Hello readers, today I am bringing you with the internet animator, OblivionFall. Full disclosure, OblivionFall is a friend of mine who has done work in various fandoms and does animation work for the youtube channels DA Games and Pencilmation. I am ecstatic I get to interview him, so let’s get into it.
How are you doing and are you enjoying any media recently?
I’m doing well, though I haven’t consumed much media as of late. The most recent things I can think of were two metal records, ‘Shaped By Fire’ and ‘Bloodied // Unbowed’.
Interesting, lets get to the main topic. How did you get into animation since you are quite good at it?
In 2006, I was introduced to a program called ‘Pivot Stick Figure Animator’ during school. My teacher figured it would be a more productive outlet for me than drawing in my notebook, and he was right.
Do you have any advice for people pursuing animation?
Pay attention to your surroundings in real life and analyze how things move. Think about how YOU move when you perform basic actions. If you see anything that stands out as interesting, try to replicate it in an animation test. Keep your art simple (even stick figures are fine) so long as you can comfortably draw it fast. The more animation tests, the better.
Where did your username come from?
I downloaded an animation called ‘oblivionfail.gif’ and thought that it said ‘oblivionfall.gif’. I thought it sounded cool, and when my YouTube account was hacked two months later, I made a new account with the name OblivionFall. I didn’t realize until years later that my name had its origins in FAILURE.
I would not say you are a FAILURE. Do you have any major influences on your work?
Philips ‘Terkoiz’ Lacanlale had the biggest impact on me by far.
What is your creative process for animating?
My work always looks terrible when I start, so I beat my head against a wall until it looks amazing. Works, like a charm.
Work and practice, it really does work. Do you have a favorite thing to animate (like hands, water, etc)?
Stick Figure Fights… unfortunately, I don’t get any opportunity to do this in my professional life.
That is unfotunate, although now I have to ask is there anything you want to animate that you haven’t done yet?
There are several recurrent dreams from my childhood that I still remember vividly. I would love to create a surreal animation exploring some of those ideas.
For those who don’t know, what is vector animation like compared to regular animation?
Vector Animation is easy and Regular Animation is hard.
I bet it is. Now, you have done a lot of things on youtube, working for yourself and then for big channels. Are there any differences between working for a youtube channel compared to being independent?
Both require a lot of self-motivation, as I work from home I need to stay on top of my schedule at all times. Being independent is obviously more fun and lends more personal freedom, but a stable income is the most important.
Was there a benefit in working in the general gaming fandom for a big youtube channel compared to a very niche fandom when you were independent?
The benefit is less crazy adults. The negative is more crazy children.
Its a real pick your poison situation there. Do you usually work with other people when you animate or alone, which do you prefer?
I prefer to work only with close trusted friends, but for the sake of my job I have to be comfortable working with anyone – provided they have the skills necessary.
Must be hard working with total strangers. I understand you ran a channel with your life-partner called NightFall Studios. Did you do any work on that Audio Drama?
For Anthropology, I was responsible for retiming, sound effects, ambiance, music placement, mixing, and rendering the videos. For later episodes, I even selected the voice takes myself. It was an absurd amount of work. I don’t regret it, but I wouldn’t do it again either.
I know that feeling all too well. Is there anything you did not expect to learn on youtube?
I did not expect Vsauce to actually tell me where my fingers are.
Weird…Anyways, in regards to Youtube animation, how has think the climate of youtube has changed in regards to animation?
The only animation channels that make it big these days are ones that game the algorithm in some way. It’s a sad but necessary reality.
I understand the sentiment. To not leave everything up to algorithms, what is the best way to support your work?
If you like an artist, visit their Patreon. That is almost always the best way.
Are there any creators you would like to shoutout and do you have final words to the readers?
Help. Let me out.
No can do. Finally, can you explain Loss to someone who has no idea what it is?
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I want to thank OblivionFall once again for taking the time out of his day to be interviewed Please remember to follow the to his channel links and check him out.
