Inktober Butterfly Puppets for a Short Film

Basically, I'm participating in #Inktober, and making Butterflies on REAL PAPER with INK(S). 

ONLY INK as a MEDIUM on PAPER, then SCANNED. 

NO DIGITAL and NO "Undo" command. 

If the original drawing was NOT done on PAPER with REAL INK, it DOES NOT count as part of the authentic #Inktober. 

Otherwise PRINT OUT the drawing onto a piece of paper, THEN trace over it IN INK, and make a NEW drawing WITH INK. 

I struggle with ink myself, and often HATE IT. THAT is WHY the challenge came about. 

REAL #Inktober originates from HERE

If you are NOT using ACTUAL REAL INKS then its NOT #Inktober but actually #Drawtober (which has rules and a calendar) or #Sketchtober

I have ZERO interest in ANY #Drawtober or #Sketchtober for THIS project. NONE. 

It's real media, done by hand, mistakes and all. I do NOT care if it's perfect, I only care if you at least gave it your best try, or at least an honest try. 

There is NOT "UNDO" with ink. There's many kinds of ink based tools & utensils. Markers, pens, felt, ball point, quill, calligraphy, and I'll even include watercolors because they have the same or similar origins.

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The butterfly consists of 2 main parts:

* A basic body piece

* At least 1 wing

That's it. 

Draw by hand on Paper with INK like pen, markers, or watercolors, the 2 basic parts.

No I am NOT actually a Lefty.

Rough Fairy body piece shape & Wing

I will only use digital software to make the puppet to format the shape(s) in Photoshop, and build it in Adobe After Effects.

Basic Construction:

Butterfly Guide/Templates:

Having Trouble Drawing?

Watch Highlight: Inktober Butterflies n Fairies TEMPLATE from blackunigryphon on www.twitch.tv

Watch Highlight: Animation N Inktober Fusion from blackunigryphon on www.twitch.tv

Download a Free Template, print it out and make your own version:

 Download Butterfly 
 Template HERE 

Angel or Fairy Style (this piece was done as a hybrid of pencils sketch & digital coloring but this project will NOT be doing this. This just shows the body pieces for the puppet):

A fairy template HERE

Example of Fairy Version 

(No Template available, unless u want to use mine)

Original Sketch:

 Cleaned Sketch:

 Colored Body piece  w Halo layers n lighting effects:

Cleaned & Colored Wing and Mirrored/Flipped Symmetrical Wing: 

 The Back Story:







1 thing I LOVE about #Inktober is it's an excuse to make stuff to use later on other projects.

THIS project is something I've been wanting to do for a long time, and it's coming along. It's a bit slow, but it's progressing. I've shot a LOT of B-Roll with my lanterns and sculpture stuff.

I'm gonna incorporate this work into my TV show at WCA9  TV.


* Here are the Animation/Video Puppet Tests I did at UMASS Boston in Fall 2017 (a year later) in Adobe After Effects CC 2017:

Angel Based on same Butterfly Flapping technique in After Effects:

Caduceus Based on same Butterfly Flapping technique in After Effects:

It started out HERE:

The Chinese characters on the wing are 忍 Rěn = Endure/Forbearance done in vintage makers

Another one with Chinese characters: 任 Rèn = Task/Duty/Responsibility

This one was made by my daughter which was a representation of a different "ren" meaning person, but no character, since this butterfly is personified. circa October 2016

仁 meaning "benevolence" or "kindness" also pronounced "ren" in Chinese. This one was painting in Traditional Chinese ink & marker b y Li Wang (my husband) in October 2016.

I had originally intended for the flapping butterflies & lanterns to be a part of my film at UMASS Boston. But, no one knew how to help me with the flapping yet again, in After Effects CC 2016.

Here's the Paper section bits from the film:

Needless to say, a lot of my original ideas were cut out from the film due to time, ignorance of program software, a major gaping lack of adequate help & assistance, the fact that no one else knew how to do what I wanted in After Effects in the 2016 CC version, as well as wasted time commuting.

Here's the Ripple Part w/my audio design I did in Adobe After Effects CC 2016:

So, this was my film Final in Fall 2016 (I also did all the audio design):

It was my first major project of any important in HD which I had no idea how to work in. 

I'd also been wanting to finish my sculpture instillation art project (Whimsical Boho Decor teapot Lantern). 

I did a brief project for my Presentation Final in Cinema Studies in Fall 2017 which is a min documentary:

Here's my full length documentary. I gotta tell u, studying experimental films really helped me to learn A LOT about Documentary.

This year, I want to include a lot more people with this butterfly flapping stuff in Adobe After Effects CC. 

