#there's a reason why gobelins is in paris!!!!!!!!!!!

[pvtchurch]

french animation is always so gorgeous. and underrated

[tapakah0]

Girl omg I am IN ABSOLUTE LOVE with your animatics- I’dmarrythemifIcould- can I ask what program do you use for animatics? And do you have any tips on making animatics (especially abt character and camera movement) or any sneak peaks into your process? I’ve been wanting to dip my toes into trying it out but I’m not quite sure where to begin.

I have Clip Studio Paint EX, but I’m still trying to figure out the animation features etc and, again, I wanna try my hand at making animatics, that’s why I’m asking :3

Okay... For almost all animatics I use Toon Boom Harmony Premium (it has a lot of stuff and it's comfortable for me) Also sometimes I use Krita and Clip Studio Paint (I used this video to understand main features of this program (Little fact, I used Clip Studio to animate "Yellow light" for the first time). Lately started animating in Procreate too, pretty funny and comfortable one About tips... I had one about smoother shifts between frames (but for some reason I can't find it? Even with the fact that I did put a special tag on it) and I don't know what exactly you need about other tips. Almost everything I make intuitively, I kinda see where to move camera too make right effect? But I can tell one most useful tip, if you really wanna animate, try to imagine how it will move in your head, use references (just watch video and copy on paper on program moves from there), look how things in your life moves, it will slowly stuck in your head if you will be stubborn enough. Because, I will be honest, I didn't learn any animation basics but over time, as I look at video lessons, I understand tha I do know them (but I think it will be important to know them theoretically, not only intuitively, if you will work with other people, because they help to specify how it should be animated (key frames, inbetweens, timing and other things) Artists which lessons I use to watch from time to time or I just love their way of animating: Toniko Pantoja, Alex Grigg // Animation for Anyone, GOBELINS Paris, ToastyGlow, pollovy, -岂几Kai-, Neal Illustrator, SAD-ist, Casserole :D, WolfyTheWitch, Rodrigo Sousa, Amelia B (There are more, but these are the first ones I always remember, and of course a lot of cartoons)

About wips...... I have a lot... "I bet my life", "Finale" Leo's pov, "Earth" and others in queue... I almost completed key frames for "Agnes" animatic (Full song, about 4 minutes? I'm making my dream live over here he-he-he), but I am so crazy about sending wips so that I created my little rabbit hole (to hide from Cass *giggle*) to stop sending them on tumblr because I want to make full emotional experience from completed work... It's not so cool if you already experienced first emotions from this when you could experience the whole thing biting your knees

I hope something from there was helpful, don't rush, try to understand how it all works firstly, try to understand what kind of animatic you want to make and what you want to show and make it~~~~ You will love it when you'll see what you're able to create~~~

[fremedon]

Brickclub 4.2.2, “Prison Incubators of Embryonic Crime,” and 4.2.3, “Père Mabeuf’s Visitation”

Most of what I have to say about this chapter @everyonewasabird has said in his writeup, so I will just add two things:

1.) This is our introduction to the Rue Plumet; when we meet the house, a couple of chapters from now, Hugo doesn’t allude to any of this business but we go in already knowing that the house has come to the attention of Patron-Minette.

2.) “Being in the hands of justice is no obstruction to robbers. A little thing like that is not going to bother them. To be in prison for one crime is no reason not to start on another. These are artists who are already showing one picture at the Salon but even so are working on a new painting in their studios.”

WHY are Patron-Minette so consistently associated with the arts? What is Hugo doing here? I understand the association of art with the upper mine, but why are his exemplars of the lower mine all artists?

Bird’s writeup of 4.2.3 is also very good, particularly the observations that Mabeuf is, like Fantine, selling himself off piece by piece and, like the gamins, has the beautiful but not the useful. But part of Fantine’s descent was sacrificing the beautiful--her bird, her pot of roses--to preserve the needful, while Mabeuf pawns the copper plates of his Flora, the thing he needs to get the book back in print, before he starts selling any of his library. Bird calls the copper plates the most generative thing he owns; I would be more literal and point out that they are the literal means of production--and their loss marks Mabeuf’s transition from the poorest ranks of the bourgeoisie into the misérables.

He and Marius are both on the way down, and both too depressed to maintain their friendship, except by nodding in passing. “Heart-breaking that a time should come when poverty creates estrangement,” Hugo says. My first impulse was to argue that it’s not the poverty, it’s the depression, but of course they’re mutually self-reinforcing by now and that’s the point.

Hugo also says that Mabeuf did not receive visitors, so “[i]t was just as well that Marius no longer thought of calling on him,” and here I think he is being sarcastic, or I hope he is. We know that at some point, Marius introduced Mabeuf to Courfeyrac, or at least pointed him out; if Marius had continued to visit Mabeuf, he might also have brought him to the attention of Courfeyrac or someone else with more ability to help. Though Marius is doing a very good job of telling Courfeyrac absolutely nothing, so who knows.

