Hi people of the New Grounds!

Just dropping in real quick to let you know that a new animation of mine, FlowerTail & HoneyBee is now up here on Newgrounds.

I'm also putting together a Q&A video right now, so do drop on by and ask a question in the comment section of this video below and I might just address it! Whatever's on your heart~

Other than that I'm hard at work at Tales of Zale episode 2 right now. It's gonna take a while, but it'll be great!

Hope you have a nice day!

Hello people of the New Grounds!

TALES OF ZALE

So, where to start—Yeah, Tales of Zale episode 1 is finally out - on NG! This has been a BIG passion project of mine and continues to be so as work continues on episode 2. Have a watch if you haven’t already, I really hope you enjoy!

Fortunately I wasn’t quite alone on this, especially when it comes to the audio-side of things, and I can only recommend checking out the people who contributed on this part’s websites and take a look at what else they do- you’re in for a lot of quality stuff! The very talented voice actors put a great amount of effort into their roles as well, it was absolutely great!

Speaking of that, the sound designers Nick Standing and Mackubin Owens have released a behind the scenes video of their work with the sound design in ToZ. Have a look.

The composer, Matthew Pablo who made all of the music in ToZ from scratch to the animation itself will be releasing a bit of a behind the scenes video as well soon.

I myself will of course not go without doing some BTS as well. This Saturday, 1pm EST I’ll be lives streaming, showing off how I created the visuals of episode 1 and answering any questions that may come my way. The stream will be taking place here: https://new.livestream.com/accounts/3659352/events/3804965

J-POP CON

Next weekend, February 20-21 I am going to be attending a convention called J-POP CON. The con takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark (yeah, that’s all the budget can muster at the moment), and I’ll have a table in the artist alley where I’ll be drawing commissions and selling merchandise. If you are in the area, do drop on by; as allways you’ll be able to recognize me on my brown cap—and the fact that I am sitting in the artist alley selling stuff related to my animations.

DVD’s

That brings me to another thing that I’ve had in the works: DVDzz! Since I’ll be attending a convention I was looking into what kind of stuff I would be able to sell while there. T-shirts didn’t really do it for me – designing those is an art in itself. Instead I’ve decided to put together some DVDs with my animations on, and let me tell you it’s looking really cool.

The DVDs contain 54 minutes of my classic animations in the categories “Tales of Zale”, “Tournament Animations” and “Experimental Animations”. Additionally I made a commentary, talking about ToZ and my tournament animations, and along with that you’ll find some never before released animations, finished and unfinished as well as some cool animatics.

Now, I know that not everyone is able to attend this convention, so I’ve decided to sell the DVD’s on my website as well for a limited amount of time. Have a look if you’re interested: http://sifps.dk/store.html (They’ll of course be signed too.)

AUDITIONS

Voice acting auditions are right now open for the characters appearing in Tales of Zale episode 2. There aren’t that many roles to go about this time around, but have a look if you’re a VA, there might be something for you!

LOOKING FOR ARTISTS AND ANIMATORS

I am right now looking for artists and animators to join me in the work on Tales of Zale episode 2 and some minisodes. For more info on that, visit my website: http://sifps.dk/become-associated.html (I’ll definitely make that page look better at a later point, but for now I think you’ll get the jest).

There’s room for both people who are able to copy my style as well as for people who have a very distinct style of their own.

The work isn’t paid, this project isn’t profitable in any sense of the word at this point, but it’s an experience, and you of course aren’t forced to produce so and so much in a certain amount of time- it’s just for those that want to lend a hand whenever they can. Give it a look, I’d love to collaborate with more artists.

FAN ART

Another way to contribute is fan art. I thought I’d mention that. At the end of ToZ episode 1 I featured some different fan art, and I’d very much like to make that a reoccuring thing. So if you end up drawing the characters or the universe, be sure to put it up on Twitter and Tumblr with #talesofzale or send it to me at toz@sifps.dk , and it just might be shown in the next episode!

Okay, I think that’s about it! I’d hoped to be able to post this in form of an update video rather than a long wall of text, but that video has been delayed a bit due to a persistent cold. So this will just have to do!

All the best from here and have a great day!

- Sif

Edit: Here's the update in video format!

Tales of Zale is the story of a young fox named Zale, and his best friend, the barn owl Elva, as they explore a world in which humans are long gone. Along the way they will meet many other animals; some with good intentions, others not so much.

3 years after the pilot episode's release, Tales of Zale is finally coming back. With a new look and lots of work and passion put into this project I look forward to releasing the very first episode this January 29th onto YouTube, and to Newgrounds soon enough as well. Today I released the trailer, so do check it out:

Ohhh, and towards the end I'll be showing off some cool fan art! So do keep your eyes peeled for that as well. Additions are always welcome though. I thought I'd remember to mention that to this awesome creative community.

See you soon!

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Just a friendly reminder that the Auditions for Tales of Zale - episode 1 are still open. For more information, head on over to the audition page.