But, I'm decent with it now.

I asked my daughter to make a new one for Inktober, and also my friend Drakenhart. 

So, I hope to really create something nice for my TV Show, and expand upon my previous film. 

The Butterfly motif actually comes from a Chinese "philosopher" of sorts Zhuanzi Zhou 莊子 who dreamt he was a butterfly and forgot he was a human man, but when he awoke he;d wondered if he were a man whom dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly whom was dreaming he was a man. In both experiences he was unsure. 

This is what he wrote:

昔者莊周夢為蝴蝶，栩栩然蝴蝶也，自喻適志與，不知周也。俄然覺，則戚戚然周也。不知周之夢為蝴蝶與，蝴蝶之夢為周與？週與蝴蝶則必有分矣。此之謂物化。

Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chou. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things.

Inktober N Butterflies Coming Up in October 2018

So, 1 thing I LOVE about #Inktober is it's an excuse to make stuff to use later on other projects.

THIS project is something I've been wanting to do for a long time, and it's coming along. It's a bit slow, but it's progressing. I've shot a LOT of B-Roll with my lanterns and sculpture stuff.

I'm gonna incorporate this work into my TV show at WCA9  TV.

It started out HERE:

The Chinese characters on the wing are 忍 Rěn = Endure/Forbearance done in vintage makers

Another one with Chinese characters: 任 Rèn = Task/Duty/Responsibility

This one was made by my daughter which was a representation of a different "ren" meaning person, but no character, since this butterfly is personified. circa October 2016

仁 meaning "benevolence" or "kindness" also pronounced "ren" in Chinese. This one was painting in Traditional Chinese ink & marker b y Li Wang (my husband) in October 2016.

I had originally intended for the flapping butterflies & lanterns to be a part of my film at UMASS Boston. BUt, no one knew how to help me with the flapping yet again, in After Effects CC 2016.

Here's the Paper section bits from the film:

Needless to say, a lot of my original ideas were cut out from the film due to time, ignorance of program software, a major gaping lack of adequate help & assistance, the fact that no one else knew how to do what I wanted in After Effects in the 2016 CC version, as well as wasted time commuting.

So, this was my film Final in Fall 2016:

It was my first major project of any important in HD which I had no idea how to work in. 

I'd also been wanting to finish my sculpture instillation art project (Whimsical Boho Decor teapot Lantern). 

I did a brief project for my Presentation Final in Cinema Studies in Fall 2017 which is a min documentary:

Here's my full length documentary. I gotta tell u, studying experimental films really helped me to learn A LOT about Documentary.

 So, this year, I want to include a lot more people with this butterfly flapping stuff in Adobe After Effects CC. 

But, I'm decent with it now.

Here's an Angel version of the butterfly flap:

I asked my daughter to make a new one for Inktober, and also my friend Drakenhart. 

So, I hope to really create something nice for my TV Show, and expand upon my previous film. 

The Butterfly motif actually comes from a Chinese "philosopher" of sorts Zhuanzi Zhou 莊子 who dreamt he was a butterfly and forgot he was a human man, but when he awoke he;d wondered if he were a man whom dreamt he was a butterfly, or a butterfly whom was dreaming he was a man. In both experiences he was unsure. 

This is what he wrote:

昔者莊周夢為蝴蝶，栩栩然蝴蝶也，自喻適志與，不知周也。俄然覺，則戚戚然周也。不知周之夢為蝴蝶與，蝴蝶之夢為周與？週與蝴蝶則必有分矣。此之謂物化。

Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chou. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things.

There was 1 more thing:

I was hoping to do some melting flowers, and better learn Liquefy in After Effects. This was ALSO frustrating because no one would help me.

I'm not actually totally sure which way I want to go with it all yet. But, it's kinda just a thought at the moment. 

I do have OTHER things I'm also thinking about playing with, such as Airships like:

Zeppelins, Dirigibles, and even Barrage Balloons. 

I'm NOT gonna commit to it tho' at the moment. But, it's ALWAYS something I've been wanting to play with, especially in After Effects.

Animation Bits July 001

Got some animation to start wrapping up. I will be posting some stuff to my Qilin project blog.

But, first we're wrapping up the old project to learn the  programs, and I've also been playing in After Effects. Tomorrow I'll be filming again on location in Bridgewater, but also have a long drive to Rhode Island because some of our talent is over there.

Fixed this sucker up a lot. But It's STILL not the  Raytrace Extrude in After Effects on the Logo. In order to get this to work, I had to blacken in some parts or it wouldn't build the mesh in Photoshop's 3D Extruder.

