From u m a m i.
Merch: https://umamimerch.com/
Spring Merch: https://u-m-a-m-i.teespring.com/
https://www.hexsystem.com
Let’s talk less about my art and more about life in general, the news, advice etc. Can’t promise it will be good ~ but you’ll just get my mostly unfiltered opinion on things.
FAQ~
Q: What is Safe Mode, and how long will it last?
It’s a continuation of Interface, with a different storyline and main characters. I will last as long as makes sense, or until I think it’s had enough. It will be less plot heavy than Interface and focus more on interactions between characters. The soundtrack will be more minimal as well. The soundtrack will be released as singles, after each episode comes out: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1WXaS2SznEXL6pX2zyFmSg?si=d90a7d9fb70a48d3
Q: What is your inspiration?
A: Music informed a lot of the decisions. Sometimes the story is formed around the music, sometimes the other way around. Music wise I like Boards of Canada, Lorn, Akira Yamaoka. Animation wise I am influenced by David Firth, and movies such as Ghost in a Shell. But I also enjoy the dryness and humour of shows like King of the Hill. Check out my channel page to see a list of other animators I find interesting.
Q: What does UMAMI mean?
A: Umami (/uˈmɑːmi/), or savory taste, is one of the five basic tastes (together with sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness). It has been described as savory, and characteristic of broths and cooked meats.
Q: What do I animate with, and do you use a tablet or mouse?
A: Photoshop with Animator’s Toolbar Pro plugin, Premiere, After Effects, Cinema 4D Lite. I use a Wacom Intuos3 PTK-640 that was previously owned. You can get cheap ones on ebay.
Q: Do you make the music?
A: Yes! You can find my music at http://hexsystem.com or http://hexsystem.bandcamp.com. Some musical tracks and ambience I make for Interface are available as a Patreon reward.
Q: What do you make the music with?
A: Logic Studio X, ASM Hydrasynth, Akai4000D tape machine. A lot of my earlier music was just made with Logic and a cheap midi keyboard.
Q: What sort of music do I listen to?
A: Check out this playlist I made: https://tinyurl.com/y98ymjbt
Q: What kind of artists do I like?
A: My favorites are Francis Bacon, Kandinsky and William Blake. Probably indirectly as inspiration, artists like Dali, Zdzisław Beksiński, René Magritte, Edward Hopper.
Q: Movie directors?
A: Michael Mann is my favorite movie director because of his use of music and iconic "mise en scene", or in other words stylistic choices in terms of blocking, lighting, camera movement. After that it would be David Lynch because of his ability to make strikingly unfamiliar situations feel familiar, it’s kind of hard to describe – and also his music choices.
Q: Video games?
A: I played a lot of video games over the years but the one’s that I used to play repeatedly include Full Throttle (1995), Shenmue I & II, Half Life 2, GTA: San Andreas. I recently got into Hunt: Showdown by Crytek.
Q: How can I support?
A: Sharing my animations is the best way, by either posting them to places like Reddit or Discord. You can post clips to TikTok and Youtube (I’m okay with it), just tell people where to find it. There is also a lot of merch available on https://www.umamimerch.com . Otherwise, I do have a Patreon, and that money goes towards hiring freelance animators, sound engineers to mix/master music, hiring voice actors/actresses etc, as well as generally helping me pay my bills. Thanks!
