Good General

My recent work experience drove me to make this episode of “John, I’m only freelancing.” I don’t think AI can replace humans but those heartless CEOs are pushing real hard to push us out and sell that idea to… who? For that reason, I’ve been wanting to leave Instagram. I’ll still post here since this is the place I’m most connected but I made a Patreon page, hoping to make a gradual shift from here. If all of the people follow me there instead of here, I could move out of here. Also there’s an option to support my endeavor with $3/month. In this tough economy I’m not expecting but it would be nice. /posts/john-im-only-24-157931289?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link I considered Substack, but there was a limit for the numbers of images you can upload at once so I went with Patreon. You could still buy physical books of this comics for $10.99(including shipping&handling) for you and your friends. It would make a good coffee table book and ice breaker. Hasta la vista, baby. #illustration #comic #webcomics #drawing #ai

There’s a lot happening lately, even around my small world, and I felt compelled to throw my 2 cents in for @vimeo @instagram , @adobe_animate and AI. Vimeo: I have great memories of Vimeo, one thing that stands out is winning animation of the year at Vimeo Award January of 2020, before the quarantine and lock down with @w1nn1th for our film Albatross soup. Ah sweet taste of success. Instagram: I find a certain level of irony in posting this comic on instagram. It will likely be vacuumed into the algorithm void as soon as I post it. But it will also live on my website and a physical booklet is being made, so all is not lost. Adobe Animate: the last 2 projects that I made, were done in Animate, and Adobe thought the software was dead, wtf Adobe. I learned Flash on a few jobs around 2010, I think @markedanimation and @jessicamilazzorules showed me the ropes at Lifelong Friendship Society. My main tool is still @photoshop one of the most unpopular tools for animation, but I also use Animate for cleaner line/finish, and comping and putting all together in After Effects. I realized that relying on a monopoly company is not a good idea. AI: I don't know if AI is to blame for the ditch the industry is in right now, I’m not an expert. But my feeling is that what we do and pushing buttons and typing prompts are 2 different things, and we are starting to see that way. There is still confusion and uncertainty, but I hope that the dust will settle soon enough. The last thing I saw that was clearly made with AI was the opening sequence in the winter Olympics.That was definitely not up to the level we should expect from such a high profile event, so it was disappointing. Anyway, here is episode #23 of “John, I’m only freelancing”. Once again you can buy a physical book from me, transaction thru Zelle and I’ll mail you the copy or if you’re in NYC area I’ll deliver it to you. Plaease send me DM. #animation #comic #vimeo #adobe

I’m pleased to announce the release of “Hoichi the earless” Ted-Ed animation! I’m grateful for this opportunity to bring this one of the most beloved Japanese folklore to life. This is a great time, now that unprecedented amont of people going to Japan, to champion Japanese culture and stories. I found the poster of the movie Kwaidan, so I figured I’d make my own film poster for “Hoichi the Earless” thanks for @zak.engel to adding sonic landscape to give so much depth to this animation. Without his works it would not be as good as it could, so I’m so thankful🙏please check it out on ted-ed youtube channel “link in bio” as they say. Ted-Ed Animationの「Hoichi the earless」がTed-EdのYoutubeチャンネルで公開されました。日本では誰もが知るこの怪談「耳なし芳一」をTed-Edのプラットフォームで世界に発信出来る機会を与えてもらった事に感謝しています。ここ最近日本を訪れる人が前と比べられない程増えていて、最近会った人が大概日本に行ったことがある状況は、日本の文化や物語を世界に発信して広く知ってもらえるチャンスでもあると思います。海外生活が長いと日本のために何かしたいという思いが募るものなのでしょうか。日本の方々にも沢山見てもらいたいとおもいます。 #animation #2danimation #teded #kwaidan #japan #japanese #horror #ghost #illustration #drawing #story @buck.u.back

9/7/2025-4/17/2026 These are some pages from the sketchbook I completed. My recent experience with AI at a workplace left me baffled and concerned for what the future holds. So I started learning about AI, reading and watching few videos. I saw someone’s workflow using AI , and it was utterly mindblowing: how could I even compete against that? There’s no way I could become the Ai wizard like this guy, I thought. Then I started hearing the talks from some of well respected creatives. What I gathered is this essentially. When the end results look pretty much the same from the human creators to AI creation, what went in through the process will make the difference. AI will get to the point A to point B in no time but it will not wander, it will not struggle to get to the point B. when I look back on the projects that I’m most proud of, I took time to wander, went back and forth with composition, color palette, warding, movements, thinking if its good or not, then made decisions based on my experience and expertise. And there is something special about that process in which AI cannot replicate. That struggle could be the secret ingredient that makes the work special, and appeal to the people’s heart. I know for fact that no one would want to read the book written by an AI even if it could write well like a human. Through working on my notebook, I experience the process, and that will ooze out to my work. A friend @christophermauch said “go do some very human stuff” and I’m gonna keep doing human stuff, and keep wandering. #drawing #sketch #thoughts #human #ai

