34. drawing day

-It's a pleasure, Billy. I'm Paula Sullen, your direct liaison. I was at the meeting in San Jose, - said Paula, dressed in a beautiful black office suit with a blue shirt.

-Nice to meet you, Miss Paula, - Billy responded.

Paula led him closely throughout the entire journey, introducing him to everyone and even informing some people about his status and situation, like Tony Benedict, one of the big shots in the studio. Billy couldn't help but feel ecstatic about the upcoming days of training to become an editor. The atmosphere was quite intense, with numerous offices, a complete contrast to the cheerful work environment he had imagined.

-Well, I'll take you to your designated mentor. He'll lend you a hand in the process, - said Paula. -You can come to me anytime; I'm in charge of coordinating your transportation. -

-And it's this way... This is Mr. Paul Higgs; he'll be accompanying you during your time here at Hanna-Barbera, - Paula said.

The young Paul is probably around thirty years old, definitely younger than my father. Not a single gray hair on his long black hair. He greeted Billy with a firm handshake. The studio had been prepared for Billy's arrival, and he felt a bit overwhelmed by the VIP treatment he was receiving. Or do they treat everyone the same way? From a gentleman who picks him up day and night, to complimentary snacks during his study hours and a dedicated room for him.

-Pleasure to meet you, I'm Paul. I've been told that you're the creator of the Slam Dunk and Yu Yu Hakusho/Phantom Files series. I've studied your works, and they're excellent. I'll be the animator in charge of designing the first season of Phantom Files, and I'm excited to work with you, - said Paul Higgs.

-Yes, sir, I'm ready for anything, - Billy replied.

-Well, the production team is on vacation, but as the leader of the drawing team, I'm responsible for finalizing the storyboards for the first episodes. WarneMedia's investment is substantial. We've never had 15 million dollars for production before.-

>>In the contract with Lux Comics, it's stated that we have to maintain a visual production quality on par with 'Akira,' 'Castle in the Sky,' and 'My Neighbor Totoro,' which, by the way, can only be found in Japanese with Spanish subtitles. -

>>After a brief investigation, the rhythmic quality of the film consists of 25 frames per second, followed by properly traced motion lines. However, the production team has yet to match the drawing quality delivered by you, even after recruiting four people. The design hasn't quite come together. Your drawing skills are excellent. So, what will we do here? It's to teach you how to follow those transitions from the comic, -said Paul.

- That's a lot to take in. I think my skills are better in practice than in theory, - Billy said.

-Of course, you have a talent for visual development, - Paul replied.

In his mind, he already had his ideas on how to bring the story to life. After all, the entire Yu Yu Hakusho series, including its manga, anime, movies, and some special OVAs, were stored in his head.

Among the series that Warner Media's producers initially planned to use to captivate their audience were old series produced since 1960. One of the animated series that had a significant impact but couldn't be distributed by Warner ended up being distributed by Fox. It was Batman Beyond from 1992.

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-You can start by organizing your desk. Do you see those blank sheets called celluloid or translucent paper? The light table helps overlay all the paper and create the illusion of drawing, - mentioned the scruffy-haired man who paced back and forth, often lost in his thoughts. He was a bit nervous about teaching since he was never one to talk much, preferring to immerse himself in his world of drawing.

-We'll begin with our storyboard, what we call the program's introduction. Our goal for these ten days is to have an acceptable product,- said Paul.

-Okay, I'll start now. I'd like to clarify that when I created the comic, I already had a clear idea of how to animate it, - Billy said.

It wasn't entirely true, but he had a clear idea of how to create the program's introductory based on the previous opening used in its previous era. He would only make adjustments, incorporating some improved background scenery from the second opening and adding flashing lights of different colors to enhance the graphic design. He drew inspiration from various other shows that were still fresh in his mind, such as Naruto.

-Alright, let's get to work, -said Paul.

The following hour was filled with constant drawing in small frames, approximately 7 cm x 7 cm, showcasing the best designs he could recreate with his current drawing skills. He meticulously planned the format that he believed would suit the series perfectly.

I used the main animation frame of a witch flying on a broomstick through the clouds. As she soared, posters of the characters appeared in different colors, with a faded tone, while keeping the sky in view. The scene then transitioned to a vast meadow surrounded by a forest, where the four protagonists ran across and encountered some monsters. They showcased their powers, such as the spiritual gun.

It took me an hour and a half to capture all those details in a storyboard that followed a linear style similar to comics but with more intricate details, showcasing how those movements could express themselves.

-This is very polished work. I was initially skeptical about your skills, but this is excellent. However, these complex scenes can only be realized on special acetate paper, using tempera paints. We'll need to create at least 27 scenes to complete the introductory chapter, - said Paul.

-Well, how difficult is it to create the acetate frames? - asked Billy.

-Difficult is an understatement. It can be quite messy at times. Wanting too much sometimes feels impossible, but we'll do our best,- replied Paul.

-Why is it difficult? - Billy asked, a little perplexed by Paul's confusion, as this man wore his emotions on his sleeve.

-Come on, I'll teach you how to use tempera paints. This might be one of the most challenging processes! - said, Paul.

To create the scene, an eighth of cardstock was used as the base, with the initial image placed on it. The first step was to shape the scene. Three shades of white were used to create the cloud, along with three different shades of blue and various details to add complexity to the image.

Throughout the afternoon, with both Paul and me giving it our all, we managed to complete only two scenes. But it was quite an interesting process. Using an idea borrowed from filmmaking, we zoomed in and out with the camera, extracting the most from the panoramic view we created together.

-That's it for today. Tomorrow morning, I think your task will be to create a model guide, - said Paul.

- Well, what's a model guide? - Billy asked again.

-It's a compilation of all the different ways the characters should be drawn, including their various facial expressions, emotions, shapes, and how to depict them in different poses. It's a comprehensive reference for all the images, - explained Paul.

What a demanding and challenging task. Although it's evident that there's a team of at least five people working on this project, it remains long and tedious.

-Well, tomorrow, I'll make a list of all the possible ways to draw the characters, - sighed Billy, realizing how tortuous the work would be.

-I see you're feeling discouraged. Don't worry; the result is rewarding. My first job was a simple animated commercial, but after weeks of trying again and again, I ended up with something that still impresses me to this day, - said Paul.

-I'll try my best, - said Billy. In this era, the challenges of animation are the same as they were twenty years ago, but technology has made some of those difficulties easier to overcome. I'll just wait and see how this week unfolds.

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