The first episode of the next episodes of the Lolcats is 90% done, however, you won't see it until they're all done because I need to make sure it's consistent with the installment of 6 as a whole so don't expect it for a few months to probably summer.

It's absolutely incredible by the way, so much so that I'm seriously pursuing a sponsorship from NG (or from elsewhere if they're not interested).

Now onward to the REALLY big news. A prestigious ACTUAL magazine (not just an E-zine) contacted me to do a bit of animating for them (to which I naturally agreed). Obviously the Lolcats are going to be taking a back burner to this new project, but that's not a huge deal because the most they'll be needing is about 10-15 seconds worth of moderately easy material every other week to possibly every week if it snowballs in popularity.

This is a big IF, though, because he said that a pilot has to be made and approved first, but I'm confident I'll be able to wow them (I already blew them away after letting them see a sneak peek of my episode 1).

I talked to a guy in Los Angeles today for a half hour about it. I'm pretty stoked to say the least. On top of that he's going to get me some free publicity in possibly more than one article over some time.

More on this in the coming weeks.

IMPORTANT!! If you (or anyone you know) could do a small voice over for me who has an old man DEEP voice like that of the voiceover in the movie 'Idiocracy,' please contact me!

You'll be happy to hear the Lolcats is coming along still (albiet somewhat slow).
I'm still very confident it is going to blow the last installment of 6 out of the water. It's that good.I'm not kidding.

1. The first episode always takes the longest and then it goes faster and faster till the end of the project.

This isn't to say a hell of a lot hasn't already been done. The first minute after the intro credits is pretty much awesome as hell and I'm hoping to keep the energy high throughout most of the episode.

2. I've been thinking a lot lately about a number of serious issues and realized that, as a half-decent talent, I should use the Internet to express my opinions about factual information regarding topics that are important to me, so expect to see a PSA (Public Service Announcement) using the Lolcats sometime. I'm not sure when, but I'll say in all honesty the script for it has been written and it's quite solid.

3. Last but not least, my loving and recently college graduate girlfriend got a well-paying job in Detroit. While it may not be my first choice of location, I'm going to move up there with her and her autistic-like cat (in all his tilted-head glory),

Creamsicle:

Pretty much all the experience I've gathered since I picked Flash back up in March of '07 and started learning it again is currently paying off big (last I knew anything about it was something like 1999).

Did you know the original 6-part Lolcats animation didn't use a single movieclip (apart from the cookie-cutter preloader) or filter because I didn't know I could do that back then?

The Good:

There isn't a whole lot of it yet, but I've started work on the next 6-parter Lolcat animation and quite honestly, it's looking fantastic!

The first scene is pretty much guaranteed to rope you in and keep the energy high (hopefully throughout the entire 6 parts). I figured I'd start working on it because this first scene is going to take me a while.

Remember the Eazy E rap bit in the 3rd segment of the original? Yeah that took me about a day for 15 seconds or so. The first scene has already taken me a couple days and it's barely started.

The Bad:

The other reason I started this scene is because there isn't any dialogue in it. While the entire script is written out (I usually make changes to it while I work on the project anyway), the ending / some of the concept sucks.

The Ugly:

I don't really have a clue how to change the ending and the whole thing is tied together like a really tight knot (expect a much different format of storytelling for this one than the last one).

At the very least it's looking ridiculously well-produced (so far) so even if my dialogue/story fail, it will be a lot of fun to watch.

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Other than that I'll let those of you who expressed interest in helping out with some of the voices know what the deal is with that since I'll want to get most of my recording done all at the same time. If anyone else wants to help (even doctoring the script if you feel you got it in you), just send me a PM.

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I've got a draft of the script written up after spending about a month building the plot.

In all honesty this is the most I've prepared for any animation project I've ever done and I don't even plan on starting to animate for at least a couple weeks. I'm fully expecting this to blow the previous 6-part installment out of the water (at least in presentation).

I'll probably go through one or two more drafts before I start animating as my assistant writer is reviewing it and writing notes for it this week.

(This is also the first project I've had someone help with the writing directly)

What I'm doing right now is building the new "cat dolls" in photoshop so I don't have to build them later when I dive into animating.

After I build and design the dolls and their clothes, I'll design the backgrounds and such and hopefully by then the script ought to be final and I'll record the voices, make appropriate changes to the script so the dialogue flows well, and then try and crank out my best quality animation.

Just for the record, my ultimate plans for this series is to *probably* create another 6-parter after this set I'm working on right now (to make it a trilogy) and then retire it with a vague possibility of doing random shorts. Don't expect me to create the next set of 6 immediately afterward, though.

I would put more updates on my website, but it's getting a redesign and makeover that will make updates a lot easier for me in the future (similar to the system here on newgrounds).

Anyway, progress update on the Lolcats:

-Still doing the writing / brainstorming phase. I can't emphasize enough that I really can't be rushed on this part of the process.
-In addition to script / plot writing I'm also working on composing the music (some will actually be played by my assistant writer)
-I've gotten an offer from an actual female voice actress (and not just people I know) to do some of the voicing.

