I’m switching gears for the next few days to work on an animation for a business pitch, something a bit different…It should be interesting.  Normally, I’m just animating fart jokes and stuff like that.  This is a much different application for my cartoons, but I am interested to see how it comes out.  I’ve been reading Dan Roam’s Back of the Napkin.  It’s all about doing business presentations in a very simple visual style, not so unlike my cartoons….maybe there is some sort of potential there?

I haven’t had time to start on the next episode yet, but I will begin on Tuesday, as soon as I finish this project.  I can’t wait to find out what happens to Hank next!  I have  a couple of ideas and have been getting emails about what to do next.  We will see soon enough.

Now it’s time for the bad news.  There is a virus somewhere in my website!!  I have been informed that certain pages on my Pencilmation website are forwarding people to dumb, weird sites.  This is terrible!  Anyway, I will try my hardest to get rid of the thing.  If anybody can give me tips or any information about when the virus is appearing, that may help me solve the problem.

I won’t let you guys down!  Die virus!!

I am so close to being done with the new episode! Hank is really in for it this time in his debut (sort of…) episode, Bounce for Bounce.  Also, I’m not really going to number the episodes officially anymore.  It’s gotten sort of confusing because I started on a different episode #12, and then stopped to make this one..so maybe it’s technically #13?  And then there was the lost episode which I don’t even know what number that was…it’s getting weird and confusing, so I’m going to stop writing about all this stuff.

What I am really trying to say is be patient!  I am so close to finishing!

And the star of the upcoming episode’s name is….Hank!

Thanks to Sylvia for emailing me the suggestion, and thanks to everybody else too!  There were some really great names.  It was hard to choose, but I am sure that I will be needing another name for a character sometime soon, so keep thinking up sweet names!  Buggles, Charles, Herman, and Time Tangled Tim…those were some other sweet options.  Those sound like really cool characters!  I want to start creating reoccurring characters for the new episodes.  That seems like a cool direction to explore.  We can all begin to grow attached to some of these little guys.  I suppose we’ll see what the future brings…2010 that is…What a futuristic sounding year!

I am hard at work on the latest episode, like usual.  The holidays were a bit slow, as I was relaxing with my family, but that is of course important to do!  Plus, I was getting tangled up in flip books for a bit (I swear I will get those figured out eventually…)  I have just completed the rough animation and am beginning to do the final drawings.  It should be done in about a week, maybe less, but I don’t want to make a promise I can’t keep!

Finally, you may have noticed the new “assist” link at the top of the page.  The door is open for budding animators!  If I can build up enough people to help crank these cartoons out, then I can make more, more MORE!!!

This little guy from episode #6 has become one of my favorite characters to doodle.  He’s starring in the upcoming episode, and I plan to use him more often.  You will be seeing more of this little guy, so naturally he needs a name!

Initially I just called him Sam.  Then I started calling him Hambone.  Now I just don’t know what to call him!  Winston?  Beans?  Otto Von Spanky?  I have no clue where to go with this…But maybe some of you out there, so please email me or comment with any name ideas you come up with for this little guy.  If you need some inspiration, go watch the sixth episode.  Thanks!

As for the new episode, progress is going well.  I have been revising the rough draft, showing it to a few people and getting opinions.  I’m just about ready to animate the thing, and then it will be done and ready for you, my friends!

I tried to make some flip books this week and it was a total disaster! The whole process ended up being much more complicated than I had anticipated…It stressed me out for a little bit, but I got over it, cut my losses, and decided to hold off on the flip books for a little while until I devise a better method for producing them.

In other, better news, I am hard at work on the next Pencilmation episode.  I had planned to make an episode about a ukulele rock star and starting drawing it but felt like it just wasn’t coming out the way I was expecting.  I put it on the shelf and decided to try to get back to my roots—spontaneous wackiness.

It’s been a while since I’ve just drawn an episode on the spot, unscripted, so I’m giving that a try again.  Also, the 11th episode was getting a little political less funny, whereas the 10th episode (the fishing guy) was all about the gags.

Gags!  More gags!!  This next episode is packed with gags and is just plain and straight funny stuff.  It features the guy from episode #6, who I think I am now going to call, Hambone, and trust me—it’s super funny.

I can’t wait to see what you all think.  Hopefully this next week will give me enough time to animate the whole thing.  I will give it my best shot!

And finally…HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!  Savor the last bit of 2009!!!