BrainedBySaucepans

Welcome to Canterlot! You seem like an awfully interesting person, and I hope you enjoy being here at Canterlot.

I'm blushing so hard right now. In my opinion, to be called interesting is the highest compliment possible!

I'm so flattered I almost forgot to include a footnote!¹

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¹ But not quite.

All wrapped up now. Thanks to everyone who joined me.¹ If I decide to do this again, I'll make sure I announce it ahead of time.² If anyone wants to see what over 2 hours of animating looks like,³ it's saved on my Livestream page. See you all next time.⁴ XD

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¹ That would be no one... :'( Never mind, I suspected as much.

² And if that fails, I'll probably just give up on the idea.

³ Here's a hint; it's rather dull, especially since I don't say anything.

⁴ Seriously though; are people actually interested in this sort of thing? Even if people don't really care about the animation process, I'd love a chance to chat to people here. If you have any ideas as to how to make this work, or if there's something specific you want to see, let me know.

So, I'm head animator¹ for a fan project by the guy who got me in to the MLP in the first place.² I sometimes livestream when I work, so he has some idea of how things are going.³

Since I'm part of the community now, I thought I may as well post a link to the livestream here, in case anyone is interested in watching as I work.⁴ I'll also be on Mumble⁵ while I work, so if you fancy joining me for a chat and keeping my spirits up, feel free.

A word of warning: I listen to music as I work, and this makes it very likely that there will be some NSFW content on the livestream.⁷

Links and details are below.

One final note, I'm using a free Mumble server I haven't used before, so I don't know whether it'll work well, or how many connections it will allow. Please try if you can, it'd be nice to chat to people as I work, it keeps my morale up and reminds me why I do this.

If enough people join me, I may consider doing this again.⁸

Livestream (NSFW):

http://www.livestream.com/misterdunn

Mumble:

Host Name: mumble.typefrag.com

Port Number: 47150

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¹ Read only animator.

² If you want to see how it looks without animation, link is here:

³ Slowly.

⁴ Or jeering as I fail.

⁵ For those who haven't heard of/used Mumble before, it's a bit like Skype, but better for calls with lots of people in it, as you can use push-to-talk. Download it free here: http://mumble.sourceforge.net/ Make sure you DON'T use the Backwards Compatible version, as it doesn't seem to work very well.⁶

⁶ At least it doesn't for me.

⁷ Even if you're not at work, you may chose to mute it anyway, since my tastes are kind of bizarre.

8 I probably will anyway, I'm a huge attention horse.

I don't like post apocalyptic stories because they are depressing in story and visuals. I haven't read any that had sufficient redemption to make up for this fact.

Surreal humor can be meaningful and entertaining, but I would never seek it out. The strength is when it comes out of nowhere, and then you don't see any more of it until you have forgotten about it.

Fair enough. I'm the last person to dictate points of taste to someone else.¹ I'd still recommend giving it a look if you have the chance though.

Back on topic, my wallpaper randomiser just threw up this.²

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¹ My tastes are just bizarre...

² If you've seen my introduction post,³ you'll know that this is a topic close to my heart...

³http://www.canterlot...ning-long-read/

The photo made me want to track down that comic until I read the name and description.

Is it my post you're referring to? If so, what put you off?¹

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¹ Link in case you change your mind: http://rom.ac

Thanks to all of you, that seems to cover everything I wanted to know for now. I won't be showing up in RP right away,¹ but I'll be getting stuff ready whenever I have a spare moment.

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¹ I have two priorities right now, job hunting and animation.²

² And fnord. Always fnord.

My current wallpaper.¹ From my favourite webcomic.⁴

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¹ Although it won't be by the time I finish typing this sentence. I have over 900² pics in my wallpaper folder, and they cycle randomly every 10 seconds.

² Count the zeros carefully, then decide whether that superscript 2³ is pointing to this footnote, or if it means I actually have more than 810 000 wallpapers. Chose wisely; the level of free space remaining on my hard drive is in your hands.

³ And no that was not planned, it all just sort of fell into place.