Adobe recently introduced illustrators’ new feature,” turntable” powered by AI:turn 1 illustration file into a 360 degree turnaround. I tried with Good General logo. The result was not satisfactory, so I made it manually using Photoshop and Animate CC. While this AI slop gave me a chuckle, AI take over is no laughing matter anymore. I recently encountered a workplace implementing AI into their workflow. I was brought in for a project as a designer to create a cohesive graphic style that emulates a certain look from the 90s. At first I explored how to achieve that look by drawing in photoshop and applying effects, but not quite right. Then someone else put it through AI and instantly archived that certain look in no time. It wasn’t like the evil AI takeover or AI slop I ever imagined, but just an effective way to get things done in a lot less time. The look they wanted already exists in the world so its not like art style was stolen from other artists. You can think of it like a really good Photoshop filter or After Effects plug-in. While no one had a bad intention toward me, I felt defeated, my time cut shorter than expected, and I was frightened for what’s to come. Quite often design work for advertisement has been to emulate a certain look that already exists.That type of design job could be wiped out, reduced significantly or maybe its already happening. If 1 week of work could be achieved in a day, then the whole day rate system wont work for us any longer. I was baffled and at a loss, and have been thinking about this a lot. What do we do now? Not just me and my fellow animators, but the whole motion graphics and animation community, the studio owners and people higher up, who hire us. AI won’t go away. The new way of work won’t go away. The whole industry needs to adapt in order to be sustainable for all of us. I don’t have any answer or power to make the change. All I have now is this logo turnaround powered by human labor. I hope to talk to more people and together to revolve as a whole. #AI #adobe #illustrator #logo #advertising

I heard Vimeo’s going down, for real this time: I read that the entire video stuff was laid off. It had been a great place to share, discover and connect for last 15-20 yrs. Now I’m remembering that Vimeo video I contributed at the place called Suspect under the CD Hoon Chong back in 2013. No more sSspect though, just like Vimeo. I’m also thinking about the time we used to place QT videos straight onto websites before Vimeo came along and embedding the link became the norm. What now? I signed up on @framerate.tv . See what happens. Stay safe to you all🙏#vimeo #motiongraphic #gone

I’m excited that “Hoichi the earless” is selected and will be screened at Hollywood Shortsfest in April. Thank you @hollywoodshortfest for inviting my film🙏 here I come Hollywood😎

Any project with @goodgoodgeneral is a good project. We released his latest animated film last month with @tededucation “Hoichi the Earless” Congrats Masa!! Music & Sound: @zak.engel Animation: @goodgoodgeneral

Tomorrow “Hoichi the earless” will be out on @tededanimation channel. I would like to share 3 scenes of behind the scenes: from sketch book to design to animation. I’m looking forward to sharing the entire film. #animation #design #sketchbook #teded #behindthescenes #motiongraphic #japan #japanese #kwaidan #horror #ghost #folktales

I completed a short film “Hoichi the earless” for Ted-Ed recently, and its going to come out 10/28 on their channel. Its a Japanese folklore, and it’s a dear one. I pitched a Japanese folklore film to them, I found a scholar through the friends to write the script, and I asked @zak.engel to put the sound for it. As I’m getting older and have spent more time away from home, my desire to contribute to Japan/Japanese culture has grown stronger, and this was a perfect project. Before the film comes out, I want to lay out some backstories to help understand the cultural background because it’s an old story and it might not be as accessible as contemporary stories. There is a story within the story that I think its a bit hard to get within a first glance. Yes the animation is awesome and the music is gonna bring all the emotion but my hope by giving insights beforehand, will get people to understand more and be curious about Japanese stories and culture as I notice an unprecedented amount of folks are/have been going to Japan lately. #hoichi #kwaidan #horror #japan #japanese #animation #teded #tededanimation #heikestory #heike #thesweetestfruits #koizumiyakumo #moniquetruong #raycharles #naokoyamada

I started working on another short film for Ted-Ed as I wrapped one up recently. The script is written and the challenge is to come up with the visuals that match the script. I want the visuals to be interesting and not just people talking, or the same thing over and over. I start writing and drawing on my trusted notebook. This process is like writing: I go through 1st edition, 2nd edition, and 3rd edition. The 1st edition I can come up with is mostly cliche, but I need to get them out of my system in order to edit. I go back to the 2nd edition, believing that more interesting ideas will come out. It is an agonizing process, but in order to better myself every time, its the only way I know. #drawing #animation #process #moleskin #notebook #illustration #sumo #workinprogress

I came across the comic I made:pre-”John, I’m only freelancing” series, “conference call” I had to reformat to this square space we live in these days so I can share it on Instagram. It dates back to 2016-2017, I was working on a project with @nathanloveofficial in their chinatown office. From the drawing it seems that @famyf and Daisy, @catdactyl and @juankron were present at this event, and the rest was in my head. Those office days are over now, and maybe those conference calls became clearer with the video chat. I sometimes wish I could still go to offices so I can generate more ideas for my “John, I’m only freelancing.”comic episodes. You can support me by offering me work, connecting me to a rich and powerful figure or buy my handmade comic for $10.99(shipping and handling included in the US) . You can Zelle me the $ so you don’t even need to dig up the changes, easiest of all! Also a great coffee table book gift for your creative friends. Thank you for reading. #comic #conferencecall #meeting #2001 #spaceoddessy #drawing #essay #alien #artist