Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Suckermouth Year-In-Review Part 4: BS, Politics, and the Future

by Aaron Mystery

I've decided to wrap up this series of Suckermouth Year-In-Review articles with the various ups and downs and extraneous politics that I dealt with this year besides the pure nuts-and-bolts of each animation. I had two YouTube channels go down this year, lost my day job, lost my computer (and took two months to recover), and blew at least a couple gaskets taking criticism much too personally. Luckily, all things have been remedied as 2010 kicks off...

I started the year off feuding with YouTube and Google over kicking my videos off for no reason at all. I spat and cursed and cried, but in the end one of my greatest achievements - my first YouTube channel that had garnered nearly 7 million video views - was yanked. Over 150 posted videos were gone. Luckily, I created a second YouTube channel, but that also got pulled this year, for even less offensive videos. The third time was the charm, as my New Suckermouth channel is alive and strong. And because no channel is forever on YouTube, I made sure to keep my channel at DailyMotion alive and well throughout 2009.

Shortly after the first YouTube channel was removed, I was laid off from my day job. Although the economy and my work had been slow, I was honestly not prepared. I thought of Suckermouth much differently then than I do know, needless to say, as it is my only source of income. In the end, as a fan, customer, viewer, etc. it's good news for you, because it's given me more time to dedicate to Suckermouth; unfortunately, I have less money to spend as well.

When 2009 started, I was still far too sensitive about ratings and comments for my own good; I had been struggling with this for years. I thought when I lost my job, I would be able to handle things more professionally, but after a couple oddball videos, the mounting criticism of me caused me to explode with an obnoxious video that I am ashamed I made, let alone uploaded. But sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can go up. And this video tirade was certainly rock bottom.

Although I freaked out in video comments a couple times for low ratings after this, I seemed to be pulling it together. And better sales reflected better videos. Even stupid side projects like "Grizlore's Pot Party" didn't kill my momentum.

But then the unthinkable happened: My sole production computer died. I rushed into a shop that was recommended to me, and thus began the worst and most costly waiting game of my life. A week to diagnose that a new motherboard was required. Two weeks to receive the part. The part was bad. Would have to send part back and wait for replacement. Would take two to three weeks. Four weeks passed. Five weeks. No new part. I had to buy a new computer. And after my sales collapsed from two months of inactivity, it was not easy money to come up with.

But alas, December 2009 was a full month with plenty of Quickies, a What's Breast for Women episode, and the unforgettable "I Am Tiger" Featurettes. While the final month of 2009 may not be remembered as the best ever, it certainly pointed a bright set of headlights towards 2010 at Suckermouth.

It has been a real pleasure to create for you in 2009 despite the ups and downs, and you can bet that there will be many years of Suckermouth animations to come. Happy New Year!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Suckermouth Year-In-Review Part 3: Series and Featurettes

by Aaron Mystery

For my penultimate 2009 Year-In-Review article, I'm left to focus on Featurettes, which have been spun off into a variety of series, most notably Transformation Fantasy Force. There was never a better year for Featurettes and series than 2009.

The last episode of Wand Day After Another, "A Cold Day in Hellen," debuted in January. It was a fantastic and drastic change from the previous two episodes, chucking the flat "Adult Swim" style animation for the vivid 3D experience that better suits Breast Expansion. This episode had everything, from Giantess to pygmy growth/shrinking, breast expansion, Ace the Zombie, and two magic wands! Oh, and the whole thing takes place in Hell! Also of note is that this was the last Alpha Omega storyline crossover to date.

Another series that appears to have come to an end in 2009 is the Big Brethren concept. "Twittersode" was a questionable start, featuring a nude (but obscured) Mr. Romance-Oh and Wheeler bickering over Twitter. Although I accomplished what I wanted with this animation, it is not what I should be doing. To correct this uneventful and unattractive vid, I created "Lick My Crack: A Lesbian Experience" featuring Geena Bahoobie and Vanessa. It was hard core lesbian action - one of the only examples you'll find on Suckermouth. And it was wonderful!

Ace the Zombie's Nightmare Hour failed to gain traction this year. The Kate Moss skit was a bit of a dud, and subsequent attempts to make more segments of this mock late night show have gone nowhere. I don't think this is a concept I'd ever call dead, but "in a coma" might be appropriate. (Note: Had this Nightmare Hour episode had played more like the following B.E. Quickie "Vegas," it would have been a hit.)

As old series began to fade into obscurity, new ones rose to take their place. I had two ideas that I was looking to implement for years: First, Bimbo Vampires vs. Zombies and second, a super hero team with members that had the power to transform. Both got lots of attention in 2009.