Here's a video about the matter:

Also, I'm in the middle of judging the five awesome for the Newgrounds Annual Tournament of Animation's pro round - be sure to check them out if you haven't already!

Also, also I don't belive I've mentioned here that I am currently taking commissions. So that's something to look at as well.

Well, that's about it- have a nice day!

- Hikarian

Auditions are now open for Tales of Zale - episode 1! The audition itself is being hosted on my website, so head on over there for further details: http://sifps.dk/tales-of-zale.html

About:

Tales of Zale is the story of a young, curious fox named Zale, and his best friend, the barn owl Elva. Together they explore the mysteries of a world in which the humans are long gone, and all that is left are the ruins of their creations. Along the way they’ll meet many other animals, some with good intentions and others not so much. In the end, will Zale be able to find the answers he seek and solve the mysteries of the forest he lives in?

The series will consist of 5 minute-episodes, and though 10 episodes have been planned all in all the focus is currently just on creating the first two, which will be uploaded to YouTube and Newgrounds.com.

Episodes will be created using the animation software TVPaint Animation, combined with Photoshop, After Effects, Premier Pro and Logic Pro for further editing. For examples of animations created with these programs, please check the animation page of this site.

The characters I'm currently casting are:

- Zale [young male]

- Elva [young female]

- Morpheus [adult male]

- Elenor [adult female]

Hi there, people of the New Grounds!

Sooo, first a bit of a follow-up: It’s been about a week or two since I published a new collaborative animation titled HUNT. So if you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out here.

I also uploaded the animatic a few days back, so if you’re interested, here it is:

In other news I opened up a little store on Etsy with my mother, selling some homemade, one-of-a-kind drawing gloves. I thought some of the animators and artists on this site might be interested. But hurry, because the shop won’t stay open for that long!

So what’s in store? Let’s see… In about 3 weeks I’ll be publishing a collaborative animation about the Internet, since that just turned 25 this year. I’m not quite sure if I’ll upload it to Newgrounds, because it’s not as big of a project as the others I’ve got going. But I’ll probably end up doing so anyways, since there’s a small reference to this site in it as well. So you can look forward to that!

The other project is on a bit of a larger scale. I bet no one remembers, but a few years back I made a pilot episode for a series called Tales of Zale. Some broadcasters took interest in it, and ‘negotiations’ have been going on for about a year, but in the end I’ve decided to make it myself in the web-series format that it was originally intended for.

That means I’ll be restarting the series, working with all the pre-production material that have been piling up for the last year. Scripts are done, storyboard is pretty much in order, and the animatic for the first episode is almost done. Right now the plan is to make the first two episodes without a budget, and then we’ll see where it goes from there.

I’ll be holding voice acting auditions soon (as in in 3-4  weeks), so keep an eye out for that if you’re a voice actor. There’ll be roles for many different voice types, girls, boys, men and women alike.

Until then I’ll leave you with some super exclusive sneak peaks of this series that I haven’t uploaded to Tumblr yet!

Look forward to it!

- Hikarian out.

Subscribe for more soon to come animations: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=hikarian002

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New animation, now up on Newgrounds! HUNT is the story of two brothers, with very different ways of thinking who set out on a journey to hunt down the ultimate prey. I made this together with 4 of my fellow students for our final media studies exam (and we haven't even had about animation in school). It took 4 months to complete, and a lot of hard work went into it. Like a lot. Though I'll spare you the story of how my computer crashed and deleted a month worth of animation.

Right now the YouTube version and the Newgrounds version of this animation are competing for views, only being about 30 apart. Which one should win? I think you know the answer.

So go watch this new animation if you haven't already!

Newgrounds version                                      YouTube version

Sharing, liking, commenting and subscribing/following is all much appriciated

Greetings people of the New Grounds!

It has been a while since I’ve posted in here, and it’s such a shame. I’ve wanted to do several update posts, but haven’t had found the time. Oh well— down to business.

I am currently working on a collaborative animation together with some of my fellow students, and we are in need of two male voices. It’s a bit of an odd project, because the lines we need are not words, but gibberish instead (for reference, see The Reward). Most of the animation is already done, and will be shown in order to sync the voice acting. We can always take a Skype call if needed, to go over the details of the “lines”.

The story takes place in aboriginal dreamtime, and is the tale of two brothers that have very different ways of thinking. The animation itself is a mix between 2D and 3D, and the duration is around 5 minutes.

The characters are as follows:

Jirra:

Age:              Around 13

Voice type:   Medium-high

Jirra is the main character of the animation. He is the younger brother, and doesn’t have much strength when it comes to hunting wild beasts. But he has a vivid imagination, and the ability to reflect about what is going on around him.

Balun:

Age:              Around 15

Voice type:   Medium-low

Balun is a strong character, who is always seeking glory and recognition. He believes that he is superior as he is, and can be very ignorant at times, especially towards his little brother.

AUDITION: As mentioned above, there is no script as such, and therefor the audition will be a bit different. The following is a link to WIP scene of the animation:

http://youtu.be/R-PXw7ZslQg

For the audition you are asked to voice to this scene, for whichever character you chose (or both). The focus is to make the gibberish lines flow as naturally as possible, while syncing them to the animation. Feel free to send demo reels as well.

