Announcing North Pole Air Control! (NPAC Update 08/24)

Howdy!

After months of dipping my toe into the water over and over (and over again) to see if it felt right for starting my next project, I think I’m ready to make the plunge. In fact, I’m actively diving. I hesitate to write this post, because it means I really am In It again, and have to do the hard work of making a wishful thought into a meaningful (and frequently messy) reality. This project is already ambitious, and as I’ve worked on the script it’s only grown more so. Arte’s Curio Shop was meant to be a “small” project before this “big” one - and Curio took 10 months to complete!

Like last time, I want to log the progress for my own personal records and as a thank you for those who are giving their money, attention, encouragement, and especially money to make this project a reality. Y’all rock!

SO… what are we making? We’re making an idea I’ve been kicking around for a few years, letting the concepts roll up like a big snowball in my mind, which is an appropriate metaphor since we’re making North Pole Air Control!

If you follow me on social media, you’ll know I have a couple of reindeer who I draw each Christmas, and after the second year of drawing them they already seemed to know who they were and were petitioning for a show. I hesitated to begin, mainly because this story of nobodies in their young twenties was rather autobiographical, and as such, I didn’t quite know how their story should end. But after this summer, I have a good idea of where their story is going, and I ought to publish at least some of it while I’m still in my twenties.

(Sorry to those who were wanting more Bearpuncher - I do have plans for that story but they involve WAY more time and money than I have at this current moment.)

North Pole Air Control is about two reindeer who desperately want to be part of Santa’s team, but are stuck watching them from the sidelines (or specifically, the airport.) Holly’s the delighted newbie working alongside Ivan, the guy with all the experience and jaded weariness that comes from being in the workforce for two. whole. years. It’s gonna be zany, funny, musically inclined, comfortingly nostalgic while embracing some new tricks I’ve learned. It’s also going to be my first “show.” By that I mean that I intend to release multiple shorts featuring these characters a’ la Bigtop Burger. I’m looking forward to me and my audience getting to spend more time with these characters and diving back into something more narratively driven. By Christmas of 2025 I’m hoping to have at least two episodes ready to air.

Where am I at now, in August of 2024? I have about a dozen things halfway or mostly done.

The script for ep 1 and 2 is 90% finished. I’ve been tweaking it with advice from friends but the core conflict is in place and it’s mostly dialog tweaks at this point.

The characters, since I’ve been drawing them for years, are pretty much designed but need work defining trouble areas. I need to find a way to consistently draw Holly’s curly hair. And of course the reindeer’s legs have been a puzzle, finding a design that would allow them to dance, sit in chairs, walk on four legs, and not look terribly uncanny during any of it. And should deer wear pants? These are the questions, people.

I was able to hire one of my former Wingfeather coworkers to design the air controller tower, but probably need to do a few final tweaks or relinquish my perfectionism and move ahead.

I’ve storyboarded the theme song and roughly planned the episodes, but still need to find partners to spearhead the musical element of the show.

All in all, we are solidly in the pre-animation step. Although there’s plenty ahead of me, it’s honestly been refreshing to just get back in the habit of carrying a project a couple steps forward each day. For the past couple months I’ve felt like my inspiration level’s been at 0, and while I still feel that way, I’m gonna start walking and try to end up somewhere interesting!

Thanks again to those who are supporting this project. If you’d like to join, here’s how you can help!

• Monthly Subscription on Substack!
• $5/month
• New “Credits Club” tier for annual subscribers
• Free tier is available if you want to receive this blog by email!
• One-time donation at my shop
• A great way to support since they don’t charge a platform fee!

Supporting in any capacity gets you access to my Discord server community, monthly subscriptions get you access to development updates like this one, and “Credits Club” members will be in the credits of my next animated short and receive merch! I hope it’s a fun way to stay connected and get an early look into what’s next.

So let’s go! Flights for the North Pole departing… now!

-dh

Driving 1000 Miles for $800

Hey Bloggerfolk!

I didn’t expect to be back so soon with another travel vlog, but when you’ve lived to tell the tale of a wild road trip through two of my favorite states, sweating it out in multiple 2-3 hour lines all in the hope of store credit… well you must tell the tale!

(You can also watch this on Instagram if that’s your cup of tea.)

My favorite used bookstore, McKay’s, did a promotion so massive not even they could have expected the turnout it would generate: visit all five of their locations, earn up to $800 credit. Turns out most of the travelers had the same idea we did and started in North Carolina, which then overwhelmed store after store as the horde moved west. Despite the lack of line management or crowd control, McKay’s made it as easy as possible to get the cash, extending store hours and allowing participants to skip whole stores altogether. As a result, we only waited at two stores and still got the full amount. (We still drove the whole distance though, which was 570 miles/9.5 hours one way.) With a lot on the line, I was surprised how gracious the company was, and how professional and kind their staff remained throughout the day!

Although we mostly listened to dad rock on the drive, I ultimately wanted to use Ginger Root’s “No Problems” for the vlog, due to its kinetic energy and double meanings. The trip had its share of problems, but it’s also hard to complain when you get to spend a whole day with your friends and earn $800 by the end of it. I’m loving editing more and more to music - maybe I should do a music video someday! :P

Hope y’all are enjoying the addition of travel videos on the channel! I am hard at work on the next animated project too but am glad to not have year+ long gaps between my uploads.

Thanks for watching and reading, and I hope you’re staying cool this summer!

-dh

Sketching Across Greece

 Hey bloggerfolk!

My flirting with the YouTuber lifestyle continues - with a new vlog/storytime/travel show video! Check it out here!