Bimbos Vampires vs. Zombies is a relatively simple concept: Bimbo Vampires are just like regular vampires, except they have giant boobs - if they bite a person or zombie, it transforms into a Bimbo Vampire. "The BEginning" serves as the Prologue, and seemed a reasonable place to start. I made the creative decision to start the vampires out as ugly, distended bald creatures, which made it hard to promote with. Luckily, Ace works his magic just in time, and all three hideous vampires are transformed into the first Bimbo Vampires. What's cool about this is it's the first animation to show Ace the Zombie operating in the past, as he is about 400 years old.

As the Bimbo Vampires vs. Zombies project is essentially a feature-in-progress, I saw it fitting to do the Epilogue next - "Growing Ratings." An outright parody of the final scene in The Howling, this animation shows a reporter transforming into a Bimbo Vampire while on the air delivering a news report on the vampire epidemic. A gorgeous model and a lengthy vid make this a winner, and a lot sexier than the Prologue.

Although there were plenty of other animations in between, the next BVvZ was "Ambush," an adventurous little vid featuring a female zombie hunter; our unnamed heroin blasts a couple of the walking dead before a Bimbo Zombie bites her, causing her breasts to swell and rip through her shirt, the latter detail being a first for a Suckermouth cartoon. (Another personal breakthrough - depth-of-motion blur - occurred in "Ambush.") A solid piece of work.

The final BVvZ episode to date is "Chamber of the Zombies," which - although it failed to contain any transformations or big-breasted women - was a noble attempt at a more traditional zombie segment. A friend I made on Twitter, Jennifer Hudock, was wonderful enough to donate her time and talents to the voice of Dr. Holder. Whether I cut too many corners or just failed to have the faith to follow it up with a proper conclusion, "Chamber of the Zombies" was probably an unwise use of my time, and - despite being very happy with it initially - convinced me the Bimbo Vampires vs. Zombies project was on the wrong track.

If Bimbo Vampires vs. Zombies failed to live up to my expectations, then Transformation Fantasy Force exceeded all of them. TFF was preceeded by its sub-series, What's Breast for Women - possibly my most popular and successful concept to date. "What's Breast for Women" Parts 1 and 2 featured a new character, Priscilla Minx, giving advice to a petite model on how big her breasts should be by expanding her on the spot. Priscilla has become my favorite character (sorry, Ace) - her snooty personality, British accent, and breast expansion powers making her the most original character since Mr. Romance-Oh, with a lot more sex appeal. The What's Breast for Women sub-series would continue, featuring a "fat bottomed girl" in Parts 3 and 4, and moving on to the strip club in Parts 5 and 6, when Priscilla gives advice to a mediocre dancer. It is likely you'll see further episodes in 2010.

The main portion of the Transformation Fantasy Force series - essentially, the work-in-progress superhero feature - kicked off with an Origins tale. "The Shrink Must Die," also covered in the previous Giantess article, showed me that I could do things I didn't think possible. It was huge, colorful, alive, and a ball to watch. TFF was definitely off on the right track.

"The Gladiator" wasn't every bit as good, if not better. Taking place in the present, "The Gladiator" featured Priscilla Minx (nude and expanded for the first time) and The Giantess from "The Shrink Must Die," this animation moved me up another rung on the ladder. It's impossible not to enjoy this one. Also of note is Jen-Der Bender and The Fat Girl make their first appearances here, although only in cameo form (they're the prisoners seen in the hangar bay). My brother did an awesome job on Maleteki's voice.

Transformation Fantasy Force got even more adventurous with "Thar Be Monsters" Parts 1 and 2, the former featuring the H.P. Lovecraft creation Cthulhu, and the latter featuring everything else, from a male-to-female transformation to a weight-loss morph. And both episodes had amazing scenery. Monsters plus big-breasted women make for some great cartoons.

Uploaded in between the two "Thar Be Monsters" episodes, "TFF Origins: Jen-Der Ben-Der" gave us a proper introduction to the member of Transformation Fantasy Force with the ability to transform from man-to-woman (though not on purpose). This is an animation to be proud of, and still sits at the top of the Suckermouth Members Index as I write this.

While it's likely I'm neglecting something with all these various Featurettes and series I completed throughout the year, I'd like to wrap up this article by giving Ace the Zombie his due. While his talk show may have stalled, he contributed to what are possibly the best two Suckermouth cartoons of all time: "Tasty n' Juicy (Ace Has Talent)" and "BErater."