- Auditions should be sent to Sif.p.savery@hotmail.com

- For the sake of convenience, please record in wav or mp3 format

AUDITION DEDLINE: May 5th

NOTE: This project has a very tight deadline, and it is therefor essential that you as a voice actor can deliver the lines within a week, should you be casted. Because of the limited time, it is a plus to have Skype, or being able to join a Google hangout if needed, since a bit of communication is essential.

Thank you very much for your time, and as always, have a nice day!

- Hikarian out

Greetings, people of the New Grounds!

The time has once again come for me to write a little post about my latest animation, titled Draculine Verde. The sun is shining and the birds are chirping away, so it'll just be a quick update before I go out there and enjoy that nice weather, which doesn't last very long around these parts.

So yeah, I recently made a new animation for the Pro Round of the Newgrounds Annual Tournament of Animation 2013, called Draculine Verde. The theme for this round was "Your own reflection", so I tried to work around that on a few different levels.
Now, I was a bit unlucky with this animation on a few different points, one being me having some trouble with the stylus for my pen tablet, another being exams and work getting in the way. I feel like the work process has gone a bit downhill from my open round entry, but at the very least my tournament scores have gone up. This round I was up against ButzboPrud and MrColeman321 who both brought some very strong entries to the table. With an end score on 92 points I did however make it to the finals - Whooo!!

Thank you to Codeblackhayate and Ricepirate who lend me their voices on this project, and were able to deliver so very quickly.

I am kind of considering making a commentary for this and some of my other animations to answer a few questions and such when I get the time... I just can't quite decide wether I want to put it on my main youtube channel or make a secondary one for that kind of stuff...

For this next round I'll be a bit busy, doing a script and storyboard for a 10-episoded series that I am going to direct later this year. Of course it IS summer vacation, so I should be able to manage just like I usually manage having school around - My challenge will be to keep my "creative mojo" up as much as I can while working on this final round animation and at the same time having other work to do.
I'll be up against Pahgawkin this round, which is kind of fun, since I was beaten in the first round in last years NATA by this very animator. I do hope I've improved enough since then to be able to put up a fight!

...I'll leave you guys with that last year's first round NATA animation.

Hikarian out - Enjoy your summer!

Once again hello, people of the New Grounds!

I've been putting aside writing an update post for a while now, but now I'm back with more news ~

The Adventurer
Normally I would have made a post right after my new animation, "The Adventurer" had been published, but to be honest I wasn't really sure how people would take it, so I wanted to wait and see. As I wrote in the description of the video, it really was in my eyes the worst possible outcome. The animation was of course made for the NATA novice round with a 25 days time constraint, but I felt like the phasing and structure could have been done so much better. Therefor it hurt extra with the many repetitive comments about the low frame rate and animation choppiness. Because I knew it was true, and I regretted not being able to do more about it. I did get most of the exams and school stuff out of the way though, so that's nice.
So now, I wanted to wait posting till I knew this rounds NATA results.
*drum roll*
I made it to the next round! Which is such a relief, because I was really hoping for a second chance. I ended up with a score of 88/100 points, which I am also very happy about.

NATA Pro Round
So it's on to the pro round, the theme has already been announced, and it is "your own reflection" this time around. Now, I actually got an idea that I like for this already and I've gone ahead and picked music as well as making an animatic/storyboard/script/character design. Oooonly problem is that I didn't expect to make it this far, so I might have accidentally "forgotten" to bring along my pen for my pen tablet while I'm at my parent's house. I've gone ahead and bought a new one, but it'll be 3-7 days till it arrives. So that kind of sets me back a little. I'll just try to see what I can to about the preproduction. Speaking of preproduction, I am actually looking for voice actors for this project: One female medium-low teen, and an adult male with an excited, yet melancholic attitude. If you are a voice actor, or know someone who might fit and be able to deliver on short notice, feel very free to leave me a link to a demo reel. Otherwise I'll just be looking around a bit myself.
I believe that's all there is to say about NATA this time. I'd love to leave you with a teaser pic, but that would kind of spoil the gimmick ~

So, on to the other stuff:

I recently uploaded a little animation to Youtube, that I haven't shown here on Newgrounds since it is unfinished. None the less, I decided to publish my Journey animation test, an animation that I made just after playing ThatGameCompany's Journey. I got so inspired that I just had to try interpreting the designs into my own style. This was made a few months ago, so it is actually my first attempt at this low frame-rated, clear-lined style that you've seen me use in both Blume as well as The Adventurer.

If you haven't already seen the collabs we NATA people have been doing between rounds, you have really been missing something! First we did the Sarcastic Bounce Collab, with lots of very... creative... bounces. Also we just did a Sarcastic Walk Collab. With people walking. And stuff. CHECK 'EM OUT!

I think I'll leave it at that for now. I'll see you all in a month when I've submitted my next tournament animation. *Well, not really "see". That'd be creepy.*

Cheers!