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Description

Hostage Situation Part 2 is the animation where I foolishly thought I was going to be done with FMG animations within the next 1 or 2 GIFS.

I actually didn't even know that I had said I would stop animating after the next couple of GIFS until I uploaded this part. Wow.

Little did I know that I would go on to create a total of 24 GIFS, 26 if you include the lost GIF and the bonus GIF I made for Iczerman's website.

Anyway, Hostage Situation was split up into two parts because I was running into file size issues. Remember that back then most of us were on Dialup modems, and it would take FOREVER for GIFS that were 300kb in size to load. If I had left Hostage Situation combined, it would have been around 700kb which is a big ask for people on dialup modems. I also didn't have cable or Fios when I made these animations, so it was important I kept the file size small enough for me to upload. This is why Yahoo groups was so useful back then. It was the only place where I could upload large files and still have people be able to download and view them.

Though I did occasionally run into a viewer who would ask, "I can't get the GIF to play. Or it's stuck halfway." Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could offer except update Internet Explorer or download the GIF to your computer.

Anyway let's talk about the behind the scenes.

- I didn't realize how much of an asshole Jenna's husband was. I mean this guy was a real prick. He's fairly mild for the beginning of the series, but when things get serious he becomes a verbally abusive jerk. This was not intentional, and is simply the result of bad writing and inexperience. Although I'd still have Jenna and Collin argue, the words used would be much less abusive and more impactful. For now though, Collin is ok.

- I tried to adjust the timing to make everything faster for you guys in 2020. Unfortunately, the GIF played too fast and made it seem as if everything was in fast forward. So I slowed it back down again in order to let your eyes absorb what was happening.

- This animation was my first attempt at creating a cinematic letterbox. When Jenna's head comes into the frame, I intentionally added black bars to give it that cinematic quality. I then zoomed in on her face to add a camera movement. Pretty advanced stuff considering I was very young when I drew these in paint.

- This is also the first animation where I experimented with dramatic lighting. Lighting is something that I continue to add and refine as my animations progress and it will become much more noticeable in later GIFS.

- I was very proud of how I drew Jenna coming down from the sky in her drop kick pose. Although rudimentary by today's standards, I was very pleased with how her muscles and the lighting came out, even though the lighting is completely wrong. It should technically be at her back.

- When Jenna knocks Maryanne towards the mansion, she is completely covered in shadow. These are all things that are repeated in later animations as I try to learn how to make my scenes more artistic.

- I loved when Jenna took the punch and shrugged it off. It is one of my favorite moments in this animation.

- When Jenna punches Maryanne in the stomach, the references I used were Mike Haggar from Final Fight 3. His punches and super gave me the base for Jenna's hulked out moveset. Only two moves, and they get recycled. Remember that MS paint was not a compositing software. So I couldn't easily keep a side by side image of Mike Haggar next to Jenna without having to erase or redraw backgrounds. If I knew what I know now in Photoshop, her punching animations would be much more detailed and have more variety.

- I don't know about you, but I found it comical how Jenna decides to take off her mask and immediately gets busted by her husband. I do make an effort to add humor in my animations because sometimes . . . funny shit happens.

- If you're wondering about the setting. The animations are loosely based in New York City. I say loosely because I pretty much made up whatever background would fit with what I needed. There are no waterfalls or dams in NYC, and there's definitely not a forest unless you go into Central Park.

I do plan on uploading all the animations to DA. So if you're a long time fan, please let me know things you remembered, enjoyed, or hated about the animations when you first saw them back in the days. I am an open book and will share all the secrets I've never discussed about these animations.

Thank you for watching!

Description

Hostage Situation Part 2 is the animation where I foolishly thought I was going to be done with FMG animations within the next 1 or 2 GIFS.

I actually didn't even know that I had said I would stop animating after the next couple of GIFS until I uploaded this part. Wow.

Little did I know that I would go on to create a total of 24 GIFS, 26 if you include the lost GIF and the bonus GIF I made for Iczerman's website.

Anyway, Hostage Situation was split up into two parts because I was running into file size issues. Remember that back then most of us were on Dialup modems, and it would take FOREVER for GIFS that were 300kb in size to load. If I had left Hostage Situation combined, it would have been around 700kb which is a big ask for people on dialup modems. I also didn't have cable or Fios when I made these animations, so it was important I kept the file size small enough for me to upload. This is why Yahoo groups was so useful back then. It was the only place where I could upload large files and still have people be able to download and view them.

Though I did occasionally run into a viewer who would ask, "I can't get the GIF to play. Or it's stuck halfway." Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could offer except update Internet Explorer or download the GIF to your computer.

Anyway let's talk about the behind the scenes.

- I didn't realize how much of an asshole Jenna's husband was. I mean this guy was a real prick. He's fairly mild for the beginning of the series, but when things get serious he becomes a verbally abusive jerk. This was not intentional, and is simply the result of bad writing and inexperience. Although I'd still have Jenna and Collin argue, the words used would be much less abusive and more impactful. For now though, Collin is ok.

- I tried to adjust the timing to make everything faster for you guys in 2020. Unfortunately, the GIF played too fast and made it seem as if everything was in fast forward. So I slowed it back down again in order to let your eyes absorb what was happening.

- This animation was my first attempt at creating a cinematic letterbox. When Jenna's head comes into the frame, I intentionally added black bars to give it that cinematic quality. I then zoomed in on her face to add a camera movement. Pretty advanced stuff considering I was very young when I drew these in paint.

- This is also the first animation where I experimented with dramatic lighting. Lighting is something that I continue to add and refine as my animations progress and it will become much more noticeable in later GIFS.

- I was very proud of how I drew Jenna coming down from the sky in her drop kick pose. Although rudimentary by today's standards, I was very pleased with how her muscles and the lighting came out, even though the lighting is completely wrong. It should technically be at her back.

- When Jenna knocks Maryanne towards the mansion, she is completely covered in shadow. These are all things that are repeated in later animations as I try to learn how to make my scenes more artistic.

- I loved when Jenna took the punch and shrugged it off. It is one of my favorite moments in this animation.

- When Jenna punches Maryanne in the stomach, the references I used were Mike Haggar from Final Fight 3. His punches and super gave me the base for Jenna's hulked out moveset. Only two moves, and they get recycled. Remember that MS paint was not a compositing software. So I couldn't easily keep a side by side image of Mike Haggar next to Jenna without having to erase or redraw backgrounds. If I knew what I know now in Photoshop, her punching animations would be much more detailed and have more variety.

- I don't know about you, but I found it comical how Jenna decides to take off her mask and immediately gets busted by her husband. I do make an effort to add humor in my animations because sometimes . . . funny shit happens.

- If you're wondering about the setting. The animations are loosely based in New York City. I say loosely because I pretty much made up whatever background would fit with what I needed. There are no waterfalls or dams in NYC, and there's definitely not a forest unless you go into Central Park.

I do plan on uploading all the animations to DA. So if you're a long time fan, please let me know things you remembered, enjoyed, or hated about the animations when you first saw them back in the days. I am an open book and will share all the secrets I've never discussed about these animations.

Thank you for watching!