Donougher gives a useful footnote on the quarto volume Mabeuf is reading when Eponine visits, an invented title, “On the Demons of Vauvert and the Goblins of the Biévre”: Vauvert is a ruined castle on in Paris, and the Bièvre is a mostly lost (diverted and covered over) river whose course ran through the neighborhood of the Gorbeau House and the Field of the Lark, and the book is ostensibly about the apparitions of those neighborhoods. au diable vauvert is an expression meaning “the back of beyond,” and Gobelins can mean ‘goblins’ or can be the Gobelins family tapestry factory, set on and closely associated with the Bièvre.

Fursona watch: Eponine in her ragged shawl resembles a bat.

[detectiveofhades]

Marie’s Mystery - 2: The De Luc Party

Nico glanced at Erik as the carriage rolled down the streets of Paris. “What?”

“You’ve been mulling over the conversation with Madame Roget since we left her house,” he stated.

“Well yes, it was rather . . .” “Odd, shall we say?”

“Yes, rather odd.”

“What is your conclusion?”

“She must have heard something, she mentioned that her ears are working just fine.”

“That she did. I wonder if the good Doctor also caught on that.”

“He might have, but if not . . . well, that was why I asked about what would happen if Camille were to die.”

“Which suggests that Madame Roget heard Estelle say something.”

“Which also means that Estelle has an accomplice, and both have been in the house. Perhaps that was also the reason behind Marie’s disappearance? The accomplice could actually be someone that has become quite close to the family, thanks to Estelle, and Marie had her suspicions but had no way to prove them. So she leaves mysteriously, no one knows where she’s gone or why, and suddenly reappears also without explanation. Perhaps to find out more about said accomplice which has now put her in more danger than ever before? Though, if Estelle really is after the money, then she would have to take out Marie either way.”

“And they have to act fast before Marie can say anything.”

“Which begs the question, why hasn’t she said anything as of yet? She’s been back for almost a week!”

“Perhaps she is still looking for definite proof, she could have had nothing but stories about the accomplice, but no real, definitive proof.”

“Yes, I just hope she’s not taking bets with her own life.” Nico paused as the carriage came to a stop. They had arrived back at the Roget’s house where Dupin, Gobelin, and the two women were waiting.

“Ah, perfect timing, we just walked out of the house,” stated Dupin as he opened the carriage door for the women. “And thank you for handling the costs of the carriage.”

“It’s my pleasure,” replied Nico with a smile. His eyes locked with Marie Roget, and that same odd look came over her face, but only for a second as Camille and the gentlemen entered the carriage not long after her. The carriage ride to the De Luc’s consisted of the adults talking about French pastimes, especially the opera as both Erik and Marie had a particular fondness for it. Nico noticed that Marie seemed to prefer Erik’s opinion over the others, and often turned to him for support if she was ever in a playful dispute with the others over something. Was she falling for Erik? Impossible! They had really only just met. But, there was such a thing as love at first sight, Hades had spoken of it often when referring to Nico’s mother. Could it be the case here? And why was he uncomfortable with it? Was it because he was afraid of Marie taking Erik away from him, the one person he had come to depend upon so much? He blinked back tears as he pushed those thoughts back, Erik wouldn’t leave him, not now, not ever. The di Angelo estate was the only place he could call home, where he felt welcomed. Besides, there was the issue of Erik’s condition, no one besides Nico had ever looked upon his unmasked face without horror. No, Erik wouldn’t leave him, and if Marie did in fact come to terms with both of their secrets, she could move in with them. They would not mind one bit. Nico snapped out of his musings as the carriage rolled to a stop in front of the De Luc’s house. Dupin and Gobelin got out first and helped the young ladies out, leaving Nico and Erik to emerge from the carriage last. Upon entering the house, they found that Estelle had already arrived and nearly threw herself upon the sisters upon seeing them.

“My dear cousins! Whatever took you so long? I’ve been here for what felt like ages!”

“Oh, we’re sorry, Estelle, we ran into some traffic on the way over here,” explained Camille as she returned the hug.

“Oh of course, everyone is rushing home from work, and I’ve only been able to miss that crowd since I had promised Mrs. De Luc to help set up for the party.”

“For which I am very grateful. Oh, Doctor Dupin, I would like you to meet Marie and Camille’s cousin, Estelle Roget. This fine gentleman is Monsieur Beauvais, our administrator of naval affairs. This is Doctor Dupin, of course Prefect Gobelin, and the visiting Seigneur di Angelo and his butler Erik.”  

“How do you do?” said Estelle as she bowed, though Nico noticed she seemed a bit on edge. The men echoed the greeting. “Say, Camille, where is Marcel?”

“Right here. Good evening everyone,” said a young man as he came in behind the group. “Apparently my being detained at work helped me to get here just at the same time as you, traffic and all.” He grinned at Camille.