"Tasty n' Juicy" took advantage of the Susan Boyle hysteria that raged throughout much of 2009. A trio of young women working at the mall tease each other over their bodies when Ace the Zombie shows up to give them the bodies they want. When one demands to hear Susan Boyle, Ace dons a gold gown and belts out a tune of his own, creating age progression and breast and butt expansion in the process. (Two weeks was as long as I spent on one animation in 2009, and the process involved a render than lasted for three days and had to be restarted when the power went out 24 hours in.) The results were fantastic, hilarious, and sexy. Yum, indeed!

When a fellower Twitterer (Tweeter? Tweerson?) tore into me for making Breast Expansion cartoons, I responded the best way I know how: Revenge as parody. When our obnoxious model types about hating B.E., Ace the Zombie sneaks up behind her, expands here breasts, and cuts her shirt off with a pair of scissors. Man, what a great animation! Ones this good are few and far between.

Funny enough, I almost forgot to mention the last two animations of 2009 - "I Am Tiger" Parts 1 and 2 - which answer the question What if Tiger Woods met "I Am Legend" met Breast Expansion? The answer is An insane and sexy parody that will continue into 2010, just like Suckermouth.

Please join me for one last (and hopefully much shorter) Year-In-Review article, when I take a look at the ups and downs and politics of running Suckermouth and being a full-time animator this year.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Suckermouth Year-In-Review Part 2: Giantess

by Aaron Mystery

As I indicated in the previous article, I'm going to break Suckermouth 2009 down into different series for the sake of clarity. Today we'll take a look at one of the biggest changes to occur at Suckermouth this year - the added focus on Giantess, including a dedicated channel.

There have been a few examples of Giantess at Suckermouth over the years (most notably the Wand Day After Another episode from January), but it wasn't until April that GTS received some real focus. Between the GTS-branded material and Transformation Fantasy Force, fans of this genre had a lot to celebrate in 2009. Let's run it down, shall we?

The first string of GTS Quickies have retroactively been labeled the Atomic Series, due to the fact that a nuclear explosion is the cause of the growth. "GTS Quickie #1" was a huge hit, combining Giantess with Age Progression and stock live action footage to create something completely new. What followed, "GTS Quickie #2," had nude and clothed versions, and was one of the most popular videos I've ever done (giant, bouncing boobies will do that).

Although the first two GTS Quickies were pitch-perfect, "GTS Quickie #3" (both the nude and clothed versions) seemed to slip a little. Honestly, I think it's a combination of the wrong soundtrack and animation that comes up a tad short (luckily, it has insanely large breast expansion). This vid was not well-received, but the "B&W Giantess Featurette" culled together from these Atomic GTS Quickies was an enormous success, and will stand the test of time as one of the great Suckermouth cartoons.

After these projects, Transformation Fantasy Force basically filled the void for a couple months. "The Shrink Must Die" and "The Gladiator" are both episodes I'd highly recommend to Giantess fans. They are true GTS cartoons after all, and visually stunning to boot.

The second series of GTS Quickies was to be a Featurette eventually (though that idea is likely now scrapped), but these two animations - "The Giantess Chair" and "Street Walker" - are the next evolution in Giantess animations. Loaded with action, clothes ripping, and an incredible soundtrack, these both proved to be incredibly successful. For the record, a third Quickie in this series was attempted, but never came to fruition; however, I've learned to never say never and hope to return to it one day.

If not for The Great Darkness - a two-month period of inactivity due to a computer repair shop trying to kill my business - who knows what would have become of 2009? In that time period, I would likely have done three to four GTS projects (although we'll never know for sure).

To make up for lost time, I was able to produce a couple GTS Quickies in December, both using a new technique where the model's clothes don't grow with her, resulting in a giantess who's bursting from her fabric one thread at a time. "Big Around Town" and "Giant Mall" are definitely in the vein of the simpler (B.E.) Quickies, however, and despite the new technique and decent scenery, both fall short of what was achieved earlier in the year with the Atomic and Street Walker series. These flimsier GTS Quickies are referred to as Shorts, indicating their minimalist nature. I have to be honest and say that I hope these are the weakest Giantess vids I ever make - as the momentum of Spring was lost, the result was rushed videos made under stressful and compromised circumstances.

But not to fret. The next Giantess animation shouldn't be more than a week or so away (I try to get two Giantess animations done a month if I can), and I can guarantee I'll give it the focus and love it needs to grow into greatness. Let it be said though that without question, the Giantess genre produced some of my best work this year, hands down; I look forward to a year of even greater animations.

