So the mirror is meant to show how the person became an adventurer, how much the adventure changed him/her and the evolution. Making the adventurer notice that the true treasure is the adventure. But Alethrion from The First Hero didn't see anything when he looked at it because greed made him blind. He despised what adventure gave to him and only cared for the loot. That's why he decided to cross the mirror to go further in the search for that bounty, untill he notices the mistakes he made. Far more interesting than what I tought at first.
Ranzord95 I think the mirror showed the "truth" before Alethrion used it, but after he corrupted it it just became a normal mirror. Just some speculation, based on the commentary speaking about Alethrion's Greed.
***** Thank you ! The adventure is to be continued, we finished the animation of the prologue of The Reward last week we will release it begining 2015 ! Looking forward to know what you will think about it :)
This marks the third time I've watched this, and it is just so fantastic. I consider this short film a masterpiece. The world you guys have crafted is simply astonishing; your studio contains such talented individuals!
Thanks! Well, when the first part of the series comes out you might have to rewatch it again, haha. But hey! From today and a week forward we will be uploading little side stories from the film in a water color and line photo series the first one was uploaded today with a line up of the main characters of the series suncreaturestudio.tumblr.com/
Dizem que quanto mais uma ideia é repetida... por mais brilhante que ela posa parecer... mais tola/ingênua ela vai ficando... Exceto esta animação... 5+ vezes assistida e continua surpreendente...
“You think those two are gonna be fine?” “Yeah, sure. I mean, what’s the most dangerous thing we ever encountered in our travels… oh, crap. I think we may have just killed those kids, man.”
The vibe i get from Alethrion is an original mix between Samurai jack and Adventure Time, with its own unique style that makes it standout. Take my money and dont stop lol
We watched this in art class. Probably one of the best animations I've ever seen, because it feels like a whole adventure series in only 10 minute. It has all aspects of storytelling in one, even the FEELINGS!
I remember watching this numerous times when it was first released... I came to revisit it again today. How does this not have at least a million view yet?! Fantastic work, makes me miss playing D&D...
Watched this again and I still love it. I see some things have been rewritten in the episodes 1 and 2 as to what is going on with the mirror. But it not only still makes 100% sense, in fact, the fact that we now know that behind this mirror lies the grave of greed incarnate makes it even better. All of the people working on this deserve good job award.
This short film has been on my mind since forever ago. I love this animation and the story. It may have no spoken words but the story is wonderfully conveyed. I could watch this 50 more times and still love it, just for all it’s wonderfully done details. I’m glad and grateful I found this short film again. I wish I had such a awesome friendship.
I've literally told anyone i know to watch this and they all agree that's a simple masterpiece, if there was more content creators like this there could be more masterpieces just like this.
I want you guys to know that I absolutely love this short. I frequently come and re-watch it because the story is just so good and the animation is so unique!!!
The message of this short film is a philosophy I've held for quite a while. We need an eternal partner to both get through the parts of life we can't by ourselves, and to add meaning to it where it might otherwise be hollow. We need people we can always rely/depend on, trust, and mutually understand. I like how the map was passed down so a new generation always gets a chance at the experience. And then that part after the credits just made me LOL because of the way my sense of humor works. I dare say this is a Masterpiece.
Elfos64 Thank you so much for your nice word. We really believe that looking at the X on the map is not what you should focus the most on but very much the journey which will get you there and therefore the people that support you and inspired yo ! I hope you will like our new episode coming out soon. Thanks again ! High Five !
Tiko Hov You know those mix-n-match actions figures with interchangeable parts? I see the relationships between people as like those individual pieces of an action figure. If one of them leaves, it can be replaced with another piece to fulfill the same role, albeit not quite in the same way. No 2 people on earth are completely different, nor are any two people exactly the same.
The super realistic shots with comedic purpose and the weird mermaid reminds me of Flapjack and I absolutely love them! Also your drawings have so much expression and personality to them!!!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! A zillion times thank you for sharing with all of us, the amazing, the spectacular, and one of a kind; Alethrion Universe created by all of you at Sun Creature Studio. The art, the music, the dialogue (or lack of that is), and everything to do with Tales of Alethrion is simply beautiful. After watching/reading everything I could about your studio and stories, it has rekindled my desire to draw and write again. Again, thank you so very much and the best wishes for you all continuing the epic Tales of Alethrion series. I am usually one to like action scenes the most (and they were all out of this world) in any kind of film, but my most favorite scene has to be when Epic Vito and Wilhelm share "The High Five of all High Fives" between each other. It was glorious! Everyone, do yourselves a favor and watch all that SCS has to offer. Share with family, friends. heck even total strangers! Get the word out to watch, share, and help fund this project so we all may enjoy what these brilliant minds have to offer us. -(I would like to claim to be...) Your Biggest Fan, Kyle K.
