January '26 Progress Report!
A FEW DAYS LATE BUT I GOT SOME UPDATES!
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON?
Three projects in particular, each of which has good news and bad news:
PROJECT 1: DOING LIVE SHOWS
Good news: I had so much fun at Sketchfest! It was so lovely getting a chance to say hey to some of you after the shows (especially if you met me after Drunk Shrek, as I was, indeed, quite tipsy). Here are some official photos from the Sketchfest Instagram:
Bad news: I was prepping hard for Sketchfest and a different Dropout show, which took up most of the first 2/3rds of my month. Still, I managed to get some work done on the other projects!
PROJECT 2: SMALL BLENDER ANIMATION
Good news: I have been watching a ton of blender tutorials and learning a lot! It's been a ton of fun to learn about topology, which is the main thing I'm focused on at the moment, since I really want to be able to make solid, movable characters that can be reused once built. Here's a little guy that I'm starting out with:
Bad news: I've learned so much about topology that I realized this butt needs to be COMPLETELY REDONE:
That's too many triangles! I've really flubbed it on the butt, which is the most important part of the whole guy. But I'm glad that I'm taking my time to really get to know stuff about modeling so I can do this right instead of just doing it quickly. If you're also getting into Blender and would like to see some of the tutorials I've been using, this, this, and this video have been incredibly helpful!
PROJECT 3: PUMPKIN COWBOY
Good news: I've finished writing the pitch!
Bad news: I still need to put the pitch into a good format! I've been working on some other pitches with Karen for TV writing stuff, and as a result, I recognize how important it is to make a pitch look good before sending it off. I should have that sent before the end of the month, and depending on the results, I'll be sure to share it with y'all in a BTS post on how I make a successful (or unsuccessful? let's just assume successful) pitch document.
WHAT'S NEXT?
I'm happy to say that February is a lot less busy with regards to outside work, so I'm just focused on the writing work I'm doing with Karen and the video work I'm doing for this Patreon. I also wanted to get out a very delayed Brian Brecommends by the end of January, but I think that'll have to come out next week instead.
I hope you've all been doing okay! The news cycle is ESPECIALLY HEINOUS these days! But I'd like to leave you all with something less depressing, so... apropos of nothing... which of these slogans do you think is best for a cooking apron that maybe I might wear in an upcoming video.
Comments (44)
I 100% want to own the "it's called a BOWL" apron
I'll buy a "it's called a bowl" merch for sure. Probably one for my wife as well. We say that a good amount when we cook.
Let us buy all these aprons ourselves
"It's called a bowl" is my favourite option in the poll, but the lyrics to the entire rejected Old Bay jingle would be funny too. Starting off big and then the font gets smaller and smaller so it all fits on the apron.
oh my god
going feral, so stoked for another midnight gourmand - partner agreed that “it’s called a bowl” is top tier, but he came back with “here you go, boss”, and i reckon
Absolutely in favor of "here you go, boss"
I'm forever a fan of "it's called a bowl" but I bet an apron with "here you go boss" would be good too
It was fantastic meeting you and Karen at Drunk Shrek! What a wonderful time. I’m sad to have missed Um, Actually with MARK EVAN JACKSON WHAT??? Also I hope you got plenty of water! Thank you for all your Midnight Gourmanding 😁
If it's Midnight, you KNOW I'm Gourmanding!
Simply: "A Midnight Gourmand"
I love the idea of the excessively long option being in a just barely readable script. An excess of annoying text on an apron is very funny to me for some reason.
I would absolutely buy an apron with an elegantly scripted “it’s called a BOWL” in the corner 💸
Same here, it's said a lot in our house when we're cooking.
I'd love if the apron just said "Midnight Gourmand" in some real classy cursive
10/10 flubbed butt (also, as a professional topology wrangler - triangles are not automatically bad! All quads are just 2 triangles in a trenchcoat, and triangles can be really handy for when you need to make sure your 2 triangles in a trenchcoat bend in the right direction. Quads that are shaped like a triangle with three of the four vertices in a line and N-gons can cause shading issues specifically because they don't define how the triangles in the trenchcoat should behave. What you generally want to watch out for are really long, skinny triangles, or a bunch of triangles connecting at a pole, which can make the surface look pinched. Triangles also make subdivision a Bad Time, so if that's part of your workflow, yeah avoid triangles. They also break the flow when selecting a loop, so if your workflow relies a lot on selecting edge loops then they can be annoying. otherwise go forth, add triangles, they're just a helpful lil guy trying their best!)
I personally think simplicity is key. Let's call things what they are. I'd like just "Midnight Gourmand" with like sparkles on each side.
“Cook what your heart dreams”
YES
"We Gourmand at Midnight"
"Ey, I'm gourmandin' here!"
My favorite is STAND BACK, but there is much to be said for the simplicity of “It’s called a bowl.”
Midnight Ghorman and then just dress like they do in andor
But don’t recreate the massacre
The zhuz one is best, but only if it is just the quote
"Cook like It's always Midnight" *The Midnight is in a much fancier font*
I've done some 3D modeling classes at school and we never even really got into good topology stuff and I always found it overwhelming to look into, so I'm very impressed by you getting that far on your own (and will be looking through those videos later with interest)! Eager to see that lil guy's new beautiful optimized booty, and whatever you may have in store with them.
Its calles A B O W L
Can we please also be able to purchase the apron? 🥹
"THAT'S A PIZZA"
I also vote "THAT'S A PIZZA"
Need either a 🔥 or ‼️ involved with STAND BACK, I'M MIDNIGHT GOURMANDING
That's it, that's the one.
I shall be awaiting Little Guy's butt-date with great excitement!
choose ONE??
midnight gourmand my beloved
*Click this if you think of something better and put it in the comments*
i am constantly saying "it's called a BOWL" in my actual life and if you do end up using that in a video i have no doubt it would be also immensely marketable as a merch. i am wildly excited to see the little guy, also. agreed, the butt is important. i hope this is the little guy who lives in a treasure chest, but i will also be excited if he is in some other context
Yesssss, I say and gesture “it’s called a BOWL” to myself every time I have to fetch one, which is many as I am a pastry chef 😂 such a good vocal stim 💪🏻
ALRIGHT I GOT IT OUT OF THE WAY EVERYONE WE'RE GOOD
apron idea: "*Click this if you think of something better and put it in the comments*"
This is what the apron needs 🔥
I love the bowl one but I can't not vote for midnight gourmand
"I've really flubbed it on the butt" is poetry. Love it.