Another "butterfly wing flap" style puppet animation in Adobe After Effects. Real bird wings don;t flap this way, but whatevz. This one ALSO got picky with me.

Toon Boom Harmony animation. I can animate MUCH MUCH faster in Toon Boom Harmony.

Test footage for my Television show:

June Animation Stuffs

Well, let's just say, I did A LOT of animation in June. I also did A LOT of Video Editing, Special Effects Animation, Motion Graphics, and also got a  lot of my concept work done for my 2 TV Shows, networked with talent, scouted out a lot of locations, and shot LOTS of test footage at various locations, and we finally got BACK into production on "The Holy Maple Tree" on the 30th in Bridgewater. I also got MOST of the filming equipment I wanted: Jib camera crane, floating head Video tripod, waterproof selfie stick, gimbal.

Unfortunately, I CANNOT show share the visual effects animation, and graphics I did. I did stuff for a local TV show called "Tipsy TV" which is still in production, and I also finished up the main effects, clean-up, and compositing for the Gorgon Scenes of The Afterlife for "The Holy Maple Tree". I do NOT own the rights to those, so I will NOT be showing those works.

It's mostly just simple, basic effects, but TONS of layers. And I also re-shot some parts multiple times, MYSELF, and or with the Director.

I want to wrap up "Maple Bacon" which is a short film I'm doing with Pasteloween (my relative).

Here's a clip I just finished in Toon Boom HARMONY:

And, THEN there's THIS MOFO:

SO, THIS MOFO RIGHT HERE has been my lil PUNK! All I wanted to do was a SIMPLE Harry Potter/Warner Bros style Logo animation/motion graphics using Adobe After Effects' Extrude Raytrace. When I found it it could do that, I was like: OMG! I'm DOING THAT! But, I had a TON of setbacks for troubleshooting with After Effects multiple times (including again today).

I have tried SO many tutorials, and they're ALL outdated. I can;t get any technique to work. I did find out that the new version of Photoshop has a 3D extrude... but I don't understand it, but at least I could make THIS monstrosity.

I have worked on this LOGO motion graphic animation SO MANY TIMES, with SO MANY TRIES. I have multiple files. -and I don't really understand Adobe Illustrator, plus I HATE IT.

I used my old photography from around 2012 also.

I want to do a better version, and WAS working on that ALL OVER AGAIN from scratch 3 times TODAY, but now my After effects isn't working again. :( 

Pasteloween wants me to do more animation memes... but I kinda did a montage.

I'm keepin' it real: video editing is kinda easy for me. I especially like music video style, or montage, or "documentary":

This remix track is from a band in Philly from the Bush era called "Hail Social". 1 of the band members was my old co-worker from AMC Marlton 8, Richie Roxas, who was a pretty good friend of mine in the late 90s. He has an Instagram about New Balance Shoe collection stuff, and purple things. But, I juts recently deactivated ALL of my FB & Instagram profiles due to very bad privacy concerns as a result of the loss of net neutrality   But, my Twitter profiles are still up, and so is my Google+ stuff.

I have a profile on MeWe & Matadon which are much safer.

Concept: Symbols Logos

I haven't come up with a symbol or logo yet, because it depends on what the title is. I'm still deciding on the title.

But, I want some kind of symbol or logo that the characters often find or interact with within each video piece.

A really good example of this style was back in the 1990s with many bands, but especially video content created by a techno group "Dune" in Germany. They often made videos in which the logo was often a symbol, or even interacted with the subjects.

The Glitch Mob is very well known for incorporating geometric symbols in a lot of their video and stage content. They are mostly known for the one they use as their logo, but they use several others from advanced geometry.

If you have been following "Westworld" there's a symbol in the film that frequently keeps coming up within the show.

This is a very ancient style of Narrative Device that was perfected by the Ancient Greeks, even tho' it predates them.

In Westworld we see the character interacting with this symbol, or sometimes it's hidden within the scenes or scenery. It using foreshadowing, but also implies meaning, or revelation. 

In modern times symbolism and become "branding" and are often used to associate, evoke, or provoke a meaning or emotional feeling. Everything from Coca-Cola, to Nike, to automobile brands, or clothing lines and stores to shop at. But for thousands of years symbols were often used religiously, or culturally. It's also why religions still persist even tho' most of their ideologies are often outdated.

Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity have several symbols they often use which are usually geometric. When those symbols are inserted to a visual, or a film, it adds an extra dimension of abstract feeling or concept that will resonate with people aware of the meaning, or it can infer a meaning as well. It was a technique very much hones & perfected by the Ancient Greeks in storytelling, theater, drama, art, design, poetry, literature, rhetorical framing, and more.