Please join me next article when I focus on the various series and Featurettes produced this year, from Transformation Fantasy Force to I Am Tiger. Thank you as always watching, reading, and subbing.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Suckermouth Year-In-Review Part 1: B.E. Quickies

by Aaron Mystery

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was 2009. Shall we begin?

I think the best way to cover fifty or so new videos is by series. Therefore I'll start with the B.E. Quickies, the bread and butter of Suckermouth since 2006. Let it be said that - with exceptions - what makes a Quickie is basically that it comes in at under a minute in length, features little or no dialog, and doesn't usually fit into larger series. Alternate or clipped scenes from longer projects can also show up as Quickies, as in the case of the first Quickie of 2009.

The non-canon Harriett Potter B.E. vid was basically a breast expansion morph that wasn't featured in the equivalent "Wand Day After Another Episode." The less said about this Quickie the better. The following Quickie, "Drinking Bosom Buddies," was much more to my liking, with full animation and three characters transforming, including a great M2F transformation. Unfortunately, it was followed by "Growing Nowhere Fast," which was another case of just a couple breast expansion morphs, albeit with two women and disappearing clothes.

But the fourth B.E. Quickie of 2009, "Punky Boobster," was the culmination of years of frustration and (unfocused) planning. To dislike Soleil Moon Frye because she chopped her breasts off is my right, but having it torture me for so many years was unacceptable. This animation is Breast Expansion Parody as revenge if you will. It was well done, extremely well-received, and set the bar for Quickies in 2009.

"Heavy Lifting" was my first lesbian vid attempt of the year. Unfortunately, the video was hampered by an uneven application of various half-formed ideas. I remember having my share of technical issues on this one as well, which surely impacted the result. The lesbian scene at the end is fairly solid but cheapened by all the junk at the beginning. Definitely a case of too clever by half. I followed the Keep-It-Simple-Stupid philosophy to a fault with next Quickie "Let's Make a Bimbo," another vid that is essentially a breast expansion morph featuring three models. At least the rendering quality is solid.

Determined to find a way to pull off an interesting Quickie, I was so happy with "B.E.clipse," I rendered it twice - with separate latex and nude versions. These vids were a lot of fun, with a cameo by Ace the Zombie to boot. These two variations performed very well, but I knew I wanted better. I didn't think "Arsesome Boobage" was necessarily it, but maybe it was the focus on the butt expansion that made it a very successful animation. This cartoon also featured the Nerd-to-Hottie phenomenon in addition to the butt, hips, and breast inflation.

Still frustrated that I hadn't recaptured the greatness that was "Punky Boobster," I took on the biggest villain in the last decade - Flo from the Progressive Commercials. I don't need to go on and on about how annoying she is - and this animation was made months ago! (These days I have to change the channel when these commercials come on, they annoy me so much.) So I took on this obnoxious marketing campaign with a parody. "Obsessive" is everything I like in a breast expansion Quickie - obvious parody, a subject who deserves what she gets, Ace the Zombie, solid rendering and breast expansion. Not to leave out the fact that the model's jeans pop open as her ass expands - always one of my favorite concepts. This animation is so dead on and true-to-life that I have trouble watching it now, as it feels too much like watching the real thing.

"BEach Ball" was a decent follow-up, but it was plagued by a persistent technical glitch that left me frustrated and exhausted. Although the "self-love" and beach ball play are quite good, this one didn't seem to gain much traction. 2009 didn't seem to be living up to my expectations as far as what I hoped to accomplish; there needed to be a big change.

The B.E. Quickie named "Vegas" altered Suckermouth animations forever. For the first time, a woman was speaking in a Suckermouth cartoon, and it wasn't me doing the voices! A sexy British voice and equally attractive model captivated fans and proved that I was not willing to sit still in 2009. The introduction of real female voices opened up hundreds of possibilities that I did not feel were there before.

Although I'm going to go into the extraneous garbage at the end of this Year-In-Review series of articles, around this time a great tragedy occurred when YouTube deleted the channel that had existed before Suckermouth and garnered me nearly seven million video views. Worse yet, some of these (oldest) videos had been lost in a hard drive crash, and their only known location was YouTube. One of the most popular vids on this YouTube channel had been "Male to Female Transformation," an early attempt to say the least; it had racked up about 250,000 views before the channel was deleted. Out of frustration and a desire to recreate an old animation (only better) I released "MTF 2009" and enjoyed the positive reaction. [There are actually two versions of this vid, with the full nude being available on Suckermouth; the other - with boxer briefs - is actually superior, and will be uploaded as an alternate if and when a M2F channel is created for Suckermouth.]

