Dear Insane Children, 

We had another fun live stream over on Twitch yesterday. In case you missed it, I’ve uploaded a recording to my YouTube Channel. You can watch that via THIS LINK. 

And if you’d like to be notified when we go live on Twitch, head over and subscribe via THIS LINK. 

We covered lots of interesting topics including the Alice 3D model, the Chess Castle (Depression Domain), Card Guards, and Mock Turtle Boss Monsters. 

We also talked about how Dario uses SketchUp to create the foundation images for some of the illustrations he’s doing inside The Moon. 

Lots of interesting stuff!

 Check it out!  

From Shanghai with When Will It Stop Raining!??!,

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

Thought I’d share with you an illustration from Joey that she says is final… but I think might still use a few adjustments. What do you think?

She sent along a series of sketches illustrating the origin of the visuals leading to the final image (above). 

I responded to all this by asking if she might consider including a couple more “creepy” elements hiding in the scene. Being a huge fan of those “how many things can you find wrong with this picture” challenges… this illustration feels like the perfect playground for a similar exploration. 

In addition, I suggested that she rotate the image like so… 

Doing so makes it feel even more uncomfortable and surreal for Alice… at least I think it does.

(To be clear: Rotating is the first step – to complete this, Joey would also need to fill out the white space with a continuation of the illustration). 

What do you think? 

Let us know in the Comments below. I’ll pass your notes along to Joey and we can discuss the topic on this week’s Live Stream (Wednesday at the usual PDT time of 7PM). 

From Shanghai with Twisted Tea, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

I just received a test print of the calendar sample. This allows us to judge the quality of the paper and printing – both of which are great. Thick, high-quality paper – and solid colors and contrast in the printing. 

Dimensions and other info are on the way to Alex. And he has the list our Insane Children generated of the most popular Art Prints from Alice: Asylum. He’ll design pages and set those illustrations among the months, weeks, and days. Pretty soon we’ll have ourselves an Insane 2021 Calendar. 

Though… given how 2020’s gone so far… can it really get MORE insane? 

While We’re Printing Things

I discussed an idea with Alex this morning… where we use the Animation Illustrations from Norm to create a simple children’s book. 

In case you’re not aware of those illustrations, here’s a sample: 

One of the things I like about these illustrations is how much is captured in their simplicity. The lack of surrounding detail combined with Norm’s informative sketch strokes results in highly evocative scenes of a character in moving drama.

So I thought… If we were to print these images into a book of actions – then give each page and scene a simple narration – I think we might have something parents would love to read to children… and something children would love to have read to them. 

See Alice float? High in the sky. She flies on her dress. If she falls will she die?

What do you think of that idea? Are there other parents out there who see something worthwhile in this? 

I asked Lucky and he said, “Da da ba aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.” I think that means, “Whatever dad, just throw me in the air.” So he’s now floating around in the air.

Let us know in the Comments below your feedback on the book idea and the calendar sample. 

We can discuss this stuff in a bit more detail during the Live Stream later this week. 

Usual time and place. My Twitch Channel at 7PM PDT on Wednesday. 

Hit THIS LINK to subscribe and to be notified via Twitch. 

From Shanghai in The Sky With Lucky,

-American 

Dear Insane Children,

Omri sent over a concept image capturing some initial thoughts on the Chess Realm. As discussed in a previous post, this realm is a mix of Chaos and Order. The inhabitants of this realm embrace the natural relationship between these two elements and their realm reflects that decision throughout. 

Of this concept, Omri writes: 

We said that Depression is gray but i don’t see it.

This of this image in a “color scheme” and vibe right now, it’s very drafty.

I think everything- black OR white with red edges, every material or black or white. the red comes from infection that inserted itself into everything but beautifully. everything can come in black or white btw, every model/material here should come black and white. balance!

Think of the light as sparse, the cubes are examples although i like them. like the whole sky was beautiful and light but now there’s maybe 2 cubes here and there, very dark, very black. i think this is far more interesting and a look we never explored.

In response I wrote: 

The most immediate detail that catches my eye and drives my imagination is the way you’ve represented the space with a “sky” and a “beneath” (The Deep) and filled that space with Chaos. I really like the idea of the white spaces on the board (sky) emitting light. 

There’s something about this which captures both a “heaven above” concept and an “ocean’s deep” motif. Both are great and both reflect the notion of an existence in which Chaos and Order work side by side. Perfect. 

One more thought evoked by this image… the notion of a Chess Board as a thing of orderly black and white spaces… but under the board lurks the Chaos of all the possible moves in a given game.

