#fshbns

[trufflesmushroom]

Did you have to do a lot of research on fish/marine biology for FSHBNS? I always love to draw from real world references whenever I do world building/character design.

You know, not much?? FISHBONES really uses fish as the recurring dominant thematic imagery, not the actual subject matter. Most of my actual research-research for this project has been in tech (I took Robotics 101 and Future of Technology as my science credits in college) and stuff like architecture, climate change, modern healthcare practices, transportation design, etc in my own time. On tumblr, I mostly curate fashion references and nice imagery.

Of course, there are actual fish in the story itself, but I never necessarily needed to do more research than just some visual referencing and (spoiler alert!!) documentation on the effects of pollution on fish populations. Done and done. Because I’m obviously not making up random nonexistent fish, or unrealistically unhealthy fish!! Bad form for any designer. But yeah, nothing more intensive than, say, your common simple image search.

[trufflesmushroom]

Just found out FSHBNS meant Fishbones. I thought it was a stylized form of Fishbians (fish lesbians) this whole time I've been following your blog.

Well... I mean... It’s a story about... lesbians... who are deliberately designed based on fish imagery and fish are the dominant recurring visual motif... So in a way you’re not wrong HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[trufflesmushroom]

What is FSHBNS?

The stylized spelling of Fishbones!! My long-term serious personal project, an animated feature film. It’s kind of about how people have to be kind and relate to each other in order to survive and get anything done, it’s kind of about a three-day-long chase scene with flying cars through a perpetually rainy city, and it’s kind of about disabled lesbians of color falling in love while yelling at each other. I’ve posted all of my visdev work so far and WIP snippets of the original screenplay on my Patreon!!

[trufflesmushroom]

Guys I just posted three FSHBNS things on Patreon just now!!!! Go check it out!!!! I’m so fucking proud of myself for how productive I was with FSHBNS this January LOLOLOLOL It almost makes up for the sting of disappointment in myself that I didn’t finish it in 2019 but yknow what... 2020 is being good to me work-wise so who cares!!!!

Btw those designs aren’t final but they’re really really close. If I finalize them this week then I’ll have successfully finished 4/5 of the principal cast and I’ll be able to board!!!! That’s so damn exciting HAHAHAHA But don’t ask to see the vehicles yet. I’m struggling with those right now. I’ll do the transportation design and props in February, I swear...

[trufflesmushroom]

Spoiler!!

When the gang shoots down the fake sky at the end of Act 1, the acid rain pours down onto the already panicked upper class party guests and starts eating away at their fancy flimsy expensive clothes and sizzles into their wine, turning it all into a murky black gunk. They all shriek in terror.

[trufflesmushroom]

spoiler!!!!

The protagonist and the deuteragonist almost kiss during the dance scene at the end of Act 2, because they just poured their hearts out to each other and the ambiance is super intimate and the mutated fish are kind of doing a ‘Kiss The Girl’ dance in the purified water, but the protagonist’s guilt totally kills the mood (because she’s emotionally constipated and still under the belief that the selfish choice is her only option) and she completely ruins it.

(Technically I could just use their names here cuz you already know them via my Patreon but I refuse to reveal too many details to the public LOLOLOLOL)

[trufflesmushroom]

Spoiler! ^^

The gunfire during the chase scenes cause so much property damage and drag on forever because nobody’s actually shooting to kill: the cops see it as a high stakes hostage situation, the gang is unwilling to actually shoot one of their own in cold blood, and the protagonists just want to get away.

[trufflesmushroom]

Drawing, designing, writing, painting... all of this is so difficult. I have a BFA and Too Much Anxiety. Somebody come help me draw this scene with a bunch of flying cars and buildings and action and guns and wind and rain and lights and lesbians and architecture and neon and lasers and explosions.