How to raise a random guy's wife

My wife is amazing!

"Mmm!" Lin Lan looked at her father expectantly, blinking her big eyes. "What else?"

My wife is incredibly beautiful!

"Hmm! Anything else?"

"My wife is incredibly gentle!"

"Ugh..." Kobayashi Megumi couldn't stand him anymore, "Okay~"

"It's not done yet!" Kobayashi Ran stared at Kobayashi Sora. "There's still more, isn't there?"

"And~" Kobayashi Sora paused deliberately, "What else?"

Lin Lan smiled sweetly, "Dad, you can do it! You'll definitely figure it out!"

"And~" Kobayashi Sora met her daughter's expectant gaze, "and my daughter is super cute!"

"Yes, yes!" Xiaolin Lan nodded contentedly, "That's right!"

Both father and daughter have a childlike heart.

Kobayashi Megumi, curious about her daughter's reaction, brought the topic back, "How about these cookies?"

"Hmm, I feel like other cookies have this flavor too, but other cookies have other flavors, while this cookie only has this flavor. But because it doesn't have other flavors, the flavor is even more... um..." Ran Kobayashi tried hard to describe her feeling, "It's just a normal, simple, delicious flavor. Other cookies wouldn't be good without this flavor, but this cookie doesn't have the flavor of other cookies, yet it's still very delicious—Mom, what kind of cookie is this?"

“These are butter cookies.” A deep affection welled up from the corners of her upturned lips to her gentle brows as Kobayashi Megumi softly replied, “They represent…a sweet family.”

Chapter 715 Painting Negotiation

"I wanted to use the background as much as possible to hint at the direction of the story, and as for the characters, since it's a mystery story, they're always keeping things hidden," Izumi Hashima explained his ideas. "Then, I wanted to make the supporting characters' expressions as rich as possible to highlight the protagonist's calmness and mystery."

Jumura, who was in charge of the production, looked through the script and said, "In that case, we'll need to use a lot of follow-up and camera work."

Follow means "to follow".

A good example of this is when photographers ride in a car traveling at the same speed as the runners during a marathon broadcast, filming from the side.

In animation, the camera doesn't move, so the subject is left in front of the camera, and the movement of the background is used to represent the subject's actions.

Follow shot (P) is a panning shot technique where the camera follows the movement of the subject. Similar to follow, both are centered on the character and allow the camera to follow their movements. Unlike follow, which moves steadily in the same direction, follow is often used in more complex environments and actions, such as mountain climbing, chases, and close combat.

Iyamura and Bojima explained the differences between the two photography techniques.

In animation production, "performance" is a term with multiple meanings.

Used as a verb, it refers to the entire process of transforming text or concepts into an animated product.

As a noun, it refers to the staff responsible for this process.

Equivalent to an executive director.

The production team not only needs to focus on the animation production effect, but also needs to give instructions to relevant personnel such as key animators, background artists, photographers, and voice actors. At the same time, they also need to strictly control the production cost while ensuring the schedule and quality.

Many supervisors, especially new ones like Bo Island Sailing, have great ideas, but their understanding of how to implement them is very limited.

That's when performances are needed to help.

For example, when going out to sea to Po Island, they wanted to depict an athlete's old injury flaring up during a run, and to portray his pain.

As an artist, Izumi Hashima knows how to draw the pained expressions of athletes.

However, in animation, one expression is not enough.

How exactly do we do it?

First, use background music to build atmosphere, then pause the fast-moving scene while the music changes to indicate a change in circumstances. Give a close-up of the knee, using perspective to show the problem. Then, quickly move the camera up from the knee to the character's face, simulating pain reaching the brain, thus evoking the character's pained expression. The scene then resumes motion, and the athlete's running posture changes...

Such a performance effect requires the cooperation of storyboarding, drawing, and photography. The person responsible for planning and directing the relevant staff is the one who transforms the abstract ideas of supervision into concrete work and conveys them to the corresponding staff, ultimately creating a visual experience that the audience can directly perceive. The person who gathers existing resources and achieves this effect quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively is the performer.

It feels like the director wants the audience to eat a plate of tomato and egg, the cook is the performer, and the work of the other staff is just the ingredients and seasonings.

“However… if the background is too complex, achieving this effect would require a very high level of artistry.” Director Jumura frowned. “If it were Kashiwagi Eri’s style, it would be fine, but this kind of ukiyo-e requires professional personnel.”

But so far, no art direction has been seen for the performance.

At this point, the performer looked towards Kasumigaoka Utaha.

These kinds of decisions are usually made by the animation producer and director.

"Regarding this," Kasumigaoka Utaha looked up, "the art director will be present at the drawing meeting this afternoon."

Bo Island was taken aback when he went out to sea. Would he... be there?

The art director we approached earlier, Mr. Fukaya, very bluntly refused.

Animation meetings, also known as animation consultations, are held to ensure that key animators can create suitable key animations based on the storyboards. These meetings explain the content of the storyboards to the key animators.

Things like what the camera wants to express, its connection to what comes before and after, and the character's feelings all need to be confirmed one by one to avoid repeated rework later.