Camille chuckled, “So it would seem.”

“Have you met the famous Doctor Dupin and the young Seigneur di Angelo?”

Marcel glanced at them with a slight surprise. “Well no, but I have heard a great deal about both of your work in the Rue Morgue incident. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.” He glanced at Estelle. “Estelle, may I have this dance?”

“Of course!” The two left the group and joined the other dancers out on the floor. Dupin and Camille soon joined them, followed by Marie and Erik. Gobelin went around the room, interacting with some of the other guests, leaving Nico all to himself, with which he was perfectly fine. He slowly backed himself into a corner, mainly to keep an eye on Estelle and Marcel, they seemed to be in a deep conversation, likely about Camille as they kept glancing at her and Dupin. Was Marcel the accomplice? Nico wished he could hear what they were saying, and passing by the dancers on the way to the banquet table would provide him with an adequate excuse, but the dance floor was too packed for him to get by unnoticed. That’s when he noticed that Erik and Marie were twirling closer towards Estelle and Marcel. Would they be able to catch anything? He could tell from the looks on their faces that they were unanimous in catching whatever snippets they could, if they could get close enough. They were certainly trying, and at the moment, had a better chance of catching anything than Nico, who really did not want to squeeze through the dancers. That was too much contact. He grimaced and shuddered, no, he’d just have to let Erik and Marie do their best. He did not want to touch anyone. Contact always made him squeamish. So instead, he turned his attention to watching their movements. What did their expressions, their body language, say? He paused as his heart thumped wildly. If he was reading their body language correctly, it practically shouted ‘plotting to kill’. He glanced at Dupin and Camille, dancing away, oblivious to the scheme, before glancing at Erik and Marie, their focus on the plotting duo as intent as Nico had been. Nico began to wonder, did Marie stick close to Erik because she knew the four gentlemen were supposed to be protecting them? And since Camille seemed to have chosen Dupin, or at least, he chose her, while the Prefect would have made it too obvious she was in danger and Nico was rather young . . . was she pretending a romance with Erik for show? Nico shook his head, snapping out of it as the dance came to an end. He couldn’t think of that, at all. They were on a mission, he needed to stick to that. He opened his eyes to glance at the dancers dispersing and was startled to see Marie join Erik as he was heading straight for him.

“Where you blinking to keep yourself awake? Is the party really that boring?” asked Marie with a smile.

“I’m not much of a person for parties,” Nico stated.

“Then how do you have fun?” asked Marie incredulously.

“I like a good book,” stated Nico, thinking of The Hunchback of Notre Dame he had received from Monsieur Valdemar.

“Ah, the quiet type, I see. But you really should get out at least every now and then. You’re too young not to have any friends.”

“It’s better that I don’t,” muttered Nico.

Marie glanced at him oddly. “Why’s that?”

“It’s . . . it’s complicated,” muttered Nico nervously, realizing that saying any more could lead to a complicated scene.

“You’ll have to excuse my young master. He lives on a little island kingdom, practically all by himself, with me and a few servants to handle the house. His father is a very secretive person, but unfortunately, who has made enemies. Those enemies destroyed Master Nico’s mother and sister, so you’ll excuse Lord di Angelo’s desire to protect his only son. Master Nico is only let out of the castle for a certain amount of time because of it,” stated Erik.

Marie turned to Nico, wide-eyed. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

“It, it’s fine, you didn’t know,” muttered Nico. Marie gave him a tight hug. Nico grimaced. “Um, uh, thank . . . thank you.” Nico squirmed, it was already getting uncomfortable. “Um, could you, uh, let go please?” pleaded Nico. Erik came forward and helped peel her off. Nico let out a shaky breath as it felt like a heavy stone had been lifted off his chest. She had been hugging him tighter than he thought, or liked. Well, he didn’t want the hug at all. He grimaced as he shook off the feeling of the contact.

“You’ll have to excuse him, he’s not comfortable with physical contact,” Erik told Marie.

“I’m sorry, I really am, for all of it,” she said, glancing at Nico with the hint of a tear in her eyes. “It’s not easy losing family.” Nico nodded, she was right about that, but he was concerned that she might become another Bianca, and do whatever she could to protect her little sister, even to the point of death.

“Are you up for another dance, madam?” asked Erik.

“Oh yes! Would you care to dance, Nico?” asked Marie. Nico blinked, what was with the familiarity?

“No thank you,” he mumbled. Marie glanced at Erik.

“I’m still working on it. Kind of hard to do so when there are few girls his age,” he replied as he led Marie back to the dance floor. The two struck up a conversation as they began to dance again. Nico let out a sigh, he could trust Erik to come up with a good excuse for everything. He was good at that, probably the main reason why Hades hired him to be Nico’s butler. He glanced at the couple on the dance floor, a soft smile playing on his face. Perhaps adding Marie to the family wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.