I’m really enjoying making more videos for the channel - especially ones that don’t take a year+ to complete. It’s a great way for me to practice my editing and directing in a more rapid timeframe. I’d been watching a bunch of travel YouTube (specifically the One Pack Wanderers and Rick Steves) in advance of my family’s trip to Greece and wanted to do something similar, but with a distinct art and educational bent to keep it worth your time and not tooooootally incongruous with my previous projects (although if travel became a large part of my channel, I would not mind…) I was also happy to indulge a bit of the Nat Geo, Scholastic look which I’ve become fond of recently. Serif fonts, rejoice! Oh and maybe you’ll even learn something about Greece too!

No upload of mine can truly be without its hiccups. I like to use Louie Zong’s music in my videos since he allows small creators to do that sort of thing, but I didn’t realize that an AI artist plagiarizing Louie Zong’s music would copyright strike the video. While this is perhaps the most righteous reason I could have for disputing a copyright strike, it still means the video won’t earn very much. Oh well. Clearly, I don’t make these things to make money… but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless!

Speaking of earning money… how about that job search?

I really thought I would enjoy a couple months away from work but it kinda sucked. Despite having more time than ever for my personal work, it felt like I barely got anything done. It was not the perfect situation I had secretly dreamed it would be. With seemingly infinite time on my hands, it was easier than ever to procrastinate, and yet I judged myself harder for doing so. I realized having a dayjob’s not just about income for me, but also about providing structure, a communal mission, and a level of scarcity to my art time which helps me to treat it with greater respect. The grass does always seem greener on the other side, further reinforcing what I’ve known for a while - that my artwork doesn’t necessarily suffer from having to sit alongside another job, and in fact, can benefit from it.

Jobs, however, have been hard to find. Not just in the entertainment sphere, which seems historically dry everywhere, but also in the non-art space, which surprised me. I had foolishly assumed that with my experience I’d at least be able to land the sort of jobs high schoolers get. But even that proved difficult. Thankfully, I was able to land a job at the one place that offered me an interview, the Well Coffeehouse. I was interested to work in coffee since I’d get to learn a new craft and still be creative as part of the job. I also had this quaint dream of biking to work and smelling like caramelized coffee all the time, although in reality I have always opted to drive and smell more like sweat and dish soap.

While being a barista can mean a lot of things depending on the shop, I’m glad that the Well has proven to care intensely about their coffee and their workers, which has meant I’ve been able to learn a lot and (slowly) get a hold on the finer points of coffee like dialing in a brew and creating latte art (ironically, the part of the job I’m the worse at.) I haven’t worked at any place with this much teamwork and care to set up the next department for success - I really need to take that spirit into my studio animation work!

There’s a narrative here that’s disappointing, where I’ve fallen from my lofty heights, my story ideas sitting on the shelf while I do sweaty work washing dishes. But it only feels that way if I frame it that way. I feel like I’m becoming more independent, free to really do my own thing in animation/YouTube, but also free from animation being the one thing that defines both my personal and professional life. And with limits placed back again on my creative time, I’ve gotten much better at actually using it. Now with this video wrapped I’m working to finish up the script for my new animated show, which means I’ll likely resume project updates and paid subscriptions here. While this year has definitely beat me down, I think I’d lose more by waiting for a better time to make this next project.

So that’s where I’m at! Situated in a new job, learning a new skill, having all kinds of new experiences both at home and abroad. Still dealing with mental health issues (anxietyyyyy) but I’ve made a lot of progress leaving that dark forest behind. I feel like I’m in the middle of whatever episode of life this is, so not there yet, but going somewhere. While things have stabilized somewhat, they by no means feel final. How strange. Will try and keep you updated.

I hope you enjoyed the video and whatever will come next!

-dh

New Sketchbook Zine Available!

Hey bloggerfolk!

I had mentioned MONTHS ago that I was working on a sketchbook zine about clouded leopards, and now that I’ve finished all the drawings, captured a decent “about the author” photo after waiting about a month for the perfect opportunity, and printed off all the pages at my local FedEx, it’s DONE! You can get a copy (PDF or printed) here: https://ko-fi.com/danielhaycox/shop

Since I’ve been wanting to build up my YouTube channel more during this season of unemployment (such an unoriginal idea, I KNOW, but one I’m excited to do nonetheless) I made a preview video which shows off some pages and talks a bit more about the project -

I did not expect how much fun I’d have knocking something together in Premiere again - after making only animation for the past 3 years, making a live-action video in a week felt like I was moving at lightspeed! I definitely want to make more videos like this again, maybe for art of book reviews and stuff. 

I hope you’ll give the zine a look too! It’s a fun, rougher, very DIY kind of project, and a look into my personal sketchbook. While I did most of the pages at home based on photos I took, I think the sketches I made while at the zoo (shown above) are some of my favorite! I hope to do more zoo drawing videos/zines in the future - one of my favorite parts of this unemployed season has been going to the zoo about once a week and just drawing whatever suits my fancy/is not moving that day.

Hope your summer is off to a great start (yes, I’m gonna count May as summer), and thanks for reading!

-dh

Daniel's Big Weekend in Cincinnati

Hey Bloggerfolk!

I’m back from a weekend trip to Cincinnati, a place I’m growing increasingly more and more fond of. Strange to think I would be feeling this way about a place in Ohio, but it’s true! And it’s great! I’d briefly seen the city on a trip to King’s Island but was excited to really experience it - and in two PACKED days some friends and I really took in all the city had to offer! History, kitsch, animals - what more could you want from a city?! At the American Sign Museum we admired the graphic design of decades past under the neon glow - the craftsmanship was so impressive! Makes our modern cityscapes feel cheap. And makes me even more repulsed by current digital signage… check out those bubbly plastic letters!