Up to this point, my favorite Suckermouth animation of all had been "B.E. Hive," a great Quickie from 2008 featuring lots of action, scenery, breast expansion, and - oh, yeah - tentacles. This animation just rocks, and the song - "Memory Full" - is one of my favorites that my band Brethren and the Evil Empire has ever recorded. So I decided to make a follow-up in 2009 with "B.E. Hive 2". While the video attempts to improve upon the original, with ripping clothes and much more impressive breast expansion, the original remained my favorite animation nonetheless. You know how sequels go...

"Zap!" was an interesting Quickie, in that not only is it a fun little comic-styled vid with a great contraption (the chair), but it was a preview of sorts for my favorite new project of the year - Transformation Fantasy Force. And while "Zap!" was itself quite simple, what followed were a batch of Quickies done on the fly and without enough heart. "Ice Cream Barbara" and "December-May" are age progression and regression morphs, respectively, neither of which impress me too much. The B.E. Quickie "Dancer" had the beginnings of something sexy, but I wish I had spent more time on it. Considering I went back to yet another uninspired age regression morph (with clothed and nude alternates, no less), it's no surprise I'm not tripping over myself to praise either version of "Mall Cougar."

Partly fueled by my so-called murder at the hands of Ace the Zombie, "AceScapes" played on the popular hunter-becomes-the-hunted theme, but suffered from misdirection and lack of finesse; it also feels unfinished in some ways. It wasn't until "The Chair" that I felt Quickies returned to their best form. This vid has everything going for it: Clothes being ripped and cut off; bouncing, swelling breasts; and a return to my favorite B.E. contraption.

Things only got better from there, thanks to my G.I. Grow concept. Planned as a Featurette, this series started and finished strong, from guns and B.E. pills to water and syringes.
There was clothes ripping, a strip tease, and even the Chair makes a return. These videos still represent the best of what I am capable of with Quickies; I am very proud of all three episodes.

Technically, "B.E. Strip Tease 4" came out before the third G.I. Grow animation, but in some ways I think of it as part of the series, in that the model in this wonderful strip tease vid is named "Uncover Me Girl" (a parody of Joe's Cover Girl). After talking down the earlier animations of 2009, I must say this video is what I aspire to. It is so sexy, with big, bouncing boobs popping out from clothing; the butt shaking near the end is also incredible.

It is a tragedy that the third G.I. Grow vid was the last Quickie I made before The Great Darkness; Starting with "The Chair," I was really on a roll like never before.
Shortly after this was published, my computer died, and I spent two months getting the runaround from the computer shop. By the time I got a new computer, I just wanted to get something done quick so you knew I wasn't really dead, and didn't think that Ace the Zombie hadn't finally returned to Hell for good. "Glad to be Back" represents that minimalist approach, little more than a breast and butt expansion morph with a no background whatsoever. However, it served its purpose to serve notice to the world that I was back.

"Big Elfin' Deal" and "Nerd No More" are only slightly less forgettable, but they are better, to be sure.
Each video does have its charm, from the cuteness of the elf in "Big Elfin' Deal," or the cool clothes-disappearing trick in "Nerd No More." And thankfully, both have plenty of atmosphere and scenery.

As the last B.E. Quickie of 2009, "Changing Room," is pretty good. There's lots of movement and growth. Any chance to see a naked woman with huge breasts dancing in a shopping mall is worth taking. Although I don't consider it up to the standard of the G.I. Grow or "Strip Tease 4" Quickies, it does point us in the right direction going into 2010.

Well, that's the rundown for B.E. Quickies in 2009, and the conclusion of Part 1 of our Year-In-Review. Again, the year had its ups and downs, but stands head-and-shoulders above 2008, which was a great year in its own right. Thank you for continuing to support Suckermouth (and me), and you can look forward to the Year-In-Review Part 2 soon, when I take a look at the Giantess material released in 2009.

December round-up

by Ace the Zombie

December was certainly a great month at Suckermouth. It was not only my first month back but a busy one as well. Here's the December round-up (grouped by video series):

B.E. Quickies
Big Elfin' Deal
Nerd No More
Changing Room

GTS Quickies
Big Around Town
Giant Mall

TFF/What's Breast for Women
What's Breast for Women: Stripper Edition Part 2

Featurettes
I Am Tiger Part 1
I Am Tiger Part 2

Thanks for watching and supporting Suckermouth!