:

Holy Sprites

Well, there it is...my first attempt at a random mash-up outside of a Phoenix Wrong type of thing. Honestly, I have no idea how long it is. It's also my first project using VCam in all of the scenes and each scene being a separate movie clip with AS telling it to continue to the next scene after playing.

Yes, I made sure that the jokes were original or at least as original as possible. You will not be seeing Mario slam into a "?" Block and hurting himself.

Included in the 21 scenes are four skits which did not go into the ALL Sprites Collab and many others thought of afterward.

I'm hoping that everyone greatly enjoys this. Please remember to vote and review. I do my best to respond to all reviews!

Holy Sprites