It felt like I was living in an article of the Retrologist (which I very much recommend if you’re into 20th century Americana!)

While looking for things to do after lunch, I was delighted to discover that Union Terminal - a place I’ve been researching for months as part of an upcoming project, is located in Cincinnati! It’s an incredible example of art deco design - and aside from the missing train terminals, it really does look much like it did in the 1930s. I’d gathered numerous pictures of this place online, so to actually be there in person was a big treat. Especially since scale is such a feature of the place. This was a niche, but very special highlight of the trip for me, and even if you aren’t a freak about art deco/civic design the building houses Cincinnati’s museums (which we’ll have to do on a future trip! Yep, we went here JUST to enjoy the art deco. Glad my friends are willing to put up with my artistic obsessions!) 

This is a waiting area for a restroom, and it’s beautiful! I believe that’s the original mural too.

Overall, Cincinnati is a city that seems to have more historical buildings than it knows what to do with - there’s whole blocks of beautiful, ornate facades which are entirely boarded up and out of use. Some of the roughest areas of town are still graced by the aesthetic eye of an earlier century. A stark juxtaposition, but one that promises hope, and is surely better than a cheap, modern building in a similar situation. I was stunned by how well these buildings were preserved - likely a joint effort of concerned citizens and a sluggish market and gentrification engine. Either way, I was excited to see so many old architectural relics, something hard to find in a city as new as Nashville. 

We enjoyed some drinks at Carabello’s exquisite coffee bar (yes, they served coffee in a cone!),

and enjoyed the kitsch and exotic foods of Jungle Jim’s. Jungle Jim’s was one of the main reasons I wanted to return to the city - it’s just so eccentric and oddly nostalgic! 

After packing so much into day 1, we spent most of day 2 at the Cincinnati Zoo, where I was impressed by the number of animals and the numerous, well-themed dark-room habitats and aquariums. Many of these exhibits feel like a crafted experience, where you move from a greenhouse, to an indoor viewing area, to a museum all in the same area. There’s so much to see at the Cincinnati Zoo, and despite the confusing park layout and crowds we got to see most of it. Highlights were the painted dogs, potto, leaf cutting ants, and fennec fox. Lots of impressive big cats too, who liked to lounge in very visible sections of their habitats (unlike our local tiger at the Nashville Zoo…) I had really hoped to see Fiona the celebrity hippo, and while she probably was one of the three hippos they had out on display, I had no way to identify her, which felt anti-climatic. 

We stayed late in Cincinnati that day so we could attend a dinner theater - which I loved. It looked like all the supper clubs I’ve seen in old 1940s movies, with low-lit tables surrounding the center stage. In addition to the fun of watching a great musical from your table, the cast and crew were especially gracious. The whole cast came out after the show to greet guests in the atrium - a very kind gesture from people who are acting their hearts out to audiences in the middle of Ohio. I’m always impressed by artists who really do care for their audience - and the people at La Comedia do that well!

We got back to Nashville suuuuper late but felt so satisfied with such a fun, absolutely packed weekend with good people. After such a bummer of a year so far it was great to have a weekend of nonstop fun! Thanks to Parker, Olivia, Olivia's family, and Sydni for humoring my outsized interest to see Cincinnati and for making it a great trip!

Thanks for reading, and until next time,

-dh!

Wingfeather S2 Premiere!

Hey bloggerfolk!

In case you couldn’t guess from the snazzy red carpet photos or perhaps even the title of this post, Season 2 of The Wingfeather Saga premiered a couple Tuesdays back and has new episodes coming out each Friday! It’s crazy to think that the show is finally here - feels like ages since me and the design team were working on those early episodes! Although I did mostly production coordination for Season 2, some of my design work is already showing up in the episodes, most notably the family’s backpacks (major kudos to the animators, assembly artists, and production management who had to keep track of them across the episodes!)

original crew from the bonus room days!

The studio put on a proper red carpet celebration that included handmade decor, a panel with the team, and live music performances (cause it’s Nashville!) But my favorite part was really just getting to catch up with everybody - old coworkers, recent coworkers, out-of-town artists, mentors, executives, friends. It was kinda like a wedding in that way, or maybe a reunion. Animation is such a long and gradual cycle that some people who were absolutely integral to making season 2 haven’t even been on the payroll for months. Now that I find myself drifting into that camp, a premiere/wrap party certainly is bittersweet. The day definitely reminded me of the fact that I don’t work for Wingfeather right now, but it also was a fitting sendup of all the hard work the crew and I have put in over the last couple years!

And the afterparty was at Waffle House, of course.

Now that the confetti has settled I find myself back in this quiet, strange, unemployed time. Solidly three weeks in at this point! The resumes have been sent out and now it largely feels like I’m waiting for something to stick. As much as I’m glad to not have to commute anymore, I do really miss the action and purpose of collective work, and having social time from 9-to-5. Who would have thought my little indie heart would miss spending most of my day working on other people’s projects? Or maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised that I miss hanging out with cool artists and talented people each day. Turns out there’s a lot more you gain from a job than just a paycheck.

In the meantime, I’ve tried to keep busy: experimenting with new animation styles, learning French, (or more accurately) watching a TON of Bluey in French, exercising, drawing at the zoo, reading novels, and the like. I never feel like I’m making enough progress on any of these things (ESPECIALLY with starting my next film) since I literally have all the time in the world right now. Every day is the weekend, and I can do whatever I want. It’s not that I’m paralyzed by the amount of choices, I just feel like it’s hard to be a steward of such a luxurious, fleeting gift. Especially since it’s coming during a year where my mental health has never been more shook and traveling is difficult given that fact (and other scheduling concerns.) I feel like if I was unemployed last year I would have rocked it. But this year… I don’t know.