This is also why I wish to have come up with a symbol/logo as well. I probably want the symbol to represent something like Freedom, Liberty, Free Spiritedness, whimsy or something like this.

Conceptual Ideas Dump: Artistic Cosplay Experimental

First of all, I actually DO NOT want this project to be ALL-ABOUT-ME. It's just that the only stuff I have to show is my own stuff.

Some conceptual ideas n content for possible local Television artistic content.

It's hard to just go up to a creative person and be like: Hey I want to do something creative, and artsy, would you like to do something too?

Because: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Well, I'd LOVE to go to a number of locations in Local New England and shoot there, but I'm also open to shooting creative things in a studio setting as well.

Here's loads of my own stuff, but I honestly don't want it to be ALL-ABOUT-ME!

So, I have cosplay characters, costumes, poetry, Shakespeare sonnets, and a lot of other ideas.

I like doing whimsical things, experimental art/film/photography, but I can also be deep, emotive, quirky, and comedic.



1 of several audio recording renditions of Shakespeare's Sonnet 29:

My Cosplay Pirate Character (Marshall Kändiß The Pyrate) whom is a quirky megalomaniac, is one I had worked on the most over the years. My blog is found HERE.

I had mostly enjoyed doing her character in the fall.

It was fun to play her because she's sort of self centered, full of herself, self important, but she's quirky so it's not abrasive, but funny or comedic. I actually never got around to creating her baton because she's a French Naval Marshall which outranks an admiral. (Yes. I did tell you she was a megalomania. It's NOT enough for her to be anything less than the top, but she sort of stumbles into these things, taking credit for it. So yeah, Moral Relativism... And, I'm also a Stephen Chow fan. )
She's selfish, but if it suits her purposes (ego/pride) she'd be generous, and Robin Hood-like.

But, she also has her down times, and when I explored her character further, I did things like quoting poetry, and drama. Especially Shakespeare, but other ones as well. AT times it could be EMO/Emotive, Gothic, dark, or deep.

I also had other concepts for her in Raves, and Pirate Pebbs & This Character went to cross dresser events, night clubs, raves, karaoke, fairs, festivals, conventions, parties, events, etc.

Pirate Pebbs n I were both in some parts of this film documentary (also the trailer):

I have also heavily dedicated A LOT of my time to Boho Chic, Bohemian, Gypset, Mori Girl, Hippie-ish stuff, and other free spirited styles including Tribal Fusion Bellydance & Rave.

My Boho content blog is found HERE.

My Animation Experimental Film Final Spring 2017 UMASS Boston

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These are several of the things I'd been coming up with. Much of it is VERY personal, and VERY emotional to me, and it's VERY difficult for me to put myself out there with. Much of it is still crude and unrefined.  The "Blue Fairy" melody was one I'd composed when I was 6 years old. I'd used it throughout my life.

And the other songs about dragons are incredibly personal, that I often cry when talking about it. It comes from the animated film/series I want to produce and had originally started creating in 1998, and well into 2004. But, the economy destroyed my hopes & dreams and I did not pick it back up until 2015 because I'd felt as tho' I was literally loosing my mind, and it was very painful.

I started taking walks in the woods and I started hearing the music inside of my head, which was really scary. But no matter how much I fought it, I couldn't win. When I stopped fighting it, the music came out of my throat, and and next thing I knew I was in a mania of jotting down the lyrics, and recording the crude stuff coming out of my throat. I was very happy with what came out.

(Just in case u were curious or interested, this is the concept art/work for my Dragon Film:  HERE I'm not in any particular hurry to go into full production yet, tho.)

(Concept art for "Eyewitness" series which I'm also NOT in a hurry to jump into full production on: HERE )

Original Texts "Get Ready To Fly": HERE

Original Poem Texts 
"The End Surreal To Start Parts 1-2": HERE

My original poetry n lyrics texts found HERE.

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Honestly, I DO NOT WANT the Artistic work on these projects to be ALL ABOUT ME. BUT, I DO need to at least SHOW what I mean, and it's pretty broad. So, most of what I have here is ME, because I'm the ONLY model available to me all the time, since my daughter won't model for me anymore. But, I am getting old.

Eventually I would LOVE to shoot in Morocco, but I'm not in a rush to do that either. I'd VERY much like to create collaborative content that is artistic, whimsical, beautiful, and eye catching.

But, I see no reason why New England can't be a beautiful place to shoot.

Salem Mass Burial Point:

Weymouth Waterfall at the Herring Run

Highland Colonial Cemetary in South Weymouth:

Pond Meadow Park in East Weymouth

Whitman's Pond in East Weymouth

South Weymouth

Indoors