Category Archives: Information

EVIL Overview!

EVIL Overview!

What is E.V.I.L.?

It’s the Evil Villain Island Lair… and home to heroes and villains, henchmen and sidekicks. A cartoon series dedicated to what happens on EVIL between all of the battles and world domination.

Show me some E.V.I.L.!!!

Here’s the first trailer:

… And the premier episode: “EVIL Greetings!”

Follow THIS LINK to view all the episodes!

Follow THIS LINK to learn more about the characters and locations in EVIL!

Like what you see? Click HERE to Subscribe for future episodes and updates!

How can I make my own cartoon?
Want to make your own cartoon? I created the first episode, from start to finish in only 8 days!

Click here for a complete list of tools used to create EVIL!

… and you can read about the detailed process used for Episode 7 on these posts:

Be sure to comment below if you enjoy the series, or if you’ve created your own cartoon series!

Exclamation Points!!!!!!

(Sparky)

Video Editor of EVIL!

Video Editor of EVIL!

The final phase in creating the 7th episode of EVIL is… Editing the Video!

Here’s a recap of the prior phases (with some links to more info):

Putting together the final video involve using Sony Vegas Movie Studio.

Each scene’s animation and audio are imported.
Music is added and all levels are adjusted.
Transitions are added between scenes.
Opening titles are inserted at the start.
Closing credits are put at the end.

After all that’s done, the project is rendered to a high-quality MP4 video file, then uploaded to YouTube.

On episode 7, we ended up with a little over 10 minutes of finished video. The amount of disk space used for the animation, music, audio, effects, etc. was approximately 35 Gigabytes. Processing time for the final video rendering was a little over 2 hours, and it took about an hour to upload. Please note that this doesn’t include the rendering time for each scene’s animation – which was probably about 30-60 minutes each.

Whew! That’s a lot of work!

… and of course all of this leads up to the Premier of:

Episode 7: Gathering of EVIL!

Coming on Thursday, April 30th, 2015!

See you there,
Sparky

Animating EVIL!

Animating EVIL!

*** Update: Audio work on episode 7 is complete! (and animation has begun) ***

Click here for a look at what goes into the audio for each EVIL episode!

So, now that I’ve got the audio track for each character, in each scene… What happens to turn it into animation?

Well, the software I’m using is called Muvizu. It takes a different approach to animating.
Rather than controlling each motion of a character, it’s more like directing them.

But let’s start at the beginning of the process and work our way through:

Sets
Just like a movie, we start with locations and sets. The surroundings, walls, ceilings, flooring, furniture and props are all selected and placed for each scene. Backdrops may also be placed to simulate the sky or things outside windows and doors.

Lights
With the set in place, we now add lighting. This includes ambient lighting, spotlights, area lights and any special lighting depending on the desired effect.

Cameras
One or more cameras are placed at locations on the set. During the animation rendering, the animator may choose to switch between cameras based on the action in the scene.

Characters
Now we add in our actors. Each character is based one of several base prototypes. They are then dressed, sized and other options such as coloring are selected.

Directing!
Muvizu (the animation software) has a unique take on crafting the final animation. Instead of moving individual bits and pieces, it’s more like directing a play or movie. You play the scene from beginning to end, recording one thing at a time for each character. For example, if I’m animating Virgil Villain walking in a scene, I’d go to the start of the scene, press record, then move him around as the scene dialog plays. The process is repeated for each character and for a variety of actions. Once the direction is recorded, it’s placed on a master timeline where it can be moved or edited manually. Below are some of the things that are directed…

Character: Movement
Movement dictates where a character walks or runs during the course of a scene.

Character: Actions
Actions determine how the character reacts during the scene. It includes things like mood (happy, sad, angry, etc.), position (sitting, standing), and action (jumping, conversation, pointing, etc.).

Character: Head and Eyes
Head and Eye movement allows for the directing of… uh, Head and Eye movement! You can control where a character is looking, and also the eye size.