⁴ Romantically Apocalyptic,⁵ which I heartily recommend to anyone with a taste for great artwork and surreal humour.

⁵ Yes, I know that shouldn't have really gone in the footnotes,⁶ but I'm trying to beat my personal record for most disparate content/footnote ratio.⁷

⁶ And neither should this.

⁷ Hey, a guy's got to have a hobby.

Good, I've got all that, but you're missing one important detail... what colour do you want Mustang himself?¹ That's kind of important to know

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1 Be as specific as you want, down to the eyes. And don't worry about changing your mind; changing colours around in the program I use is pretty easy.

No apology needed; I'm more than familiar with the problems associated with writing on little sleep.¹

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¹ After all, at the point my first post here was written, I'd been awake for around 40 hours...

Hi all, I'm pretty new to the site, but I already love the atmosphere and would like to get more involved. The next logical step seems to be the RP section, but here's where I hit a snag; I've never been part of a forum-based RP system before.¹ If the questions I have are all covered elsewhere, I sincerely apologise, and would request that someone point me in the right direction, but my searches³ did nothing but confuse me further.⁴

Where should I start? How do I create a character? Do they have to be a character shown briefly in the show or can they be an OC? What are the rules governing what you can and can't do when creating a character? Once I've created a character what then?⁵

As you can see, I have many questions and few answers. Overall, what I'm after is a general guide of how the whole RP works.⁶

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¹ Don't worry, I'm not a total newb to RP in general; I got into MLP because several friends at my LARP group2 highly recommended it, and I've participated in my share of tabletop RP campaigns, it's the bits specific to how it works on a forum I'm confused about.

² By the way, if any Brits on here are interested in trying out LARP (Live Action Role Play), I am the co-founder of a fairly new system which is actively recruiting at the moment. We have a sci-fi setting and hold 3-4 events a year, plus meet-ups at conventions etc. Send me a message if this intrigues you.

³ Which I freely admit I didn't spend more than ten minutes on.

⁴ Mainly because the threads I found dealt with quite specific questions, and what I'm after is more of a general overview of the entire process, start to finish.

⁵ What would you do for a Klondike bar? What's the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

⁶ I don't ask for much.

What are the colours you had in mind?¹ Also, I'd want a clearer shot of the characters on the belt.² No promises as to when I'd have it finished by, I'm busy with an animation project at the moment, but it's nice to take an occasional break and do something slightly different.

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¹ I take it you want the uniform white and the belt black.

² I'd also like to know what they, and the characters on the cutie mark, mean, but that's up to you.

Discworld is awesome

I think we'll get on just fine...¹

I am going to have to do something about the footnotes though. I can't stop using them now,⁴ but it may annoy some people if I use them to this extent in the forum as a whole...

Spoiler Tags!

From now, all footnotes will be spoiler tagged.⁵

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¹ I'll even overlook your misuse of the term "in lieu of".²

² In the main text. Footnotes are my domain, and I shall do as I please here.³ "In lieu of" literally means "instead of" or "in place of", and from the context of your response, that doesn't seem to be what you meant.

³ Within the rules of the forum.

⁴ They're addictive, I like writing a ridiculous amount even on the smallest topic, and I like things that make me different...

⁵ It also means I can keep them at normal size, and with line breaks for readability, without worrying about it taking too much space for self-indulgent crap!

I've barely been here longer than you,¹ but still; welcome!

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¹ I joined 17 hours and 35 minutes before you!

Welcome to Canterlot, Master Mustang.

I wish I had your dedication, I used to have TKD lessons, but didn't stick with it long enough to get very far. I get the feeling that me and mental discipline would never really get on well.¹ I have to say, I envy you for having something you're so passionate about; I've never really found anything I feel I could actually devote myself to studying.

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¹ Mental discipline is against my religion anyway.

Thank you again to everyone who's taken the time to welcome me, although no one seems to have taken note of the question I was most interested to see what people's responses would be.¹

Kryptchild - If you're friend was really like me, they may share my trait of getting along well with pretty much everyone.² As for your last statement... it perplexes me. I can think of several possible interpretations, but none seem to fit. Perhaps I'm just being dense...

