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