Dance With The Shadows - Released

[Ray]

Almost ashamed that I didn't make an entry cuz its definitely the biggest thing we've seen since dojodemon.

still waiting on the sequal for that btw. Ill animate the fuck out of my entry. Believe that boiii

[Blademaster]

Sifter, flame & fuel for elite. Sick collab. 17 minutes wew

[Xeroz]

Sick collab, people! Definately turned out awesome!
Sifter did an amazing job flashing it!
Everyone's parts were greatly entertaining! Splendid job people!
Also...

Sifter, flame & fuel for elite. Sick collab. 17 minutes wew

I definately agree with this! All of them showed great animations!

Overall, amazing work by everyone! Definately my favorite collab by far!

[Mori]

I couldnt wait for omega's entry but yeah fuck that. It was pretty damn cool though

[Lord]

Great animations from everyone involved. Surpassed my expectations - honestly. :D
There were some truly awesome moments too. Especially in Sifter's animation, the post-FX done there were incredible.
Was certainly worth the wait. Good job Sifter, and hope to see more great products from the channel again! :D

[Jojishi]

This is easily the biggest and best collab that our forum's ever made.

Fuel's entry is an incredible start for this collab. The story-line, cinematography and sheer length of his entry were all amazing. The start of it was hilarious, especially with the written posts by Shadowlith. The DD news segment was not only funny to watch, but helped the animation feel cinematic and epic in scope. The bridge scene had great backgrounds and when the camera twisted around the 3D was animated beautifully. The final fight was epic. The use of sprites was clever. Also, that linked ending and throwback to Dance with the Devil had me grinning ear to ear. I hope you get Veteran for this.

Stickly has an amazingly smooth 24 fps with his animation, which adds to the quality of it. At times throughout watching it I felt like I was watching a Flash animation. All of the different 3D angles were top quality, effects looked awesome, dialogue was on-point and the overall story-line was interesting (like how he spewed Shadowlith out at the start). The ending was so insane with the head-splatter. This entry also looks Veteran to me.

Flame's first entry was a joy to watch. Yet another entry that has great dialogue through-out all the action. Also, the action was excellent with the timing and weight adding so much power to the attacks (as to be expected from Flame), but this is also cool it still holds up since it's quite old now - just shows how much effort was put in at the time.

Lord's is one of the best animations he's made (besides Star Wars Part III), and I can tell a lot of effort went into this entry as well. What stood out to me was the higher use of 3D angles in this animation, which gave it depth and mixed things up (glad you took my advice :)). Effects were great, especially the physics on the particles.

Tuna animated the fighting very well in his entry. That first part of the fight with the flipping, spinning and kicking was awesome. I also really liked the part where Shadowlith spat out the blood, which added a lot of character to the fight. Glad to see it finished and submitted too.

Flame #2 starts off with a very cool angle. The character fighting Shadowlith has an interesting ability and that slow-mo punch was a nice way to showcase it. Action in this is great, especially the amount of power in those attacks.

I was so happy to see Blademaster and Styrx's entry in this! A relief this was submitted, considering the awesome full-bodies and effects in this. Making the clones levitate like that and then having them finished off with the blast was very cool.

Flamingsosej made a nice entry for this. Very action-packed and fast paced, especially with the lightning effect. Short but sweet entry, although I wish it had a proper ending. Good it was submitted though.

Prometheus's close-quarters combat with the hand-to-hand fighting was animated superbly (plus it also showed how they're both "combo masters"). Another awesome part was where Shadowlith flew towards Bert and kicked the shield, which had great 3D and an awesome effect. The fight was taking an interesting direction before it ended, so I wish I saw more although I'm glad what was animated was submitted.

My comment on Sifter's entry:

Spoiler:

Sifter, you absolutely stole the show with possibly one of my favourite Pivot animations ever. My jaw dropped multiple times and I was filled with an excitement I haven't felt since Senzo's DDC12. I sincerely hope you get moved to Elite for this.

Your animation starts off with amazing syncing to the music (especially that wind sound when Shadowlith makes his entrance). All of the movements feel powerful thanks to the excellent posing and changes in spacing. The idles are excellent as always and improve the overall quality movement-wise. All of the 3D angles are awesome, but a few stood out to me the most, such as the low-angle shot with the Devil charging energy in his hand and the one where your character's scanning the sky for the Devil. Both of these angles put the viewer in your character's perspective and actually make for an immersive experience. Also, that slow-motion and zooming angle right before your character slices through Shadowlith (and before the pink energy blast) is one of the most epic things I've seen in Pivot.

Before the final show-down with the Devil, the music once again syncs beautifully with your entry. The opening shot shows off nice background and lighting effects that affect the mood of the animation, making it feel dark and sombre. The fighting is not only powerful, but also interesting to watch with the grabs and flips that you incorporated. On a side-note, the eyes are awesome with not only your character's eyes being detailed nicely but the lack of detail on the evil characters. A case of less is more there, where adding detail would only add personality to these monsters and take away from the animation. Seeing skeleton Firecracker (with those nice lighting effects) was one of the coolest things before both him and Sifter take on the Devil. The part with Sifter shooting and slashing the Devil is cool and Firecracker threw in some nice combos before the final scenes.