The direction / focus / aspects of this next set of episodes:

-This set will most likely be a bit more serious than the previous set and not quite as lulzy (although there will be that element most definitely).

-Each episode will probably be longer than the ones I did before seeing as I learned how to prevent flash lag using movieclips (I could make it all one episode if I wanted but the file size would be huge and I want to do it in an episode-like format anyway).

-I will try my best to keep up with the lolcat jokes (explaining back stories behind the photos of lolcats like the cookie cat / cookie monster storyline) and not get too crazy with the plot but I can't make any guarantees.

A big part of this set will be establishing the Lolcat universe (my version of it, at least) in much greater detail than you could probably imagine. This will include, but probably won't be limited to:

Religious aspects, the lolcat matrix run by Al Gore, and the origins/purpose of Orion (while it's not just about him again, he will play an important role in the storyline).

Originally I was going to do random episodes of random lolcats but I figure it would be much more fun (and educational) to try and make a complex plot out of the old set and figure out how to get everything including a side story or two to tie together plausibly.

After about a year I'm actually going to put some work back into the Lolcats. My apologies for not having more to show than just Wanda the Whale for right now, but I was 100% tied up with the job I used to have before a B.S. layoff.

Since the last format seemed to work out pretty well my plans are as such:

-I plan on creating about 6 episodes per release like last time (for those of you who weren't aware, I created the entire 6 parts in their entirety before I started releasing them)

-These episodes will continue the storyline somewhat (I've been watching a lot of the Venture Brothers lately and I feel somewhat inspired to work on a complex layered plot / new format of storytelling)

-The focus will definitely shift from Orion and his crew, but they will still be around.

-When it's all said and done, I may bug Tom for a sponsorship (if I can get one) since I'm really effing poor and the Lolcats pretty much belong to everyone anyway. ALSO don't expect this anytime soon as it'll probably take months to do the 6 episodes!

My other plans also include making a few more episodes of my less popular Wanda the Whale because the one episode really doesn't portray the full extent of her character and there is much to be done in back story. I also may come up with short projects here and there and maybe bigger ones in the future but we'll see how things go for now.

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-----If you didn't read above, read this please-----
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What I ask of you guys while I'm writing/working on the next set of Lolcats is this:

-I need to know more of the popular or most famous lolcats that I haven't already used because...
-I'm going to need a new set of protagonists and antagonists (good guys & bad guys)

Thanks in advance!

To give you an idea, obviously the end boss of the Lolcat universe is going to be:

My strange and experimental project, Wanda the Whale, is finally out and about for those who want to see a quick animation about a hooker whale and her ethnic boyfriend.

All jokes aside I'll be honest with you here. It's not so much about the characters, plot, and awful jokes as it is about the drug trip Wanda goes on, which accounts for more than half of the animation and allowed me a chance to flex my creativity and my meager art skills.

Protip: There is a hidden skip scene button in the lower right-hand corner if you absolutely must skip around.

Yes after being dead for almost a half a year I'm finally back with some new-fangled crazy animation that spews creativity from every orifice.

I've been rather good at keeping it a secret so far so I'm not going to release any information so you have to be patient (I've had to keep my trap shut for the 2 months I've worked on it so I wouldn't spoil the surprise).

Basically I broke a lot of new ground (no pun intended) in what I've done with animating and artwork ESPECIALLY. Will I continue to do all my own artwork? Most likely not as chopped photo animation is too much fun. But the fact remains that I CAN and I WILL HAVE done it when you all see it tomorrow.

I need tomorrow to clean and tweak. Also apologies to those of you with slow computers and connections as it's rather graphic-intensive and almost 8 megs.

Pic loosely related (a horrible, horrible rough draft of one of the characters)

Thanks Hurricane Ike.

I haven't had fucking power since Sunday and I was really looking forward to getting my big-ass project done this week, but instead I've mostly been just drinking to pass the time.

How am I online now you ask? I do have a car, you know.

UPDATE: not that anyone really gives a flying fuck apparently

Power came on at 2pm today but I had to go work on someone's computer.

Figures it came on when I finally got sick enough to post about it.

I'm getting laid off after being guaranteed a permanent position a couple months ago because I have two bosses and the one in charge of the other one is completely unqualified for his position (our district manager even said so).

It's alright, I suppose, seeing as that guy's going to get fired himself soon (allegedly).

What this means for you!

-I will have much more time to finish up my current project which is nearing completion anyway

-I will hopefully be able to churn out another project sooner than expected

This is all dependent upon how much I make for unemployment, however.

There is a faint possibility I may make as much money unemployed as I do now due to all the mad crazy overtime I got a few months ago.

Likewise, there is another possibility I could make jack shit and be forced to find work.

Oh well. Last time I was unemployed I made the Lolcats and that went over pretty well so we shall see.

Pic, while awesome, is unrelated: