#katie mitroff

[peridyke]

oh I've been meaning to post this because I think its interesting, I don't wanna attribute this directly to steven universe since its not mentioned but this thing katie mitroff said awhile back about layout artists was super enlightening and if it's relevant to su's production history it would make a ton of sense for why the proportions and style discrepancies in su can be so jarring

[harrypotterhousequotes]

GRYFFINDOR:

"PERIDOT: That could take forever! STEVEN: Exactly! So let's get started!"

--Lamar Abrams et al. (Steven Universe: The Movie)

[as-warm-as-choco]

sweet toy 💔  - by SU Storyboard Artist Katie Mitroff

[crewniverse-tweets]

Watch it on tonight!!! It’s going to be spectacular!!

Tweet

[creamyjellybean]

Some official art from Rebecca Sugar and Katie Mitroff.One of them was made on 2016!Pink is so cute!!!

[digamma-f-wau]

Evolution of how different boarders draw Peridot.

Note: a rotation refers to a group of episodes (4 in SU’s case), one for each board team slot. Episodes are boarded in a specific pattern with teams, and both production seasons 2 and 3 have 13 rotations

[iconsofcrystals]

→ Pearl & Rose Quartz Icons Requested by the-electronicgladiator!

“You do it for her.”

These are free to use. No credit is required!

[itskrog]

i made a “raising the barn” edit for @ambercragg and @hilaryflorido. plus it’s amber’s first episode with hil so huzzah! and i made a “bttk” edit for @troffie and @paulvilleco. two of them is so intense so don’t miss it.

[xxlittlemadwomanxx-blog]

Bob Universe wallpapers 💙 I made two versions Have a nice day! @lapis-of-the-day @lapis-archives @cartoonnetwork @rebeccasugar

[peridyke]

the worst misconception su's production ever gave ppl was that if characters looked off model people blamed the board artists and its like. wtf no 😭😭😭😭 thats not what their job is!!!! hell one time i saw a board artist offhand apologize for being off model and its like THATS NOT WHAT UR JOB IS NOOO TT___TT I'm glad ppl seem to be smarter abt this stuff after #newdealforanimation gained traction but its a really awful misconception. su in general put a ton of spotlight on their board artists which turned out to be such a double edged sword

[crewniverse-tweets]

Crystal Gem doodles from Katie Mitroff

[suworkbook]

Tiver me shimbers, it’s another episode of Steben Chwartz Uniberse! 

The lighting in the title card is supremely weird, so I predict that Peridot is back to test our Gem fam to its limits.

[digamma-f-wau]

Evolution of Steven as drawn by different storyboard artists: Season 1

[scribblerreviews]

Review - Steven Universe: Bismuth

In the few instances of Steven and Co. watching Lonely Blade, I think that I’d like to watch the show too, shoddy dubbing and all. In the episodes that the Crew have inserted moments of Lonely Blade, there is usually either an important moment of the episode foreshadowed or a theme alluded to, as with many intertextual references. Lonely Blade gains a demon blade infused with a (presumable) evil soul and receives infinite power, with glowing sword and eyes to boot. Steven says he shouldn’t take the demon blade, and another character says if it gives him power, he should take it. She ignores or does not understand the consequences to Lonely Blade’s actions by choosing to only focus on power only; with that might, he may destroy others, but also himself in the process. Will he be pushed too far? Episode spoilers for the sake of analysis.

For the 100-episode special, the crew have paired two boarding teams to create a special 22-minute episode. Steven Universe’s usual 11-minute time works well for its individual episodic stories, where episodes will usually focus on one event without excess flab, which also lets the writers create larger sub-plots and arcs with specific focus points in those episodes. Some episodes are doubled up, but even those episodes, like the Season 1 finale, remain separated by a main idea or event. This episode is longer, not separated, and explores one core moral/philosophical quandary with the appearance of Bismuth, the Gem hidden away in Lion’s mane.

Bismuth’s gem has been a source of speculation since its first appearance in “Lion 3: Straight to Video”, in the first season. Obviously, Sugar’s plans run deep, with Peridot as she appears now as part of the Crystal Gems sketched out sometime in 2014, if I am remembering correctly. It was easy to see that is was a bismuth gem, but the question of why she was in Lion’s mane remained unanswered until this episode.

When Steven accidentally pops her bubble in Lion’s mane, he brings her out, which surprises Garnet and Pearl, who know Bismuth as a Crystal Gem of the Rebellion. Bismuth, voiced by Uzo Aduba of Orange is the New Black fame, comes out of the mane with energy, gusto, and battle-born humour—“We’re building bases out of wood?” she asks while ripping a floorboard off. The crew establish her history with Garnet and Pearl, as well as many other Crystal Gems gone since the Rebellion’s end, and together they reminisce about their war stories as Crystal Gems against the Homeworld “Elite” and “Upper Crusts”. After Garnet and Pearl show her the state of their battlefields, she takes them all to her forge, to show her skills in making weapons. Homeworld built her to make their structures, but Rose made her follow her own path, leading to her outfitting the Crystal Gems with material weapons and armour. After spending some time exercising as the Crystal Gems used to, and as Steven does now, the episode moves to focus on Bismuth talking with Steven about Rose, his differences to her, the Rebellion, and her new work, all leading up to the breaking point.