I liked the dream concept at the end there, but it wasn't clear what part of the animation was the dream. I interpreted that Sifter trapped the Devil in a dream so the final show-down was imaginary, and everything else outside of that was real. It's a tricky concept to pull off though (obviously you don't want to give anything away before the dream happens or it spoils the ending). Perhaps a short flash-back scene after the dream speech could have helped to explain how it happened, which you could have shown when it starts zooming in on Sifter pointing the gun. It was still done quite well though and it's fantastic to have bigger concepts like this in an animation, so I loved the ending.

Above all, what really helped your animation was the process behind everything. Story-boards > movements > backgrounds > effects > lighting/glow effects, so that you focused on each aspect individually and did it well. This is something I don't think many of us do (I certainly didn't) but it makes sense with the copy and paste ability Pivot 4 has. I'm glad you took my advice on perspective and the final lighting/glow effects, because it looked so amazing. Your entry has awesome action, cinematography, movements, effects, backgrounds, story-line and music... Totally Elite. I haven't been this inspired in ages.

The flashing was remarkable and probably couldn't have been any better. The story-line with the intro, before the final fight and the ending was done well. I got chills when "DarkDemon doesn't deserve to live" appeared, as it seemed like a poignant reminder of our site's inactivity (I know it was also set-up for a possible sequel, but still). All of the song choices were great, since they fit the dark feel of the collab, picked up in tempo when the action got intense and also synced with the animations nicely. Credits were absolutely incredible with the character artwork and song choice here, so I'm actually glad now that you spent as much effort on them as you did, Sifter (it totally paid off). The shadow effects on the animators names were great too.

This is the best and longest collab that's come from us and I've watched it multiple times now. If this gets featured on Hyun's Dojo (which I'm sure it will) then I think 100k+ views is likely as well as a huge increase in activity. This collab could (possibly) revitalise the forum. Regardless of whatever happens, this is a top quality collab and that's something to be proud of.

[Cressel]

Amazing collab, amazing entries.
Sifter you're fucking bananas.

[Michi]

Incredible collab, proud to be a part of it, even though my entries ain't aged as well as i hoped they would haha.
Sifter, Fuel and Stickly were my favorites, although Sifter's entry easily stole the show with what he had made.
I was really fuckin' impressed when i first saw it, if he doesn't get elite for it i'll be MAD.

[Sharpshooter]

That's some fine work on your collab and flashing Gary and Sifter It looks like you put a lot of time and effort into this and it turned out perfect imo so well done!

As for the animators you all look Elite to me; incredible animations

[SIFTER]

I haven't posted here yet—that is, after the release lol—and I feel like I owe all of the people who have participated and those who have contributed in some way some words of thanks. You guys ALL, without exception, except for maybe Flamingsosej, have done such an amazing job. All entries, except for Flaming's, were so long without compromising quality, and that's something incredibly rare to see, especially that every animation was single-handedly made by individuals. When I was given the leader position because Firecracker left, I kinda felt really dissapointed that Firecracker didn't make it, I can guarantee that he'd have made something wayyyy, way better than my own animation quite naturally, yet I knew that I had to live up to the quality. Next thing I knew, everyone had given just as much effort, so naturally I had to give the collab just as much attention. It took very long, but I knew the collab was gonna be big. So lots of planning and thinking was done before I made any move. The fact that I was carrying a whole project was kinda stressful— although I did stall it quite a bit, sorry about that—but it did turn out to be a rewarding experience. With every new project I learn new things, and it's true in Shadowlith as well.

Fuel had the longest entry, and it was so rich in content. His animation was one of the few that I kept watching time after time before even beginning to flash the collab, and I haven't gotten bored of it yet. Dunno what else to say other than good job man.

Stickly, as expected, had the smoothest animation of all the rest. Watching it in 24fps in his .piv file was eye candy everytime I played it. That and the the way he handled the particles and how he animated them one by one. It almost looked like something that would only be possible in Flash. What won me over was how his style doesn't change whether it's a pivot or a flash animation, and I saw both.

Flame's cartoony style is always entertaining, and one thing that blows my mind is how he's able to animate those krustalien-like bounces. His style, to me at least, is as if Gifgiff and krustalien's styles made a happy accident. His exaggerations are probably what made his fingerprint.

Lord's dialogues gave the animation quite a dark vibe and most importantly a story. He'd pmed me the backstory of the animation and I absolutely loved it. Even as a beginner, he's managed to be up to par with everyone. That's nothing anyone can do.

Tuna's animations generally always have goood combos, and that still applies to this one as well. I'm very glad that he eventually finished it and posted it.

