Welcome Back My Bravest Nightingale

Video essay by Jellybox about what's good and bad about indie animation!

Wanted to share this in case it's helpful to anyone wanting to pursue making animation independently. It's also for fans of indie animation who may want some insight into how an indie studio works, why indie cartoons are always selling merch, why release schedules are often erratic, etc.

I also wanted to clarify the video's context, because it seems to have been somewhat misconstrued in some circles. Not long ago, WGA and SAG strikes, followed by TAG negotiations were very much in the news, shining light on the struggles the artists, writers, and actors in the Hollywood studio system are facing. In response, the words 'just go indie' have been tossed around quite a bit lately.

Gene and Sean at Jellybox approached us a few months back explaining that they were planning to make a video about the realities of running an indie studio/producing indie animation, largely in response to that 'just go indie' attitude. They were curious if we'd be willing to share our experience, including information about actual costs and the various difficulties and complications we've encountered. We said yes! We'd like for people to know what it's like. As much as it might look appealing next to the currently very broken studio system, indie has its own set of problems, and we think it's a good idea to be transparent about that because talking about problems is how you begin to address them.

Of course, while you get creative freedom and you have no shareholders to appease with indie production, the primary struggle you're always going to face is funding…and funding avenues are limited. Banks aren't eager to hand out business loans to freelance artists making cartoons, for instance. Social media algorithms reward frequent updates you can't swing with hand-drawn animated content, so you can't rely much on things like AdSense. You can't really insert sponsored ads into your animated videos without being too obtrusive. You can take on client work, but that interferes with your ability to focus on own animated project. Crowdfunds can be great for seed money, but they're also a ton of work to fulfill, and fulfillment itself will tend to eat up a considerable amount of the funds you've raised. Once your animation is produced, there is no well established way to sell the animated episode itself like there is for, say indie games sold on Steam. So, while we consider ways to try to make the terrain a bit more hospitable to indie creations, if nothing else, let this explain why productions rely a lot on merch drops!

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And hey, if you're an animation fan, consider supporting the independent productions you enjoy, whether you're tossing a few dollars their way, buying their merch, or just mentioning them to friends:

The Far-Fetched team is launching a crowdfund very soon to help them complete their pilot!

The Monkey Wrench team is killing it lately, and they deserve so much more fanfare than they've gotten!

And of course, thank you to the excellent folks at Jellybox for starting an important conversation!

i know a lot of people mock when certain songs are overused on character playlists but I will never judge someone for putting bubblegum bitch on one. If you decided that your little tv guy is miss sugar pink liquor liquor lips who am I to say he’s not

Idv drop the full ref thank yew

Isolde's Garment: Polyphony

Mandatory art of one of my fav podcasts, with the best grump <3

I know she wouldn’t wear fish hooks, but I was inspired by the description of her nana Glass

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

somehow I got 95/20 on an assignment

I hope they never fix it and leave it this way forever

donate an esim for a coloured sketch!

hey guys!! im one of the artists for this round

click here for the full thread of the tutorials and how to request for a coloured sketch. help us spread the word! 🇵🇸🍉

⬜️ cinderella ⬜️

Happy Side Order to all who celebrate!!

YOU + ME = LOVE .ᐟ ( a diluc x fem!reader smau )

synopsis: in dire need of a passing grade, the faculty had taken it upon themselves to get you a tutor asap. insert diluc, a grade 12 STEM student who was asked to stick with you, a raging grade 11 STEM student who's struggling in her academics.

started on: 1/10/24 | ended on: 3/10/24

genres: opposites attract trope (kinda), senior high school au, crack (one of my many attempts at comedy), fluff, angst of course, profanities + kys jokes, other ships are mostly implied, socmeds with narrations !!

note: will not dwelve too much into how shs works LOL but (🖋️) means the episode has narrations.

taglist: closed! thank you for being in every step this smau took :)

playlist: hehehe

PRESENTING: unit 143 / power rangers

✿ EPISODE 1: goodluck soldier

✿ EPISODE 2: more on my plate

✿ EPISODE 3: i think he hates me

✿ EPISODE 4: is it really hard?

✿ EPISODE 5: center of attention (🖋️)

✿ EPISODE 6: maybe she isn't so bad

✿ EPISODE 7: meet me at 5?

✿ EPISODE 8: a new side

✿ EPISODE 9: over the line

✿ EPISODE 10: logging off

✿ EPISODE 11: out of reach

✿ EPISODE 12: i got you (🖋️)

✿ EPISODE 13: little by little (🖋️)

✿ EPISODE 14: so what?

✿ EPISODE 15: revelations (🖋️)

✿ EPISODE 16: welcome to the club

✿ EPISODE 17: endearing (🖋️)

✿ EPISODE 18: proud of you

✿ EPISODE 19: block and ignore

✿ EPISODE 20: you didn't know?

✿ EPISODE 21: we need to talk (🖋️)

✿ EPISODE 22: it can't happen (🖋️)

✿ EPISODE 23: girls night!

✿ EPISODE 24: until then

✿ EPISODE 25: always adoring you

✿ EPISODE 26: i think deserved

✿ EPISODE 27: there's no way (🖋️)

✿ EPISODE 28: why wouldn't i miss you? (🖋️)

✿ EPISODE 29: about time

✿ EPISODE 30: feels real to me