“Let me introduce you first,” Kasumigaoka Utaha said, presiding over the meeting. “This is Hitomi-sensei, who will also be involved in the key animation work for the first episode, and this is Kashiwagi Eri-sensei.”

The beautiful woman looked at Eriri excitedly, "It really is Ms. Kashiwagi Eri! I was a little doubtful..."

"Huh?" Eriri was caught off guard.

Hitomi grabbed Eriri's little hand, "I'm your fan! I've been following you ever since you drew 'Bicycle H&H'!"

Eriri was stunned; this was a nine-year-old fan.

"People always say that Ms. Kashiwagi Eri is a blonde loli... a beautiful girl. At first, I couldn't believe it. How could a beautiful girl draw the erotic theme so well? The scene in the gym room was just amazing!"

Eriri could only respond with a smile. Being praised like this by a fan much older than herself made her feel somewhat overwhelmed.

"What I admire most is your ability to evolve!"

"Evolution?" Eriri asked, somewhat bewildered.

"It started with cute drawings, then gradually you started drawing doujinshi, and the panty series perfectly balanced art and beauty. Then there's the unique oil painting texture of 'The Cherry Blossom Promise,' the exaggerated mural-like design of 'Chronicles of the Universe,' and the battle scenes of 'One-Punch Man,' and the dreamlike yet realistic scenery of '5 Centimeters Per Second' and 'Your Name'! Despite such a wide range of styles, you always manage to surprise people!"

"Th...thank you..." Eriri said a little embarrassed.

“When I first approached Hitomi, I didn’t have high hopes. I didn’t expect her to be your fan.” Kasumigaoka Utaha realized the importance of connections more and more. At the same time, she experienced Kobayashi Sora’s happiness. The process of making good use of the information she had gathered and using the resources at her disposal to achieve her goals was quite good. “After that, things became much simpler.”

"After all, I admire artists who can constantly push their own boundaries the most." Hitomi's emotions had calmed down a bit. "But, Kasumigaoka-P, is my dad really coming?"

"He should come as long as you do as I say."

"I wish he could come. I was influenced by him to start learning to draw. I originally wanted to make animation with him, but..." Hitomi shook her head, "When will you be able to arrive?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha raises three fingers.

"Three days?" Renmei nodded. "Hopefully..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha bent one finger, "Two."

Chapter 716 Self-Preservation

"one."

Kasumigaoka Utaha pointed to the meeting room door with her last upright finger.

The next moment, the door was flung open, and a menacing figure appeared, holding an original drawing in his hand. His angry gaze swept across the conference room, finally settling on Izumi Hashima. "You drew this?!"

"Huh?" Bo Island was caught off guard. "What?"

"I'm asking you if this is—"

“Ms. Fukaya,” Kasumigaoka Utaha reminded her, “she is not the author of this original artwork.”

Fukaya's gaze lingered on his daughter Hitomi for a moment before moving to Eriri. "Did you draw this?"

Eriri was a little startled, glancing at the original drawing, "Yeah...yes!"

However, the momentum remains.

"This isn't ukiyo-e!" Fukaya slammed the original drawing on the table. "It's not!"

"Of course not! Who knows anything about engraving!" When it comes to drawing, Eriri is completely fearless. She dared to challenge Akane Kousaka, let alone Fukaya. "This is a painting in the Ukiyo-e style!"

"What did you say?"

"This is animation! Of course, we're going to pursue a certain style, otherwise, what would we be doing, pursuing form?"

Shengu was speechless and stood there dumbfounded.

Bo Island lowered his voice, "How did you let him come here?"

“It’s very simple,” Kasumigaoka Utaha replied softly. “I had Eriri draw a background image in the style of ukiyo-e, and then asked Hitomi to give it to Fukaya, saying that it was ukiyo-e of the new era, so that she would feel like she was seeing her father’s work when she was a child.”

Then Grandpa Shengu got anxious.

Utaha Kasumigaoka solved the problems she encountered earlier by simulating the thought processes and behavioral patterns of Eri Kasumigaoka's other members.

This time, however, she was simulating herself.

Despite their significant age difference, Kasumigaoka Utaha understands Fukaya's feelings.

In the realm of ukiyo-e, Fukaya has reached the end.

It was certainly not the end of ukiyo-e, but his own end.

Just like Kasumigaoka Utaha, who also reached the end of her line in imitating Akane Kousaka.

The industry is still developing, but I can no longer move forward.

Rather than repeating the past, it's better to stop here.

Therefore, both of them chose to stop creating.

The difference is that Fukaya is old and lacks the courage and energy of Kasumigaoka Utaha to forge new paths.

His stop was a real stop.

So how can we start over in the deep valley?

Kasumigaoka Utaha put herself in his shoes and thought about it.

Finally, they decided to use reverse psychology.

If Eriri were to bring her someone else's light novel one day and say, "This is Kasumigaoka Utaha's style, it's even better than your original work," Kasumigaoka Utaha feels she absolutely couldn't stand it.

Even the deepest valley probably couldn't tolerate that.