The Tech

“The Good Times are Killing Me” is created in the free software Blender.

It’s creators, Grant Thorshov and Chase Doyle needed a way to get a professional looking product that could be done remotely and with no budget. With no traditional animated experience, they settled on the visual style of claymation, which is simulated using Blender.

The characters are modeled digitally and rigged up with a motion capture armature. The animation is done using Rokoko motion capture suits. This allows for a much faster turn around on production, and cuts the man power required to animate complex movements. The facial animations are done using an iPhone mounted to the actor’s head. The actor’s performance is then tweaked to better fit the clay character they are playing.

This system allows for live performances to be streamed into Blender in real time. With all this combined, an entire animated scene could go from on the page to on the screen in a matter of hours, and it all only takes 2 people.

The system created for this project opens up a previously unreachable world of possibility for indie filmmakers. Animating an entire TV show with 2 people and a laptop was unheard of even just a year ago, and this project has the potential to be a massive game-changer for the world of animation. 

In addition to this, new and exciting textures are used to enhance the world’s believability in tandem with the handmade look of the characters!