This episode reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender’s skill at tackling difficult subjects, where the show would slow its plot for the sake of exploring viewpoints, ideas, and moral codes. In this area, “Bismuth” succeeds, taking a serious tone to explore the Gem Rebellion and different ideas of how the Rebellion should fight against Homeworld. The real big spoilers start here. Bismuth and Steven interact solo from about the 13-minute mark. She shows him to the underbelly of the forge, where the episode shifts into a battle of wills, of individuals whose ideas clash because of their moral principles. Bismuth hates the caste system of the Gems and the Diamonds lording over, fighting in the Rebellion to bring that system down. She respects Rose as a Quartz solider who stepped out of that but resents her because she did not want to shatter her enemies. The show does a good job of having those values embodied in her shield and her sword, which was designed by Bismuth to cut through the projected bodies, not break Gems. Bismuth’s new weapon, the Breaking Point, is designed to shatter a Gem entirely, while Rose would poof and bubble with her sword. Bismuth placed Rose on a pedestal, as someone who liberated Gems from Homeworld’s oppressive caste-based system, but she felt betrayed when Rose would treat her enemies with kindness. She wanted to use the Breaking Point, to win one for the Crystal Gems, justifying the killing for “their cause”. And Rose said no; what happened after is unknown.

This second half of the episode is effective because it takes a character type we haven’t see much of—the battle hardened solider who hates Homeworld—against Steven who has inherited Rose’s position and carries much of her kindness. He wants to protect his friends and save everyone, and his pacifistic nature is something he strives to keep in fighting but not killing, similar again to Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Both will fight and protect, but they value life too much to kill senselessly. His kindness and good-nature has carried the show, and he’ll fight for his friends, but his goal is to help and the show continues to develop his values, not exactly naïve but still optimistic.

Bismuth is not like Garnet, who fights for her freedom to stay as herself, or Pearl, who fights because of her adoration for Rose. Bismuth is not wrong to hate Homeworld but she and Steven clash on how the Crystal Gems should operate and fight against Homeworld. In a different series, we might have seen someone like Bismuth rise and destroy that system, only to have to deal with what comes next. The dialogue of the scene works well by not painting either as right or wrong. They both have valid points for their own ways, so this episode is not showing Steven vs an evil Gem, but Steven clashing with someone who believes that the Crystal Gems need to change their non-lethal ways. This serious, smart dialogue, paired with a tense fight, works well in terms of the writing, but also the art direction. The fight is effective as well not because it is full of fast-action, but because the stakes are high as both have something to prove. The steaming floor, Bismuth’s expressions, and the close framing create a fight that’s not like the monstrous clash of the Season’s opening, but something personal and for Steven, scary.

Having two pairs of boarding artist, Liu, Howard, Abrams, and Mitroff, means that there’s a slightly wider variety of styles, but they blend together well. However, there’s a far more focused direction in the conversation of the Breaking Point and the fight afterwards, with detailed close-ups, great angles and expressions, and good colour use of the whole scene. It feels tightly boarded and is clearly the focus point of the episode, and serves to make the conversation not just interesting on the writing level, but also visually catching. aivi & surasshu also put a lot of work into this episode, with Bismuth’s theme, as well as the music for the second half of the episode. The music is darker, moody, and fits with the tone of the battle.

Definitely a contender for one of the best episodes of Season 3, “Bismuth” boasts strong writing throughout for the episode’s story and for the characters, fitting music, and is visually great as well. It paces itself well by introducing Bismuth, taking its time to set up her relationships and show interactions with the Gems, before moving onto the confrontation between Steven and Bismuth. She presents Steven with a challenging situation, someone who is essentially on his side but has a radically different methodology that he must confront. What we get with “Bismuth” is the show working through the difficulties of the battles of the Crystal Gems, as well Steven’s relationship with Rose and her legacy. What else did she hide from the others, why did she, and who really was Rose? Will Steven have to pay for her actions?

4/4

[stevens-crystaluniverse]

When I see Lamar and Katie storyboarded

👌👀👌👀👌👀👌👀👌👀 good shit go౦ԁ sHit👌 thats ✔ some good👌👌shit right👌👌th 👌 ere👌👌👌 right✔there ✔✔if i do ƽaү so my selｆ 💯 i say so 💯 thats what im talking about right there right there (chorus: ʳᶦᵍʰᵗ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ) mMMMMᎷМ💯 👌👌 👌НO0ОଠＯOOＯOОଠଠOoooᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒᵒ👌 👌👌 👌 💯 👌 👀 👀 👀 👌👌Good shit

[xxlittlemadwomanxx-blog]

Here comes a thought that might determine you What someone did and how it harmed you… This is how I imagine Jasper with hers thoughts. We all know who is the gem she thinks of.

@rebeccasugar @cartoonnetwork @pinkdiamond @jasper-appreciation