Two relatively full days, firstly finalising the 'Cat Covid!' video. The drum solo section was a little too simple, with a cat zooming in and out and a rotating glowing frame. Yesterday I changed this to some video sections instead, and added a quick zoom of the cat for the guitar 'meow'.
I also spent some time fixing up the mice, which had a black border. For anything involving alpha channels or masking, the colour should extend beyond the edge of the object, with the mask defining the edges. Here, the initial render had a black background. Yesterday I changed that for one with the blue sky, and used the alpha to define the mice themselves. The result is a much better mask:
These details are small, but bothered me. One final detail was that the lightning shape had some flat edges, so I re-cut that today. The final video is complete.
Another job yesterday was making a new frame for the bathysphere painting, due to enter the Bickerton exhibition next month. The frame smells of the smoke my parents fill out garage with. I hate cigarette smoke and everything connected with smoking. My expensive custom-cut wood is ruined, and will forever be. My life feels doomed and I feel as trapped as ever. I'm reminded that there are only two choices in each day; to do your best at living, or to die.
The finished frame is much better than the old one:
Finally, yesterday, Argus was approved for release on Steam, so I had some admin to do there. This year, I've approximately released one new thing each month: Cycles & Shadows, Gunstorm, Gunstorm II, the town mural, the new album A Drive Through The Town, Argus, and a few little things like the new Flatspace Music Packs, the singles, and live performances every two weeks. Perhaps only Argus has any chance of making money. Artistically, the music is better than anything before in production quality, and the same for live performance experiences. I must continue to ensure this, even if nobody but myself will ever know.
Exhausting though all of this is, it doesn't feel like progress; profitable, or profound or artistic. I can feel the urge to paint.