Talking about all this with my friend Clay last night helped me realize that maybe I’m just being a little too hard on myself. Maybe I have too narrow a view of what “succeeding” during unemployment means. Maybe this time doesn’t bring an obligation but offers a chance. And it doesn’t all have to be toil. I don’t need to measuring the days in terms of working hours (practically absurd given that I’m unemployed) but could be looking for other beneficial ways to spend them.

I’ve been watching through Season 2 of The Bear over the past few months, which has felt surprisingly relevant to my current situation. In it, the restaurant is closed, and whole season is about the team rebuilding - not just their physical restaurant, but themselves. It’s a surprisingly gentle search for restoration and inspiration. I’ve been thinking all day about the episode where the newly promoted head chef just goes around town trying new dishes. How long has it been since I’ve done something like that? Something that’s not work, but still of value? The thought of doing something similar (like visiting the art deco buildings of downtown Nashville to research my next film) gets me excited. Maybe this sort of edifying leisure is the real benefit of an unemployed season.

I’ll let you know how that goes, as I keep sending out those resumes and keep watching Bluey (in whatever language fits!) I’m so excited (and heartbroken) for what could very well be the show’s final episode this Sunday. (Nothing much is confirmed, but I have my theories.)

I hope this season finds you well! Oh and go check out Season 2 of The Wingfeather Saga over on the Angel Guild! And tell me which of the backpacks is your favorite ;)

your wayfarer in chief,

dh

Goodbye, Wingfeather

 

my very first day on the wingfeather saga

2024 has been a pain in my behind. With all the graciousness of Dolores Umbridge, it has endeavored to cut me to the core and make an absolute mess of everything. While I’ve felt its talons stab across many areas of my life, I’m here today to eulogize its most recent casualty, which is… my job on The Wingfeather Saga.

Yes, this 2.5 year (can you believe it???) journey has come to its end, or at least its awkward-pause-for-commercial break. It’s a bittersweet time to be suddenly unemployed, since Season 2 is literally about to come out and really turn some heads. But just like the rest of life, in animation great excitement often sits alongside great bummers. None of us got into this job for the stability, we got into this job to tell dang good stories in an incredible medium, or create some dragons. Maybe both.

When I was first told I was being laid off I was disappointed, but also flooded with gratitude for having gotten to be a part of the whole experience of Wingfeather, pretty much from day 1. Wingfeather was my first fulltime job in animation, and they took a huge risk hiring someone with so little experience and even less fashion sense. And not just hiring me, but welcoming into their home, working straight out of the boss’s bonus room for most of my time at the studio. There was a casual, familial air about the place, no doubt reinforced by the fact that legos and cats were a constant feature of the workplace. I was at the studio long enough to see many friends come and go, and each taught me something new. Garrett, how to keep peace and morale up even when things look dire. Justin, how to find smart solutions that respect the team’s effort and time. Clay, how to be positive and helpful even when you feel like being neither. Rebecca, how to go the extra mile to keep work fun, even for the remote team. Dakota, how to create friendships that transcend the workplace. Chris, how to direct cameras and a business. Brock, how to navigate Kidscreen and talk with producers. David, how to cheat death. And so many more who I’d love to include here but I need to finish this post eventually! Wingfeather was a massive educational experience for me, as there really is a lot about animation (especially the business side of it) that you can only learn in a production setting.

The night before my last day was when it really began to hit me - I wasn’t just out of work, but out of a community. I could find new work (and am excited to, see below!) But it’s going to be hard, maybe even impossible to find again the right combination of people and environment like I had on this show. You can’t just replace the spring lunches on the front lawn. The daily descent upon the local coffeeshop, huddling in a tight circle as the baristas, who knew us by name, completed our massive order. And especially, the fact that we were a studio that prayed before meals, where you could talk about your faith openly, and where Christ was a constant. I’m grateful that I’ll still be able to see my coworkers around town and after work, but for all my bohemian, wayfaring aspirations, I’m really gonna miss the consistency of coming into the office on a weekday, being among friends, carrying on whatever inside joke was in vogue, and maybe getting some work done in between.

Yet in this ending there’s a chance for a new beginning, and while I look back in sadness on what has finished, I’ve also got a building excitement for the next door God will open. Throughout the past 2.5 years I’ve dreamed up quite a list of skills, travel, experiences, and jobs I’d like to pursue but simply couldn’t since I was holding down a 9-5. And now I’m free to go after them! There’s whole sides of me I haven’t been able to nurture while being so focused on studio work, especially my interest in animals & the outdoors, and travel & language.

I’m really excited by this opportunity to pivot and to learn more about the world than just how one studio works. Although I may not have the youthful shimmer of a 21-year-old, I’m still at the very beginning of my career and there’s dozens of roads I could take. Sure, it sucks that there aren’t really many animation opportunities in Nashville. Sure, it sucks that the wider animation industry is on fire, bleeding jobs and talent no matter where you live. But, as you’ll know from reading any post written during Summer 2021, I’m the kind of person in love with the idea of potential. I love a map with spaces left to explore. A RPG skill tree with dozens of slots to fill. I like feeling free to enjoy life, run down the rabbit trails, cast out the nets and see what I catch. And now, just like after graduating college, I find myself blessed with an abundance of potential. It really does feel like a chance for a fresh start, although this time I have genuine experience and know sliiiiiightly more what I’m doing. And this time, I hope I’ll be a little more sensitive to the doors God is opening for me. Working at Wingfeather was not the door I was expecting to open in 2021, which caused some confusion and angst at the time - though it’s clear now that it was the exact right place for me. I’m wondering if something like that will happen again, whether that door will open in animation or elsewhere, at a business or something more self-directed. I pray that it might be a door working at a zoo or park, as a director or designer, in Ireland or Nashville. Heck, it could even open at Wingfeather again! Either way, I’m gonna try to be more sensitive and obedient this time, though I’ll probably be just as stubborn as ever. Oh well. Either way, it’s sure to be an adventure.