+kats88 Thank you so much for those awesome words, it is so great to read so positive comments! It really gives energy and confidence to the all team to continue to work on the series :) I hope you will like what will come out the next months, we are working on the preproduction of the episodes and making making of videos too, looking forward to hear your feedbacks ! High Five from the all team !
9 minutes of better art, storyline, drama, comedy, suspense, action, adventure, and motivation and enjoyment than LITERALLY 95% of films creates within the past 10 years. Literally perfect.
It’s been years and this animation still hits me like it did when first watched it. It feels good to look back and remind myself that sometimes it really is about the lessons and experience you learn on your journey.
This is a tale of how young men must become in order to have the things both known and unknown to their minds. Each journey different for each person. Life is a game meant to be won!
How could ANYBODY not like this?! It currently has 8 dislikes and all I can say is... "what the hell?" This 10-minute short film is amazing and worth the 10 minutes. The producers, Sun Creature Studio, totally deserve any credit they get. They manage to get so much across in such a short time without ANY dialogue. Wonderfully done.
Awe inspiring. My current DM, whom I'm about to enter a campaign with, told me to refer to this video for an idea of the setting. I expected a little story, some towns, some monsters... but man. That's touching. It's fantastically illustrated, it reaches some emotional caverns of your heart, and it really shows the progression of a hero. This is the best thing I have seen all week.
Thank you for putting the full film (in a single chunk) on your TH-cam channel, guys! Right now I can't remember how many times I've watched "The Reward"... but I just added another one to the total. xD
I first saw this a few years ago, and it is still my favorite short animated film. I don't often rewatch a video once I've seen and experienced it, but I've watched this one at least 10 times. I haven't found anyone else that can tell such a powerful story non-verbally just through visuals and body language. I love all of the shorts you guys have made, but The Reward will probably always be my favorite. I'm so glad that you were eventually able to prelude and continue the story, and truly bring life to the amazing world you created. If there is one complaint I have, it is that I didn't particularly like the pen and paper RPG ruleset, but I'm more than happy I bought it and definitely plan to run games in Alethrion, just with a different system.
The final reward room is an amazing idea. Whether it is punishing regret, or great spiritual fulfillment, it shows you that you have a place among legends. All it needs to do is remind you of the treasure you yourself created by traveling there.
So a bit of context, I’ve been asked to review a piece of media that one day I wish to contribute too, and as an animation student I watch a lot of short animations in my spare time. “The reward” is one of those animations that started pretty decently but by the end not only was it motivational but I wanted more, but I hope that if you actually read this you will be pleased to know that you’ve already started creating content capable to motivating and inspiring myself and many others. Here we go. “The Reward” is a story of two young men in a boring old village, a hero travels through to pick up some women and drops a treasure map. They fight over the map and rip it in two, each claiming their own piece, they decide to team up and together follow the map till they find the treasure marked with an “X”. This is the tale of their journey. Aesthetics The visuals of the animation are quick and loose, this obviously is not only quicker to create but it also adds a certain personality to the animation, but the background shots are usually pastel themed shots which have a blurriness too them allowing for viewer to create their own imagery of the scene with the small details they are given. The draw style also adds to the realism of the world, it adds to the gritty adventurous theme that is set both in character animation and with the open background themes. Story and Script The lack of dialogue and replacement with grunts and sound effects creates the need for solid characters, for the audience to connect with, I feel this is done splendidly. All characters have personality and depth even if they cannot speak, through facial animations, actions and sound effects the characters meaning and reactions are clear and concise, which in turn created a clear plot line and character arc. The true grittiness of the story and style becomes more evident at the half way point of the animation, with character arks becoming more vivid, along with even more evident exaggerated animations, both bloody and sexual the theme is cast into full motion. Overall this isn’t an animation aiming at children but rather towards younger adult to middle age, with strong themes but adventurous story it will kick start your imagination and I can personally say it motivated me to continue to pursue my own projects. Conclusion I won’t spoil any story details for anyone reading this prior to watching, but what I will say is in conclusion this animation is something I would expect from a larger animation studio, but from what I am aware was created by recent animation graduates. With both grungy exaggerated animation styling complimented by vividly coloured backgrounds that allow for personal imagination topped with a full circle plot line and great character ark this animated short will leave you wanting more. Which there will be. Some extra praise You have definitely got my continued support and I hope that SunCreaturesStudios goes a far way, because I feel that you truly deserve it, so keep making great content and continue to inspire and motivate fresh animators and film makers.
Brennan Murray Thank you so much for this awesome feedback. As you mentioned the all Sun Creature Team is freshly graduated, but we really do believe that more stories has to be told in animation. It is full of possibility so we want to continue as much as possible to make animation. Did you see the prologue th-cam.com/video/DUlg8Y_mLfA/w-d-xo.html I hope you will like it too if you haven´t see it. Now we are developing the 2 other episodes that has been finance thanks to Kickstarter backers. Reading your comment strengthen us in the believe that we have to continue further ! So again thanks from the all studio! And Best luck with your animated project as well !
