Hey everyone,

I wanted to give you a quick peek behind the curtain of what’s happening with the new animated shorts for Memoirs of a Monster Society—especially our first horror host making his full-motion debut: Sugrom Haki.

Let me be real: I thought Anime Studio was going to be a lot easier than it actually is. I’ve messed around with 3D rigging before, and somehow that felt less painful than trying to properly rig in Anime Studio 10. Even though a bunch of free alternatives have been suggested, I just keep coming back to the traditional, frame-by-frame style. Yeah, it’s more work—but it feels more authentic, more horror. I usually stick to Photoshop or Clip Studio, and honestly, that feels like home.

One of the big lessons early on was this: Sugrom’s original design was way too detailed. I loved that gritty, Spawn-style look—but trying to replicate that across 100+ frames? Nightmare fuel of the wrong kind. That’s why I went back and gave him a more animated, cartoon-inspired redesign. Still creepy. Still iconic. But now he’s actually animatable. The result is a character that moves fluidly while still holding onto that retro horror charm I wanted from the beginning.

Right now, all of our efforts are focused on Sugrom. I'd love to bring in the rest of the crew—Frankie, Rexploitation, Amy Lynn Graves—but with everything else happening (comics, site updates, general monster madness), animating more than one character just isn’t doable yet. Sugrom’s the anchor. He’ll be the face—and the voice—of this next evolution.

Funny thing…
When I was a kid, I used to get annoyed when cartoons like Spider-Man or X-Men would delay episodes. Now that I’m doing it myself, I get it. I’m one person, and even with modern tools, this stuff takes time. I seriously can’t imagine what it took back then to animate shows by hand, frame-by-frame, without the digital shortcuts we have now.

If you’ve watched the earlier videos, you know they were mostly just my drawings with some lip animation thrown in. Looking back, they feel a little stiff. But this new series? It’s on a whole new level. There’s movement, there’s atmosphere—and Sugrom actually feels alive in that haunted, cursed-librarian kind of way.

We’re wrapping up the final animation sequences, and once those are done, we’ll start rolling out the new episodes. I'm hyped. I think you're going to love the tone, the style, and the monster-filled mystery we’re weaving through each short.

Thanks for sticking around, supporting indie horror, and letting these monsters have a second (or maybe thousandth) life.

Best regards,
Ray