The same can be told about prometheus. I've been following his progress since the very beginning, and he's been trying really hard to actually submit something to the collab. That alone deserves credit. You've really pushed it to the summit, man. I wouldn't be surprised if this entry turns you veteran.

Flamingsosej, the only reason that made me accept to add your entry, is to shame you forever. I'm sorry, but your entry was the weakest of all. It was at least 6 times smaller than any entry. I'm not afraid to say it, and I don't care what anyone thinks. But still thanks for at least participating, so GJ I guess. If it's of any consolation, it wasn't really garbage, just a weak entry that's all.


As for those who have contributed to the flashing of the collab, I must thank Flame, gary and turquoise for helping me choose the songs used in the collab—They weren't my choice, they were theirs. I've also got to thank Flame and Elixir for nagging me to finish my animation, and without them, I might have either slacked off, or taken way longer to complete the animation. And I can't forget Jojishi for all his encouragement as well. That always motivates me to move forward.

It's safe to say that we've gone all (yes, maybe even you Flaming) out on this one, and it shows.

[Raymond]

In my opinion this is thedarkdemon's best collab in a long time, right up there with the dojodemon, and at some points I felt it was even better. It's easy to tell how much time and effort everybody put into this. I truly admire every person who participated and regret not making a part myself. I imagine I'll eventually comment on most of your parts individually when you post them, but I just wanted you all to know how much I enjoyed this. I've watched it at least 5 times now. Props to everyone for doing such an amazing job! I hope the community can make more collabs like this!

[Fuel]

Saw the collab just now, and I am just astounded.

As soon as the video started I knew that this was gonna be great, the intro gave me chills and hype at the same time lol.
Stickly: One of smoothest animations I have ever seen, love all the rotating angles, the cool lightning effect, I swear I watched shadowlith bust the pink stick's head open at least 10 times haha, amazing work.
Flame: love the raw energy in your movements man, I love the way shadowlith exclaimed "I AM F***ING INVINCIBLE!!" and started charging real fast, that got me really excited man.
Lord: I really like your character, his wings are awesome, and his blasting looked really cool, enjoyed the different angles to the fight.
Tuna: Yours had me laughing, loved the blue stick's facial expression and rapid fighting action!
Flame: Your second entry is awesome, that stick with the robotic arm looks sweet, crazy amounts of power in that punch!!
Blademaster & Styrx: Bad ass joint guys, loved the full bodies and the effects, the summoning was really cool, and once they started using their powers I was blown away!
Flamingsojej: Was quick, but still sweet, awesome electricity effects, cool glowing eyes, loved the fast paced action!
Prometheus: YAASS OMEGABERT!!! You and Omegabert's fighting styles are a match made in heaven! Epic use of the dome shield, and great camera work!!!

The come get me part with the Devil felt so epic.

Sifter: When the Devil and Shadow lith appeared side by side, I literally said oh s**t! lol. The lighting for the devil when he lit fire in his hand looked amazing, well done. The way you had shadowlith start attacking rapidly all of a sudden was so cool, loved the way the leader ripped his head off, so satisfying. Man, Shadowlith and the Devil were really dominating in such a cool way with all those crazy quick angles, I love the smirk you put on shadow lith after he kicked the leader's butt haha. Really cool how you put in Firecracker, yes he came through! That part where Shadowlith got sliced and the huge ball of energy came out was absolutely insane!!! The detail and background of the dream world looked amazing, and skeleton Firecracker looked so badass man, and the look the leader had when he said "we are in a dream" was priceless, perfect finish! Elite. Hats off to you man!

I could not stop laughing for 10 minutes after seeing the Alpha Noob illustration, man that had me in tears lmao. Everyone's character looked so cool in the credits, you are one talented artist Sifter!

Enjoyed every second of the collab, simply amazing.

Sifter, Fuel and Stickly were my favorites,

Sifter, flame & fuel for elite. Sick collab. 17 minutes wew

I definately agree with this! All of them showed great animations!

Fuel's entry is an incredible start for this collab. The story-line, cinematography and sheer length of his entry were all amazing. The start of it was hilarious, especially with the written posts by Shadowlith. The DD news segment was not only funny to watch, but helped the animation feel cinematic and epic in scope. The bridge scene had great backgrounds and when the camera twisted around the 3D was animated beautifully. The final fight was epic. The use of sprites was clever. Also, that linked ending and throwback to Dance with the Devil had me grinning ear to ear. I hope you get Veteran for this.

Fuel had the longest entry, and it was so rich in content. His animation was one of the few that I kept watching time after time before even beginning to flash the collab, and I haven't gotten bored of it yet. Dunno what else to say other than good job man.

As for the animators you all look Elite to me; incredible animations

Thank you all for the awesome feedback, really means a lot.

[venG]

Fantastic stuff guys.

Liths still a bitch<3

[Lithium]

Fantastic stuff guys.

Liths still a bitch<3

Mate, you are asking for war. A PIVOT WAR.

[Gage]

pivot def jam rap battle