This has been an incredibly hard past few months, but in this upheaval I see a chance to get some perspective, move beyond my mental burdens, and chart a new start. You’ll surely be seeing some updates to my portfolio and more activity on social media, and if you, dear reader, are somehow in a position to hire an animal-focused designer/director, let me know!!! But ultimately I know that whatever comes next will be from God, and it’s into His care that I will go.

Spring has come, summer is on its way, and it’s a natural time for new starts. My brother, in fact, just got engaged and I’m very proud of him :) And more proud of his fiancé for saying yes! It’s a time of change for all of us, and for once in my timid life it feels welcome. May it bring good things!

Thanks for your readership, and thanks to the staff of Shining Isle/Wingfeather for giving me my chance! Back into the wayfaring times we go -

-dh

my last day on wingfeather

Readuary for February

Hey Bloggerfolk!

Oohf. Wow! It has been a rough couple of weeks over here. I’ve already described my ongoing art funk in my previous post, but between now and then I was also snowed in for Too Long, got sick, and have been dealing with probably the biggest bout of Worry that I’ve experienced in a long time. Can’t say it’s been fun, but I can say that I’m ready for February and to try again with a new month. February brings the Super Bowl, Ash Wednesday, an early spring - the wheels of the calendar finally becoming unstuck from the frozen mud.

I’ve had a bunch of horrible art days that really made me doubt my ability to draw but eventually I turned a corner and began drawing clouded leopards that did not suck. As with most of my problems I think I was just overthinking it - watching a lot of Jungle Book clips showed me that even the simplest execution of proper animal anatomy can really go a long way. Around that time I also discovered that colored pencil touched up with mechanical pencil was a combo I really enjoyed - it felt just loose enough to be fun without becoming cluttered. I’ve put myself under a lot of pressure throughout this whole project since my (secret) goal was to make a zine out of all these leopard drawings. One that would be impressive. So impressive, in fact, that people would pay real money to buy it.

That was a bad idea. I’ve since learned you really should never broadcast, and especially never monetize, your first attempts to learn any skill. I felt like I had my future viewers always looking over my shoulder, shaking their heads in regret at their woeful purchase of these crappy clouded leopard drawings. I thought about scrapping the project altogether, but it felt wrong to end a project in defeat when perhaps it could be coaxed beyond its ugly teenage phase and into responsible adulthood. I’m glad that I stuck with it, so I’m not left with a sour taste for the whole affair. And while I’m still planning on printing the zine, I think I’ll be distributing it non-profit and just having people pay for shipping/printing. Should have a fun mix of crappy and non-crappy drawings, probably one of my more raw collections where I’m fine to show a few mistakes rather than just my best hits.

More details to come - paid members, you’ll get a copy totally free (no shipping fee) too! Speaking of paid members, I’m pausing my paid Substack tier for at least the next couple months. That means that all paid members will retain their subscriptions, not be charged, and any months left on an annual subscription will resume AFTER the break. I’m thankful for your support these past couple months! But as funding here at the Roost has been historically project-based, I feel like it’s right to pause until I’m back in the middle of a project, releasing paid posts consistently, etc. Thanks for carrying me over into the new year, and hope you enjoy the clouded leopard tiny-project!

I hope to be back soon with details on how you can get my finished zine, but until then I hope your February is off to a better start!

best,

dh

PS: Have you read this great interview with Patrick McHale (creator of Over the Garden Wall)? Sorry for the non sequitur but I’ve had it open on my computer for weeks, always forgetting to mention it in a post, and now I can finally close the tab. 

What to Do With January

Hey bloggerfolk!

I’m coming at you live from what feels like a blizzard here in Nashville - nearly 6 inches of snow have fallen over the past 24 hours. I always look forward to Nashville’s one snow each year and I have to say they really went all out on this one. This stuff is DEEP and nearly every roof is now sporting life-ending, two foot long icicles. I keep waiting for one to fall and utterly destroy a lawn chair or something. It’s so frosty here that the plows haven’t been able to reach us, so the streets are fully in the hands of pedestrians and sledders. I even stood in one of the (previously) busiest intersections, (now entirely empty) just to feel the rush of being Where You Definitely Should Not Be On Any Other Day. I spent most of the day doing a big loop of the area on foot, enjoying all the quaint houses looking their most quaint, and gathering icicles for my beard before returning home.

i’m like an ice vampire

There’s really no better way to blog than with hot chocolate in hand and snow outside the big window, which is nice because I’ve been feeling the need to log my recent wintery art-funk.

Now that I’ve finished Arte’s Curio Shop and rested up from the endeavor, I’ve been thinking (often) and have been asked (sometimes) “what’s next?” Although I do have a project in mind, I’ve felt like it’s still too soon to be jumping full-boar into another film. For the past three years all my artwork has been in the service of just a few projects. My personal work has become much like my work work: scheduled, ordered, the same day-after-day with no time to play or even study up! With January being such a mundane, awkward month, maybe it couldn’t hurt to linger a bit longer in the in-between.