Chapien - Refined? I'm honestly not sure whether that adjective could be applied to me.⁴ I'll take it in the spirit it was meant, however, and I find I must compliment you on your taste in headwear.

shyshy - Howdy yourself

Deadpool - That is probably the nicest way in which I've been compared to a terrorist. I'm rather proud of my vocabulary⁵ so thank you.

starswirlthebearded - I've honestly never used footnotes this way before,¹¹ but it's a lot of fun. I may have to keep doing it, at least until someone tells me to stop. As far as alternative adjectives go, how about Equinaut?

MyLittlePonyTales - Thanks

By the way, reading back my first post having had some sleep, it seems I didn't actually say much about my interests and personality, choosing instead to try and make myself sound complex and deep.¹² So here goes. I'm a massive sci-fi geek, a bibliophile,¹³ a gamer,¹⁴ and I have a great deal of passion for music. Name a genre and I probably like something in it.

So, any questions?

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¹ See footnote 13 in my first post.

² In my case with, only one notable exception,³ I tend to like everyone. My close friends include bronies, film nerds, squaddies and a chap I'm pretty certain is planning a fascist dictatorship with himself at the helm.

³ And I don't really feel comfortable talking about that here.

⁴ On the one hand, I tend to wear a three piece suit at all times, and smoking a pipe could be seen as refined. I have an extensive vocabulary,⁵ I tend to talk with an RP⁶ accent⁷ and my favourite radio station is BBC Radio 4.⁸ On the other, I swear a great deal,⁹ love a good mosh pit, and one of my favourite activities is running around in the woods, whacking people with foam swords and shooting them with nerf guns. You'll have to make up your own mind.

⁵ My favourite word is "Callipygian"¹⁰

⁶ Received Pronunciation, not Role Play.

⁷ At least around people I don't know well.

⁸ The comedies are sublime.

⁹ To the extent that I've had to go through all of my posts here to make sure I don't post anything too objectionable.

¹⁰ Ooh, footnote 5 is referenced twice! That pleases me.

¹¹ Although I'm a big fan of Terry Pratchett, who uses them in a similar manner, but far more sparingly and to greater effect.

¹² I'm complex and shallow, but tell no one.

¹³ I haven't read many of the classics, just loads and loads of SF&F, with a healthy dose of whatever catches my eye.

¹⁴ PC and 360

I don't doubt that for a second, Star. It's just the wider context of how getting labelled¹ fits in with the wider context of who I am.³

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¹ Even with a label that I freely accept² as being objectively a good thing.

² And indeed requested in an indirect way.

³ See above.⁴

⁴ If you can stand to read through that fauxlosophical claptrap a second time...

Thanks, now to figure out the implications to my personal philosophy.¹ I'm not sure whether being a brony is a good thing or not,² but who cares?³

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¹ Since I originally reached my conclusions based on a strong desire to evade pigeon-holes, having been assigned the label "brony" seems somewhat counter-productive. However, it does provide another juicy contradiction...

² Philosophically speaking.

³ Wait. That's probably me.⁴

⁴ Great, now I've started with the footnotes I can't stop. Someone help me!

DON'T SAY THAT! Now I'll have to go through it and add some...¹

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¹ Assuming I have a massive case of OCD of course.²

² Crap.

Nice to see I didn't immediately alienate everyone with that self-important wall of text.¹ Although I'm kind of disappointed no one's answered my questions...

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¹ Of course it was self-important; I am important!

Thank you Rainb00m, I hope you say my response to your question about animating in the Art Discussion forum.¹ I strongly advise you check out that Youtube series; it helped me a lot.

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¹ http://www.canterlot...nimation-stuff/

Hi to both of you! I'm a big fan of the term myself. Ironically, I can't remember where I picked it up from, so if anybody asks, I tell them I picked it up through cultural osmosis.