Other Things
Many other things can be directed in a scene. These include if an object is visible, the color, lighting, camera position, special effects and more.

Rendering the Animation
The final step for the animation is to render it. This outputs the individual scene animation so that it can be imported into a video editor. I choose to use Targa files, a sequence of still images with an accompanying soundtrack.

Click here for a full list of tools used in EVIL, and links to their sites…

Come back next time and we’ll get into the final phase of the project: Video Editing!

Cheerie-bye,
Sparky

EVIL Audio Master!

Hey fellow EVIL-Doers!

I’m in the throes of editing all of the amazing audio from my cast.

Thought I’d give you a bit of insight into the process, so here goes:

1) Each cast member sent in a few takes of each of their character’s lines, in a single audio file.

2) I listen to them all, selecting the take I like and saving that take to a separate file (using a line number in the script for the name – easier in the next steps!)

3) The various lines for each scene are assembled in a multi-track editor (Sony Acid Music). I arrange them along with any music and sound effects until I’m happy with the scene’s audio.

4) For each scene, I output the full audio to one file. I also output each character’s audio track for the scene to an individual file. This character audio file is used by the animation software to do lip-sync, but not actually heard in the final production.

5) Animate the scene! (more on this in a future post!!!)

6) Assemble the visual animation with the audio track for the scene and any transitional effects, etc. using a video editor (Sony Vegas Movie Studio)

7) Repeat for all the scenes in the episode.

8) Profit!!! (well, publish at least 😉

… and there you have it!
Simple as 1, 2, 3, uh… 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, repeat, anon, anon, anon…

Ok, enough of my blathering – back to work for me,
The Management

Writing, Scheming, Planning…

Writing, Scheming, Planning…

Project update:

All of the brainstorming is done, and the script writing is in the works for “Live! from E.V.I.L. Episode 7 – Gathering Of EVIL!“.

One of the side benefits for this episode has been the creation of a show bible.

Here’s a sneak peek at the Evil Island map (for your travel plans… moooeeehahahaha!).
Evil Island Map - Come Visit

Well, back to the writing grindstone!

Cheers,
Sparky

Casting Complete!

Casting… Complete!

Emails have been sent out to all of “The Chosen Ones” who will appear in the next episode of Live! From E.V.I.L.

Congratulations to those in the cast!
(cast list and characters coming soon)

Huge thanks to all who auditioned.
The talent level was top-notch and it was an uber-tough choice.
Any future casting notices will be posted on this blog.

… and if you are inspired by this, you can also create your own cartoon with your original characters.
Just check out the “About: Tools” for full info on all the tools used to make this series.
Many are free or low-cost.

Be sure to watch this site for more news and previews of the upcoming episode!

Thanks again,
Sparky

Auditions are Closed!

*** December 2014 auditions for Live! from E.V.I.L. are now closed. ***

Thank you all for such a great round of auditions.

It’s gonna be a tough choice, but our “Council of Elders” is up to the task!

All those cast (aka “The Chosen Ones”) will be notified directly via email.
They will be given further instructions on their role and what is required of them.

Casting results will also be posted on this blog, as will any future Audition calls.

If you haven’t already, Click Here! to Subscribe and be notified of any new posts.

Once the final cartoon is ready, it will be posted for THE WORLD TO SEE!!!

Thanks again to everyone who auditioned, and good luck!
“The Management”

Welcome!

Welcome to the Evil Villain Island Lair!

So glad you chose our quaint little island for your vacation…

While you’re here, be sure to check out the sights like our “Lava Fall”, “Magma Lake”, and other more friendly locales.

Oh! And did we mention that the cartoon series “Live! from E.V.I.L. (Evil Villain Island Lair)” is filmed entirely on our island?

How could we be so forgetful?

Please take a look around. Click on some links at the top to Subscribe, watch Episodes, learn more About the series, or Contact us.

We sincerely hope you enjoy your stay…
“The Management”