I had not imagined the Chaos (tentacles) being such a dominate aspect of the environment but now that I’ve seen them in this fashion, I think it works. One thought… try to avoid having it look like the Chaos has “overrun” or otherwise conquered this realm. That’s not the idea – it’s meant to be a symbiotic and healthy intermingling. 

Maybe those overhead tiles can move slowly across the sky like clouds? And please keep in mind the idea of this realm also being broken (cleanly) into lots of separately floating islands. In this case, each island might be its own “game” – with its own duplicate set of characters (chess pieces). Some games more rational (orderly) than others (more chaotic). 

Looking forward to more iterations on this theme!

Let us know in the COMMENTS below what you think. Like the look of the Chess Realm? What other details do you think might be added to improve the connection to the theme?

Omri also sends over an iteration on the Mock Turtle / Manipulator Boss from inside The Moon scene. Of this he says: 

I wanted to solve in my mind the Boss look first, I kept thinking on what will  work not only visually but mentally and i had a feeling i need to merge the hell  out of the Manipulators into one large “animal bug” and i think that for the  real life boss platform this look works! it needs proper rendering but i think  it works! hope you both agree that for the “real boss”, it  works!

Mix this large beast with waves of enemies and it’s  fun and i think can be a really good boss.

Again, let us know in the comments below what you think!

Omri also sent over (busy Omri!) this image illustrating the adjustments needed to make Roman’s 3D model look more like Joey’s 2D concept illustration. These are in line with the comments provided by our Insane Children but it’s good to have it visualized. 

Roman is working on these adjustments and also on a first draft of the Ash Dress. 

I’m hoping we’ll have some progress to check out by the time of this week’s Live Stream.

Live Streams and Recordings

Most of you are aware by now… we are using Twitch as our primary Live Stream Platform.

Please FOLLOW ME on Twitch so you can be notified when we go live: 

www.twitch.tv/americanmcgee 

If you happen to miss a Live Stream on Twitch – no fear! – you can still watch the recording of it over on my YouTube Channel: 

www.youtube.com/americanmcgeeofficial 

Another variation on the Boss we’ll encounter in The Moon. 

Let us know in the COMMENTS below – do you prefer this one or the one (above) with Mock Turtle riding on its back? 

Shameless Marketing and Child Exploitation

I know I said I’d avoid posting about Mysterious stuff but this Tapestry is so cool … I’ll feel bad if any Insane Children learn about it too late… 

This is Lucky sitting on a large and beautifully printed “Red Cheshire” Tapestry Print (art by Alex Crowley). This tapestry print is included in a Jewelry Set put together by Yan and offered during July over on Mysterious. If you’re interested in owning one of these tapestries, CLICK HERE. (Lucky not included).

From Shanghai with Lucky, 

-American (ba ba ba)

Dear Insane Children, 

I did a Twitch Stream this morning (www.twitch.com/americanmcgee) and then posted that over on my YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/americanmcgeeofficial)… 

And you can watch that HERE. 

Lots of great feedback from everyone! And we’re using that to make adjustments to the model including (but not limited to): 

1. Fixes to the makeup – less dark, better blended, and better placement. 

2. The CHIN. Lots of people asking for changes to the shape and size. Yes. 

3. Eyebrows – smaller, less dense, more child-like, and better blended with the face.

4. Adjustments to the size and shape of the legs (shorter, thicker). 

5. Adjustments to size and shape of the arms (thicker). 

6. Adjustments to hair placement. 

There will be other adjustments as well. And we’ll see a new revision on the model soon. Plus we’ll see the start of work on the Ash Dress. 

THANK YOU, everyone, for the support and the feedback. What a fun and interesting process! 

From Shanghai with Special Eyebrows, 

-American

Dear Insane Children, 

The first phase of work on a 3D model for Alice is finished! Roman produced this turntable video of Alice’s face and A-pose (body) along with still images of the same. The level of detail he’s achieved is excellent. I am really impressed with his skill, speed, and quality. Great work! 

All of this is based on the initial concept images we shared with you here on Patreon and ran through our Crowd Design Process. 

Very interesting to see these 2D concept images transformed into the 3D space!

What do you think?

The next delivery will be of Alice in the Ash Dress. Look forward to seeing that! 

And once that’s done, we’ll insert the model into an environment. Exciting!

As usual, I’ll reserve my comments and feedback for a later date. 

Right now, I want to hear what YOU think! Drop your feedback and questions into the COMMENTS. We’ll do a full review of this content and read your comments during the Live Stream next week. 

Yay! Progress!

And, hey, THANK YOU. The Insane Children (that’s YOU) are making this work possible. Without your trust, feedback, and support, none of this would exist!

From Shanghai with Wow,

-American