Here lies the residue of "The Animating Apothecary," a source of obscure ephemera and thoughts. Instagram? see - https://www.instagram.com/animating_apothecary/ also check out asifa.org and asifa.net - content (c) 2006-2026 Jim Middleton (一個古怪的老頭，總是揮舞著雙手，哈哈大笑。or -手を振りながらよく笑うクレイジーな老人 or 손을 흔들며 웃는 미친 노인 )
Bit by bit... a Saturday morning exercise
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| (c) MMXXVI (2026) Jim Middleton, Animating Apothecary |
Take Two - some clean-up, added detail, and manual texturing -
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(c) MMXXVI (2026) Jim Middleton, Animating Apothecary And some extra material...  Take Four - 88 untimed frames:  Take 5 - 114 frames (still not timed)
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Pencil/brush testing for poses with some rendered roughs
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| (c) MMXXVI (2026) Jim Middleton, Animating Apothecary |
An update - 28 October 2026 - finished the "loop" I was looking for, with more sketched in frames:
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| still (c) MMXXVI (2026) Jim Middleton, Animating Apothecary |
And a later update, also 28 October, just before the coffee wore off -
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yeah, still (c) MMXXVI (2026) Jim Middleton, Animating Apothecary (gettin' close!)
AND - the final "blue pencil" rough in - going to let it "breathe" for a day or so and then begin the full ink up process (keeping the coloring for later to mesh with whatever backgrounds emerge in the production) 
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I found my initial sketches for this sequence in my old DOS 6 graphic file. Benny has been waiting to take this bow since 2003. The effectiveness of my new digital tablet is helping me put a bow on some long neglected projects!
(This should work into Sfumato #4 quite well - now to have Benny run amok behind the proscenium!)
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| (c) MMXXVI (2026) Jim Middleton, Animating Apothecary |
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| (c) MMXXVI (2026) Jim Middleton, Animating Apothecary |
And, a slightly bigger Benny
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| (c) 2025 Jim Middleton, The Animating Apothecary |
Well, because he can!
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| (c) 2024 Jim Middleton, Animating Apothecary |
Once a bit of material has been put together, why limit it to one fleeting use!
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| "It's all good!" |
