#deadfantasy

Naminé Yuffie

Eyes on me~

Rinoa Heartilly: Fairwind Cosplay PC: Aurelian Cosplay

Monty Oum was an animator, a dancer, a writer, an artist, and an inspiration to perhaps thousands of people.  I discovered him completely by accident during a SketchSwap request on DeviantArt back in 2013.  The requester had asked for a portrait of Weiss Schnee, one of the main heroines of the web series RWBY.  They had linked me to the “White Trailer” as part of their reference list, but didn’t give me much more on that.

 I watched the trailer many times, and each time became more and more hooked on it. It was a rare combination of fluid choreography, camera management skills, beautiful vocals, and the hint of a compelling story all rolled into one.  I had to find out more.

This led me to deeply research and obsess over the creator, Monty Oum.  He was a man who had a rare work ethic that poured into his work like fire.  From interviews, it was apparent that he was a man who understood his strengths and weaknesses, and all he wanted to do was create—to be bring things to life.  If this sounds familiar, it is because I have said similar things in my biographies.  He was never modest, which I found refreshing.  He would highlight his strengths such as coming up with big ideas and major plot points; and then he would balance that by giving examples of his weaknesses such as not being very good at telling actual stories (as far as details and in-between plot points were concerned) , and that he was a little too obsessed with the “Rule of Cool” as he put it.  Despite his own physical obstacles, he kept pushing forward.  I was both envious and hopeful because if he could do it, why not me?

 Monty was raised in the US, but he has deep Asian roots that lead from Cambodia to Japan (though I highly suspect this is more a joke on the whole “all asians” look alike thing that we both grew up with in our generations).  He was the baby of his family, boasting four older brothers and two older sisters.  I follow two of his brothers, one of whom has taken over Monty’s voice role in RWBY.  Monty didn’t finish high school, and some claim it was to persue work--but he was a super smart guy.  School was probably holding him back.  He was hired because of his work online, and had been through two other companies before settling on Rooster Teeth in 2012 

I must admit, that learning about him and his works was probably the ultimate inspiration for me to get serious about my art.  His biggest draw was his belief in people.  He had a drive, and it showed in his words.  Some of his most memorable and motivational quotes included things like:

 “The goal isn't to live on forever; it's to make something that does.”

 “I believe that the human spirit is indomitable. If you endeavor to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve. It may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams are something you will not achieve within your own lifetime. The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death.”

 “Guys... Life... it's pretty awesome. Just keep at it. And I'll keep going too.”

 It was the kick in the pants I needed at the time.  When I can sit there and almost literally nod my head off, it means this is some good stuff.

 It was a quite a blow when he passed away at the ripe, young age of 33 in 2015.  He was only a few years younger than me!  While some details are left out, we do know that he passed away from allergic reaction to some routine medical exam.  He had only been married a year to his beautiful wife, Sheena, and he still had so many ideas and stories he wanted to share. The community mourned for their loss, and even Rooster teeth and the RWBY team were hit harder than can be imagined. Monty hadn’t just been another co-worker: he had been their friend.

 He was the first and so far the only celebrity whom I mourned, his impact was so great upon me.  While I could never copy some of his work habits (his sleeping schedule was atrocious!) I know that I can adopt his thinking, his honesty, and his drive. And that is what I have been doing.  His motto is to live, even if others jump the mortal coil, and that is thinking I can get behind.  The best way to show someone you care is to pick yourself up and “keep moving forward” (another favorite quote of mine).

  REFERENCES:

He joined Roosterteeth in 2012, so you can find his influences in Red vs Blue on their site there.

 You can see some of his animation works prior to Roosterteeth on Youtube, and some of his artwork on Deviantart, and Facebook.