As far as the footnotes go, I think there's probably a reason most people don't use them¹, and I don't usually myself. I was just writing in complete stream of consciousness and liked what I wrote enough to not want to delete it.² They probably won't return unless I end up pulling loads more all nighters...³

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¹They're kind of a crutch, and an affectation at that. A way of saying "look at me, I have so much to say I can barely cram it in".

² First rule of editing - kill your darlings.

³ So... loads of footnotes to come.

Please excuse me if I fail to avoid getting banned, but the link provided ( http://www.canterlot...getting-banned/ ) doesn't appear to work. I'm just going to assume it consists mainly of rules about not angering the Termite King.

I'm not sure whether I belong here, but it's as good as anywhere else. You see, the problem is that I have intentionally cultivated a personality so deliberately self-contradictory that the only real consistent points are insomnia and smoking. Since I realised when I was about 15 that the standard secondary school personality stereotypes only existed to keep people from actually becoming interesting, I have sought out things that most people assume I wouldn't enjoy, with the intent of embracing the fundamental internal contradictions that would expand my horizons.¹ The process so far has been a catastrophic failure, and it is GLORIOUS!

As regards to my two constants, they vary as well; for a time I only smoked cigars, but I switched to cigarettes, writing my favourite Coleridge verses on the side. Then I settled on a pipe. The insomnia is the cause of my somewhat stream of consciousness writing style at the moment, but don't worry; my style is typically far more eloquent and less theatrical.²

Well I've written three and a bit paragraphs³ and still haven't really got to the point. Well I'll spare you further pointless meanderings⁴ by putting them in footnotes so you can safely ignore them.⁸

I honestly have no idea if I’m a brony or not. I deliberately avoided My Little Pony for a long time, as it seemed like something I’d really enjoy.⁹ I finally got round to watching it simply because it was too much effort to keep avoiding it. That and it became clear that I was missing out on some vital context on some conversations with friends.

So I watched the series and… it was pretty okay. Certainly way above the standard I would have expected without the hype, but a bit below the benchmark set by contextual clues from my friends and acquaintances. So yeah. It’s pretty good. I’ve watched all the available episodes, sought out some fan-fics, and volunteered to be animator for a project by one of the guys who so admirably drew me into the fandom.¹⁰

I’ve even made my own…ponysona…¹¹ if Google is correct in that being the term used.

I shall go by the name of Ashen Smirk. It took me a while to come up with the name, and I only noticed the pun once I’d put it online.¹² So. Opinions on my artwork would be appreciated.¹³

I fully expect that I’ll be posting more artwork and some animations here in future. Unless I don’t. Either way, please answer me this, and put my mind at rest:

Am I a brony?

Whatever your answer, thanks for putting up with me this far.

All hail the Termite King!

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Footnotes begin here. No I am not kidding.

¹ I am fully aware that this is not actually a significant revelation; rather it is in fact self-indulgent and stereotypically teenage BS. The problem is that that very awareness creates an internal contradiction which my philosophy demands that I embrace. I could always just rethink the whole thing, but I already decided I was right years ago. If I now declare that I was in fact wrong, then my life since the revelation could have been spent more productively, and that would be terrible. The fact that I spent the time in question mainly sitting around accomplishing very little has no bearing on the matter.

² And with fewer footnotes

³ And three footnotes.

⁴ I'm probably lying here, but these footnotes are being written as I come to them. As I write this, it is Schrödinger’s lie, only collapsing into truth or falsehood once I get back to the main body of my already over-long self-introduction. I think I'll savour the possibilities for a moment. I encourage you to do the same. Ooh, I know what can do to extend the possibility; a recursive footnote! Go to ⁵ if you want my explanation on why most people who cite Schrödinger on the internet are missing the point entirely.