Now halfway through the month, I can’t help but feel a little lost and directionless. But I’m also making discoveries I wouldn’t have otherwise. I had planned several ambitious non-projects for this unscheduled month: learning to draw tigers, getting into paleoart, watching Moho software tutorials (all totally not projects guys.) But what’s actually ended up happening is that I’m learning how to draw clouded leopards?? The tiger at the zoo has been a horrible model but since the clouded leopard cubs stay way closer to the glass I pivoted and have spent the last couple weeks becoming a clouded leopard MASTER illustrator. I’ve been trying to understand incoherent muscle diagrams and doing some drawing at the zoo - “eating my veggies” as I’ve heard people say. It’s thrilling to be a student again - referencing tomes and having those eureka moments as you realize WHY an arm is shaped the way it is (it’s because of muscles, but somehow I never really understood that?")

very first anatomy study based on photo by joel sartore

anatomy study based on photo by bill attwell

But at the same time I miss connecting my work directly to a story, directly to a production, and frankly, directly with an audience. When you get up early to draw leopard triceps you find yourself asking “why” a lot and unlike my short film work, the answer doesn’t come as easily. When working on a craft as demanding as animation I want a clear purpose for why I’m doing what I’m doing. Especially since I could I could be watching TV, sleeping, or doing any number of easier activities instead. Yet I don’t want my artistic output to be stifled by the need to know that purpose NOW. All my “big” projects have been benefited by the tiny, forgotten smaller ones that preceded them. And maybe I should remember that a drawing motivated by curiosity or fun is still worth the fight to fit it into the schedule.

That’s what I’m trying to learn in January at least - what have you guys been learning? Hope your snow isn’t overstaying its welcome and that if you don’t have snow you can still look out a big window with hot chocolate at whatever landscape you find yourself in!

peace,

-dh

Time for Another Round (of Root Beer): It's the Best of 2023 and Recap Post

Happy New Years Eve, Bloggerfolk!

And what a year it has been! For me, 2023 started off with a bang, going to Disney World nary six days into the new year and to be frank, I think I was chasing that high for the remaining twelve months (even going BACK to DW for another, significantly hotter trip in August.) I think I really needed some time to play this year, to experience the wonder of entering a cartoon world, and to care very, very deeply about the silliest of things, re-energizing my heart in the process. This had the potential to be a somewhat dis-heartening year. I found myself constantly pushing off my grand expectations for the future (traveling the world, trying out for exciting opportunities) while realizing that so much of my life is just totally out of my control. However, my present situation was full of unexpected goods (advancement at my current work, being with the best of friends, new apartment in Nashville.) Like George Bailey, my unwitting role model/cautionary tale, I’ve found that things really are wonderful, even if it’s not in the way I would have planned. I think it all comes down to surrendering to God WITHOUT being defeated by my circumstances.

Still, in the day-to-day doldrums of meetings, traffic, and the dozens of other things I don’t particularly want to do, I find myself forgetting the dreams, hope, and curiosity I once had. The kind of radical derring-do that feels essential to making art, and being a lively human being in general. So is it too much of a exaggeration to say that for the betterment of my SOUL I needed to cheer loudly for the Bear Band of Grizzly Hall, delight in the imagination of the imagineers (and Figment), and ride Slinky Dog Dash with fireworks exploding in the distance? NO! NO EXAGGERATION IN THE SLIGHTEST!

imagination pavilion

This was also a year of looking back, becoming fascinated by the analog artifacts of a pre-digital life. It’s hopelessly nerdy of me, but I love the tactile-ness and playfulness of the 80s-00s. Through movies, old blogs, and even 3D experiences (like at Disney World, built mostly during this period) I loved studying the aesthetics and themes that made this period remarkable for those who lived it (and also for me, for some reason.) The dinomania that gave us Jurassic Park and Dinosaur (the ride, long may it live). The pinnacle of classical 2D animation with Bluth and Disney. The animatronics that couldn’t quite make it out of the uncanny valley, yet I applaud their effort. The necessity of real world, in-person experiences. The music of John Williams and Phil Collins. Maybe I’m weary of the dull convenience of the Internet, or am nostalgic for a dusty corner of my own past, but it was an era that really peaked my curiosity this year. Which you miiiiight have been able to tell given this year’s Big Work, Arte’s Curio Shop, a celebration and encapsulation of all this study and interest. (Check it out! Again! Or for the first time!)

But of course there was a lot THIS present year had to offer, which I’d like to share with you in my customary, year-end, best-of list. As also is customary, I’m putting both 2023 releases and older titles in here since I want to support new work, yet I also want to celebrate any title that made the year special. 2023 releases are in bold.

Watch (Movies)

• Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse
• Gassy’s Gas’n Stuff
• RRR
• Paddington 2

Big movies! Loooooong movies! I think I spent a combined 13 hours watching/rewatching just the picks on this list. RRR gave me some of my favorite theater experiences in addition to being an incredibly inventive spectacle movie (something I’d forgotten could be a thing.) Spiderverse smashed my already high expectations for it, a totally mind-blowing movie. Gas’n Stuff is my short film pick for the year, probably since I’ve watched it an absurd amount of times, and it captures character so quickly and effortlessly. Paddington 2 made me a genuinely better person and its soundtrack kept me company through many a drawing session.

Watch (TV)

• Andor
• Joe Pera Talks with You

I finally watched Andor this year, and yeah, anyone who tells you to watch it is right. And I’d like to give Joe Pera my “Best Thing to Watch While Eating Breakfast” award for capturing the beauty of simple joys. And for having an episode about breakfast.

Read

• Animation Obsessive
• Jake Parker’s Newsletter

Gonna plug two newsletters here since I didn’t make the time to read many books. But I do get genuinely excited to see both of these show up in my inbox.

