Tha thu ro òg am bliadhna...

[You are too young this year...]
False. Okay so after I became completely creative, I have started work on this practice animation. Practice meaning a short, 2 minute-4 minute animation. Simple. This animation is going to contain top-notch character imaging. I am not going to slack this one off like I did when I rushed my animation jobs. The beauty of this is that I have the time, the free time to do this. To get it done right. This animation COULD be colored, but for right now I am thinking it just as pencil sketches. I have worked up the thesis for the animation:

Setting: Scotland Lowlands
Characters: Sionn and Kolevis from the fanfic Jedi Reloaded
Layers: 3
Effects: None
Script: Basic 2-3 paragraph conversation between the two characters. Perhaps a narrative script.
Language: Scots Gaelic
Subtitles: English
Size/Quality: 768x1050 pixels - widescreen
Speed: 15 fps
Acting: 2 voice/3 voice actors. Basic Scots Gaelic knownledge...conversation will be nothing too difficult
Drama: Nothing too dramatic. Some heartfelt emotions. No crying. Simple, casual, but meaningful

And I have already began work on it. I have just finished the first backdrop for the first scene. It hasn't been shaded yet, but I am trying to figure out just how I am going to conduct the shading. So any suggestions would be nice. It's basic lineart with line-weight right now. I am now going to sit back down at my light table and whip out the next backdrop. Please post any concerns or ideas. I could really use them.

EDIT: Ok so now at 4AM, I have completed one backdrop. This backdrop can be used to be stationary. It is the first backdrop of the animation and I have done 4 frames for this backdrop with moving scenery. This can create a small loop, but definitely needs to be added on. This is in no way a big feat. On top of that, I began working on the next backdrop, and completed 2 frames of it. This is the third backdrop to be used, but it is a constantly moving backdrop, hence the 2 frames. On top of that I completed 4 frames of Kolevis arriving on the Scottish plains. This is good because getting the body down and the speed of things is a rather key part of any animation, so I feel this is a great start. I will do some more work on it tomorrow as well brush up on my Gaelic learning. My light table heats up rather quickly so its best not to work more than 3 hours at a time.

Dè a tha seo?

[What is this?]
Hai! It's only been a day, and I already get some feedback. Though, yes, I did ask you guys to reply and share your thoughts, it really has made a difference. So don't be mad about it. :D I can't contain my excitement any longer as I recently found myself taking a class online in this beautiful language. Though it seems corny and childish, this site: Airsplaoid has made it so easy to learn the language. I have started with January's lesson and played the game at the end, then reviewed it some. I then moved on to February's course and browsed over the phrase book to look at what I had in store. Of course this is basic but I have to start someplace. I've never been so excited about learning this language. Your support is greatly appreciated.

As for Jedi Reloaded, the Eureka seveN fanfic I am working on, Ben you asked if we'd translate it into Scots Gaelic. I am open to the idea, of course!! It only excites me even more to think of doing so.

On another note for today, I have been battling in my mind with the plot of a Gaelic animation I could do for starters. I'd love it if some of you readers or passer-bys could give me a few ideas for a simple plot for, say, a 3 minute animation. Also. Just a slight tid-bit of information, episode 10 of Spice and Wolf has been released and subbed in less than 36 hours...unbelievable.

Halò and Fàilte!

My name is Ryan and I am a college student currently studying Industrial Design at the University of Cincinnati. I have been interested in animation for as long as I can remember. I've been absolutely fascinated by the art of a moving picture. Since I am an artist, I have explored almost every angle and aspect of art. Animation has always had a rather high placeholder on the rankings of genres and so forth. I watched cartoons, and then grew to make my own little animations myself, starting off with stick figures fighting each other, and the like. I'm also a musician and do sound and music for the animations as well. After finding the concrete fact that I am from a long line of Scots from the Stewart clan and the Home clan, I grew fonder and fonder of where I had come from. Scotland is in my blood though I have never been there. The music, the culture, it all attracted me endlessly. I would attend our local Celtic music festival each year and my interest only grew. Being a bored college student my interests slanted towards Anime. It has always had a a high place in my life ever since I saw the movie Princess Mononoke. The beauty of an anime is unmatched in American animation. Stunning quality in visuals is where American animation lies, whereas Anime touches on the emotions and the down to earth drama highschoolers go through. It is getting more and more popular each day. The following animes have had the most influence on me:

Eureka seveN: Psalms of Planets
Spice and Wolf
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
CLANNAD
True Tears
Wolf's Rain
REC

After watching episode after episode of each of these I began to pick up on the beauty that lies in the Japanese language. The overall just "cute" way of how they talk, it just adds to the animation itself rather than being just another part of it. I got to thinking on this and was trying to figure out how to incorporate my culture, my dying culture, into the beauty that is anime or animation. Spice and Wolf, CLANNAD, and True Tears are all animes that are going on right now. They have a new episode each week. Since these are only released in Japan, Japanese viewers record the RAW footage, post it online, then have these fangroups produce translated subtitles so that we may view it and understand it over here in the United States. On top of this, when Eureka seveN ended, fans actually started creating their own Fandubs for the episodes. They would record themselves on queue with the episode in english and make their own audio for it. Ingenious. And so I had an idea.

What if we were to dub some popular animes in Scots Gaelic, my native tongue. It is one of the most fluid, beautiful languages that still exist and yet so many people overlook it. I am currently working on learning this language to the best of my ability and try to use it in my everyday life when I get the chance. I did learn French for two years and this only heightened my learning capabilities for a new language. I know it seems weird to translate a Japanese-based animation with a completely opposite language, but how bad could it be? If this turns out to be a failure, I'd like to start creating my own Scottish-based animation with it dubbed in this beautiful language. I have worked freelance jobs in animation and they have gone well. I am also improving everyday with my character drawings, and figuring out how to shortcut frames as well, making the over all time to create something not impossible.

So this is where I ask you. If anyone is interested in helping with this "project" I'd love to hear from you. This is no joke. I am taking it seriously. I have worked in sound and art so I know what I'm doing. Help in the Scots Gaelic department would be great, as well as ideas for an animation or voice actors for the dubbing.

If we were to dub an anime, I would recommend Spice and Wolf, and here is why. It is set in an almost midievil setting that doesn't have anything to do with Japan. None of the private schools, the sushi, any of that. It is rather related in a sense to Scottish culture in the way they conduct the plot of the show. I think this would be a grand idea. We can copy down the subtitles and began translating. It isn't going to be that hard I don't think. Let's give it a try!

My website with my gallery is here if you would like to see my abilities and some of my animations.

And finally, I am going to post a link to a Scots Gaelic animated music video just so you can see the grand potential that can become of this. Feel free to email me anytime. I will try to post updates as soon as possible!