⁵ Okay, I may as well give you the full explanation. Schrödinger’s cat is a thought experiment that states that if you put a cat in a box with a thing that has a 50% chance of killing it, until you open the box and actually look at the cat, the cat is NEITHER ALIVE NOR DEAD. Most people⁶ assume that this was Schrödinger’s way of explaining to a layman how quantum mechanics works, but what they all miss is how INSANELY STUPID Schrödinger’s experiment was. Schrödinger’s point was that the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics sucked, and the experiment was SUPPOSED to be as inane as possible so as to get this across. Sadly, he overestimated the average person's scepticism, and underestimated their tendency to automatically believe what a man in a white coat says, no matter how obviously insane their statements. Poor Schrödinger.⁷

⁶ Idiots

⁷ Although it does serve him right for having a name so annoying to type.

⁸ It was the truth! Sort of! I frigging love footnotes!

⁹ If this statement confuses you, go back to the beginning of this post. You clearly haven’t been paying attention.

¹⁰ No. I will not do any animation for your project. Unless I feel like it. You’d have to be really convincing. Although more experience is a good thing for me…. Fine, you’ve talked me into it. Join the queue.

¹¹ As a grammar nazi, I feel highly uncomfortable using even mild terms like this. You will most likely not catch me using the term “somepony” or anything similar. If you do… I’d like to make it known at this stage that I am susceptible to blackmail, and will do all I can to keep any such slips secret.

¹² Not the obvious one, I didn’t miss that, look slightly deeper.

¹³ And anyone who knows how any sensible and extremely well read pony should react to that cutie mark¹⁴ gets a whole host of obscure trivia geek points.

¹⁴ And why. You need to know why.

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If you started reading at the end for some bizarre reasons, and are worried that this post makes no sense, be aware that these are footnotes. Start from the beginning; it won't make more sense, but it will be nonsense in context, and context is important.

In my experience (which is by no means vast), the best way to learn animation is to animate.

Seriously, open up flash and just play around. Create some stuff and get the best possible feel you can for the tools available. If you feel struck for ideas, have a look at a particular sequence you like, slowing it down and viewing it frame by frame to work out how they got it to work.

If you're feeling too lazy to do this (we all feel like that sometimes) or can't think of any sequence in particular, I can't recommend gbeaudette's MLP Animation Analysis series any higher (Link: http://mlpfanart.wik...mation_Analysis). The videos all look at a very specific element of the show in great detail, but many of the principles he shows have a great many general applications, and they all show a great insight into the sort of mindset you need. Also useful is this resource pack, apparently obtained from the show by Drud14: http://drud14.devian...-2-1-303426524?

At the end of the day though, I'll reiterate again; learn by doing. Unless you strike it extremely lucky, to get experience and training in animation, you need to be a good animator. Catch 22 can suck sometimes, but you have a big advantage in that you're still in school. Seek out your school's art department and find out which of the teachers knows (or even has a passing interest in) about animation, then badger them about it every chance you get. If you're lucky, they'll know a bit about the topic themselves and will be willing to teach it (that's kind of their job). If not, get them to look out for opportunities and courses, and don't forget to do the same yourself. Above all, show enthusiasm and passion for the subject. In my experience school (and to a lesser extent University) is one of the only places that raw enthusiasm actually gets rewarded. After that, the focus shifts to experience and ability, and if you don't have the former, you won't get many chances to demonstrate the latter.

One final word, in my mind, animation isn't a hobby. It's a job or an obsession, at least if you want to get anything approaching professional quality. I started on working on a pretty big project (as solo animator) a week ago, and since then I've put at least 8 hours a day into it (the joys of unemployment XD). I now have a grand total of 24 seconds and over 300 library assets. If there's some bits of animation that you find slightly annoying right now, you will probably end up despising them. Take a look at the final credits of My Little Pony, or any other animated show, and look at all the animators they list. There's a reason it's that long.

BUT

If you stick with it and still enjoy it, it's truly a great feeling. Those 24 seconds are one of the things I'm most proud of, and when you look at something you've poured in your time, energy, blood, sweat and tears into and it works... it's indescribable.

Overall, I hope animation is for you; if it is, stick with it through the good and the bad, and it'll pay dividends. If it isn't, find something else and feel proud that you gave it your all. The world needs more people who love what they do.