Listen

• A Night at the Symphony - Laufey
• A Symphonic Celebration (Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki) - Joe Hisaishi

A good year for the symphony, it seems. Both of these are springtime favorites, orchestrated cover albums, and arguably the definitive versions of the tracks they cover. And they are almost good enough to dull the pain caused by missing BOTH of Laufey’s Nashville shows. *shakes fist at every ticketing system and the leagues of tiktok fans*

Ride

• Country Bear Jamboree
• Journey Into Imagination with Figment
• Dinosaur
• Runaway Railway
• Cosmic Rewind

Did you think I was gonna start this post talking about Disney and NOT end the list with a special theme park section??? I discovered this year that I do in fact love rides that are 0% thrill, 100% fantasy, a sentiment which would have embarrassed my teenage self to no end. When I think of some of my favorite memories this year I’d include swirling through the cosmos listening to “September,” running across the park in the rain to ride Dinosaur, and becoming arguably the biggest Bears fan, as testified by the people seated in the rows around us.

(And before we get too far away from lists here’s one more with stuff I couldn’t fit into any other paragraph:)

Happenings

• Moved into new apartment
• Finished watching every Don Bluth movie
• Got to learn about the business side of show business at a producers’ conference
• My Bluey artwork was featured by Disney Junior
• Camped overnight at the zoo
• Found 5 shark teeth fossils
• Watched A Goofy Movie with Bill Farmer (voice of Goofy) in the row directly behind me
• Got to see my celebrity crush in concert uwu

finishing arte’s curio shop with clay

My goal for 2023 was to “find a way to make art sustainably.” Art-wise, most of my time this year was spent working on Curio, which I recorded here on the blog (see the substack archive). I experienced some big strides forward when it came to my abilities with traditional media and animated performance, but was especially pleased to create an animated project, however short, within the span of a single year. Curio, for all its unexpected difficulties, was a more sustainable project than Bearpuncher. Its length and animation load meant that I could exercise, spend time with friends, and travel during its production. And thanks to the support of paid members here at the Roost, I could also bring in friends/dream collaborators (like Sam, Brandon, Kennoniah, Clay, Kosperry, and Louie Zong) to take the short to a higher level of quality than anything I’ve made so far. While I’m still aways off from making 2D animated projects as a full-time gig, I’m so thankful to have another animated short out into the world and being enjoyed by real people. Thanks for your help!

majestic beasts

What’s next for 2024? I don’t quite know! I’m excited to continue directing at Wingfeather, drawing at the zoo, learning about dinosaurs, decorating my home, reading books, and traveling to who knows where. I don’t quite know if it’s time to dive fully into another short, or if I need more time to experiment and learn first. But nevertheless I want to make more things, spend more time with the people I love, and see more of this wonderful world we live in. Basically I want like two more months added to next year, but so far all I have been able to secure is one extra day in February. Will keep you posted.

So I guess I lied. I do have some ideas for what’s next. But as with any year, it will probably be all the things I didn’t expect that will shape the year into something grand (or horrible! But I’m hoping for grand.)

Before I go…

Thanks to my travel companions who risked limb if not life (you know who you are) to make every trip (Disney and elsewhere) a great one.

Thanks to the artists and artist friends who inspire me every day.

Thanks to all who supported my work this year, read this silly blog, and gave your attention (and in some cases money) to help me tell these stories that are on my heart. I’m grateful, and you’re the best!

To 2024!

-dh

2023 in one picture

Bluey's Back!

working(?) from home

Hey Bloggerfolk!

It’s been a while since my last Bluey fanart, but you can only stay away so long, ya know? Since my last fanart, Bluey’s become a worldwide phenomenon and is quoted frequently by my cadre of friends, only two of whom are parents and none of whom are preschoolers. Finally, people don’t give me strange looks when I say “I’m Busting!” as part of casual conversation. One of my fanarts (ironically, my oldest one) was recently featured on Disney Junior’s Instagram, which may be the highest honor I’ve yet received as an artist, and a Bluey fan? Let me tell you, you are NEVER prepared for the moment when Disney Junior slides into your DMs. Thanks DJ!

I’m loathe to take time away from Curio but wanted to jump back into the Bluey scene and try some new things with the characters. As usual, I love drawing these guys with a weighted, plush feel. But I wanted to try something new with a tighter lineart pass plus a Anna-Scott-meets-The-Mitchells-vs-The-Machines color pass.

sketch

Doing some fanart ended up being a good change of pace from all the non-digital, non-character work I’ve been doing for Curio recently. And somehow it only took 2.5 hours? Which may be the fastest I’ve EVER drawn something on the iPad. I think it’s because I had years worth of fanart to reference, but also because Bandit reminds me a lot of my own dad, and I found myself thinking back on the days we shared at his work (which usually didn’t include a yoga ball. My desk at home though, did.) Good times.

Hope y’all are having a good weekend and a happy Eastertide!

-dh

PS: To my many friends who are also parents, for example, my own parents - that line above is more about my college friends and is a joke, not a reflection of our personal friend status, sorry for the confusion

Secret Workshop: Out of Season

This post is thanks to our Workshop Crew members. Thanks Crew! To join the team (and see the top-secret art I reference in this post) sign up here!

this post features images of hayao miyazaki. i am not an old man. yet.

It’s Spring. It’s the blissful time here in Nashville when the murkiness and violent ochre of fall is almost entirely forgotten as the trees burst into pastel pinks and darling greens. There’s some agro-hipster (dare I say ancient) part of me that longs to live alongside the seasons, and thus for me Spring is typically bright and fresh, the celebration of the new, the joyous, the adventurous. Now’s the time when I rewatch the Studio Ghibli catalog, or replay Zelda games. It’s probably the time when I’m the least nostalgic.

