(WIP) [ANIMATION] SLG_03 "KEY ART"

The other night, I was tossing and turning in bed, haunted by the all-too familiar sound of snipping claws, when suddenly I heard a knock at my bedroom door. I grabbed the claw hammer I usually use to kill burglars with, and I opened my door, when lo! Standing before me was Jesus Christ, King of Kings!

"Oh my God!" I said, dropping my blood-stained claw hammer, "It's... well, my God!"

Jesus of Nazareth smiled at me, the winning smile of the Son of God.

"Hey there, bud, how's it hanging?" spake the Lord.

"It's alright." I said, wondering how he got in my house in the first place.

"Sorry about killing all your grandparents, bud. You know how it is though, right?" Jesus said.

"No, I don't." I replied, staring blankly at him. The Lord then cleared his throat, thus ending the awkward silence.

"Well, anywho, a little birdie told me that you've been feeling down in the dumps." said the Shepherd. 

"I don't know what to do, O Lord. I desperately want to get back into art, but nothing I do seems to work. Nothing sets off the spark. I used to be so excited about this junk, and now it all feels like such a chore." I said, slumping my head into my hands, a picture-perfect representation of pathetic misery.

"Kyde, my most faithful of servants," said the Lord, placing his beautifully manicured hand on my sweaty shoulder, "that's because you've been treating this like a job like some square, when you should be seeing it as Art. God put you on this earth for one reason, and that reason was to be the pioneer of crab smut."

"...Crabs...?" I said, blinking.

And the Lord then winked and tapped his finger on the side of his nose, like Santa, I always thought only Santa did that but I guess Jesus does too, and lo! suddenly in my mind came the image of another Metal Slug animation, but with a crab this time!

"Father, I don't know what to say! It's incredible! I think." I said, tears forming in my bloodshot eyes.

"Hey, don't mention it, buster," said Jesus the Wonderful, the Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, "You need to start following your heart, Kyde. Find out what kind of artist you want to be."

"But, Lord, what if I can't finish this one, either? What if I'm not strong enough to do it on my own?" I was sobbing at this point, surely on the verge of soiling myself.

"Kyde, my sweet handsome little prince, you'll never be alone. Check your email." Jesus said, with a grin and a wink. I hurried to my computer, closing out all the depraved tabs I had kept open, and accessed my email account. And lo! Waiting for me was a confirmation that Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, was now one of my Patrons! My smile tightened once I realized he was only a $1.00 supporter, but I didn't press the issue.

"Thanks Jesus! You're a lifesaver!" I said.

"Ha, an eternal lifesaver!" Jesus said, nodding at me.

"Oh, yeah. I get it." I said.

----

That was a true story by the way.

Anyways, if anyone's actually reading this after that mess above, I've had plenty of time to think lately, now that there's no horrific stress in my life anymore. Looking back, I can see how horribly broken I was. I hope to never be in a place like that again. But, one insight I've gained lately, is that I'm not approaching this like Art. And like, yes, I'm fully aware of the irony of calling animated cartoon titties "Art," but that's how my brain sees this. It is expression, from some deep abyss within my soul. I don't want to think about it too much, best to speak with a licensed therapist or a priest about that.

But, the point still stands. I don't like to make things because I think they'll be popular, or I think they'll make me money. To me, that's poison. I lucked out with that first Frankie, but initially, it was just this idea that appeared in my head that I was almost compelled to do. The subsequent two Frankies were so... hollow feeling, compared to that first one. And thinking back, those first few animations I did before my life shattered like a big shitty vase, were all ideas that just came to me out of nowhere. I didn't think about if people would like them, I didn't think about if it'd make me popular, I didn't think in general. I just had the idea, said "Heh, nice." and got to work on it. Again, that sounds like Art with a capital 'A' to me. 

So, I'm gonna just follow my little black decaying heart for a little while. My theory is that if I'm satisfying this need for Art in my soul, I'm gonna have the energy to do some of the other stuff I've promised and had suggested to me. Because you guys have good ideas. It's just... I need to make my weird ideas, too. Especially in the wake of cartoonish tragedy, I need to piece my brain and my life back together.

----

So, this is the Key Art for another Metal Slug animation, featuring one of the crabs from the beginning of the third game. I had a lot of fun drawing him, it's good to know I can draw other things than anime girls. I hope it looks better than my older stuff, I'm really trying to improve. Namely, with colors, shadowing, and highlighting. It's damn time I've learned how to do that, I won't be putting it off any longer.

I've run my mouth enough, stay tuned for the Keyframes.