While the coming of Spring has brought great enjoyment to my heart, it has brought great difficulty to my work. My current project, CURIO, is really more of an autumnal creature. CURIO needs to be a bit murky, most definitely nostalgic, steeped in things almost forgotten - absolutely not pastel, not current, not fresh. You may begin to see my problem. My heart is off in Ghibli-land, but CURIO demands it be in the exact opposite place. What am I to do? I could quit CURIO and follow my every seasonal whim. But that would mean working on 4(+) short films every year, never finishing any of them, and for a lot of reasons probably feeling very confused. I don’t really want that. So my alternative is to work out of season, against the very inspirations my heart is drawn to, and return to whatever increasingly dull-seeming, out of season project sits currently at my desk.

Normally I can push through this kind of thing, but this week I’m working on CURIO’s color script. (The color script defines the color palette and lighting for the short, which essentially set the tone and vibes for the whole production.) I can muscle through linework, I can muscle through character design, heck, I can even muscle through animation if I need to. But color has always seemed different to me. Color is the most emotive part of the animation process, and the most ineffable. When I seek out color I’m relying almost solidly on gut and vibes. There’s no formula for setting the colors of a project. I need to feel it.

But I don’t feel it this week.

I arrive at the desk and this quote weighs heavily in my mind:

Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.
- Isabel Allende

So I show up. I pull together reference images, looking for color patterns like stars in constellations. What I’m doing is almost scientific. Almost like an autopsy. All these inspirations were things I cherished last fall, things I still think are worthy of reference and imitation - yet the luster is gone. It’s partly the season, and partly being in the stage of production when there’s still much work ahead and not much currently on the page to encourage you.

I show up. I try out some different color combinations, eyedrop hues from screenshots, etc. I wonder how people work on Christmas projects during the summer. I mourn the loss of the “perfect” version of this I would make, the version made when my mood more matches the project. But I can’t wait for fall, can I? Who feels Christmas-y during the summer??

I show up. Thankfully, color’s not the only thing I’m working on this week - I’m also planning out the main BG painting for the short, and while inspiration would be nice for that too, it doesn’t feel as crucial for this kind of work. I alternate between the two tasks. Thirty minutes on color, thirty minutes on linework, tea, donut, watch a bit of Kiki’s Delivery Service, clock in to my studio job.

Finally, a spark. Not on color, but on the BG painting. It’s just an idea, a little story/design solution for something I’ve been turning over since Monday, but it’s so surprising that it excites me. I still don’t know my way with the color direction, but this is exciting. Suddenly the project has some luster again.

And that’s just kinda how it goes. It’s weird. You’d think that working on personal work and your own story would always be fun. But it’s still a challenge. However, I feel like it was a bit unfair to call this whole process an autopsy earlier - I think it’s really more like faith. Faith to trust a direction and rediscover why you chose it in the first place. Faith to just keep going. Faith to trust that a product that captures even 70% of the grandeur you saw in your head is still better than keeping it all up there, where it can’t be shared and enjoyed. It’s not an autopsy, it’s charging through what looks languid to find that living soul at the heart of the idea, the soul that captured your attention and sent you down this road in the first place. I almost feel like I’m talking about a relationship at this point, but that’s still another act of making, and thus requires just as much faith. (Probably more!)

If Bearpuncher was any indication, this struggle to find CURIO’s motivation won’t be solved in a week. But in the meantime, I’ll do my best to keep putting in the hours, making… something. Just something is good.

Crew Members, read your extra email to see what that something is! Bloggerfolk all, thanks for your readership! What are you making this week? Whatever it is, I hope the muse is right there with ya (and if not, just show up anyways).

best,
-dh

One More Reason to Like The Lion King (as if you needed more)

pretty sure these are by jean gillmore

I wanted to share these beautiful Lion King drawings I’ve recently been inspired by. A couple weekends ago I got the chance to visit the Art of Animation resort while at Disney and the lobby is full of huge printouts with drawings like these. Sketchy, pencil-y, wonderful drawings. Why did nobody tell me to go here sooner?!?

These drawings are from what feels like a now forgotten age of animation art when everything had to be done on paper, so you get these fascinating results - especially in the line quality. Look closely at the lines here - imagine them without the interior coloring. They're short, kinda jagged, making little attempt to connect up with each other or look "pretty." But that's exactly the point - they're unpretentious, fearless even. Once the drawing's colored in, you barely even notice the lines anymore (power of silhouette I guess). And ultimately, concept trumps all - these drawings work not because of the lines but because they convey interesting, appealing characters. You get the sense that the character, not the drawing, is what matters. And what the audience really cares about.

these two by chris sanders

That’s something I have to tell myself again and again while creating. Digital tools make it so easy to tailor the drawing to exactly how you’d like it, which maybe is missing the point. Perhaps the inflexibility of physical mediums forces you to focus on the message, not the lines on the page. I’ve been testing this out on my current short film project, working so far just with pencil and paper to develop the character. This process is actually quite foreign to me, and it’s disappointing when I inevitably make shoddy marks that can't be easily undo-ed. On one hand, I think my drawings are worse than if I had made them digitally, but it’s freed me to think more of the character that these drawings are a window into. The forest, not the trees. It’s also been fun to hold my drawings in my hand again, flipping to the ones I like - I really do miss that when working digitally!

Anyway, The Lion King is great and I’m a fan - what else is new!

Thanks for your readership :)

-dh

ps for lion king fans only: more drawings here and here