There wasnt one second of this video I didnt thoroughly enjoy. Even had the Wilhelm scream. Absolutely fantastic work. I hope you make this into a movie.
I was linked to this soon after it first came out, I think almost two years ago? (Holy crap!) It came at a time where I was wondering if I had made the right choice pursuing a career in animation and struggling to find work. It inspired me to keep going, keep trying, and keep creating stuff! Every time I'm feeling stuck or down, I watch it again, and it relights the fire to keep me inspired. And now I am stoked to hear you at Sun Creature Studio are planning to spin off into the "Tales of Alethrion". I can hardly wait to see what you come up with next! From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
odorinobakphoon Thank you so much for those kind words. Looking forward to hear what you think about our new episode coming out soon ! It is 19 minutes of epicness ! High Five !
This animation, I found it originally years ago when I started my college education as a game designer. Every finals my friends and I would get together and no matter what end up watching this. It helped all of us in some way, rekindling friendships that had frayed due to challenges from that semester, or simply a reminder of the awesome that can be done when time and dedication is set to said task. I still remember the first time we watched it. My friend's immediate comment as it started was: "I really hope that the reward at the end isn't friendship" After:"Oh my god I'm So glad the reward was friendship!" Sir I have to say thank you. Thank you for helping us with your animation. Reminding us what can be made with hard work dedication and love for what you do. Thank you also for helping keep together a rough band of misfit gamers, programmers, writers, and artists.
There is something deeply funny about watching this in chronological order vs release order. Because the release order reveals the whole story of Alethrion and his greed naturally. But in chronological order, you know what that place is and what's in there! and you go on this grand adventure to that place and these two doofs just wholly miss the final boss in favorite of a beautiful metaphor. That so god damn funny
There's a channel called CGIbros that posted this video to their channel and they don't make any reference to you guys. I'm not sure if they straight up stole your video or not, but you may want to look into it if they did...
Thank you :) it brings a happy tear everytime someone comes back and shares their care for this world and its characters. You rock! Looking forward to share the next tale with you later this year!
Considering you've already watched both EPs, I'll explain below... For everyone else who might not have watched both episodes... Anything past this point contains information regarding and/or directly referencing events about the storyline of both episodes, so... =====SPOILER ALERT===== Disclaimer: This explanation relies on my own interpretation of the story. Your mileage may vary. Episode 1: At 11:20, upon arriving at the temple, the first hero drops the map, thinking he won't need it anyone, as he, consumed by senseless greed to the point of killing other adventurers to steal their treasures, has already obtained the greatest treasure between all adventurers (probably), and upon killing the gods in the temple, will obtain ultimate power and/or recognition. At 18:10, the map, still marking the position of the temple of the gods, gets unrolled and then swept away by the winds. At 18:54, after an unknown amount of time, the map ends up getting stuck in a tree next to where an adventurer is sunbathing, and so is subsequently found by that adventurer, thanks to casting an inconvenient shadow on him. (AFAIK:) The time this happens might be anywhere between the same day, to a few years, to several generations after the events of the first hero in the temple. Pay close attention to the sunbathing hero... Episode 2 (this video's): At 0:50, an adventurer passes through the town. He is the current owner of the map, up until that point. And he has a strangely familiar face, don't you think? =) Now, if we rewind just a few seconds, to 0:40, and look at the kids in the background with some attention... Then, at 7:40, we see two adolescents who are just about at the age to start their own adventures, huh... And... Those two adolescents have strangely familiar faces as well... Hehehe xD... Well played Sun Creature Studios! Well played! Oh, and btw, Ryan... Alethrion is probably the name of the world in which the story happens, not the name of the first hero (DISCLAIMER: I could be wrong!). Tales of Alethrion is one of the best, if not *_the_* best animated short I've ever seen. It has an interesting, very well balanced story, with very good animation (when expectations are adjusted to take studio size and other such factors into account... could it be even better? Yes. But could the studio be reasonably expected to deliver any better without blowing their budget? Or can they be reasonably criticized for the quality they delivered? *_absolutely not_*.), and they even go so far as to have this well-rounded storyline with little "hidden" (not really) gems for the viewers with a sharp eyes (or the ones who just love this animation and either have too much free time, or as is my case, procrastinate enough, to watch it over and over)
Back in the day you used to get short animated films playing between mainstream programming. I think having projects like this or similar to this put out there is a good way to get positive messages across. I'm having flashbacks to my youth. Well done to the team, and thank you..
Vito and Wilhelm are the most Iconic depictions of Adventurers/Murderhobos, I have ever stumbled across. Comical and short as their story may be, they encompassed most components of classic adventure/fantasy roleplaying in an amazingly epic way. My gratitude to Sun Creature and any others involved.
Every time this pops up on my TH-cam feed I can't help but click on it! I absolutely adore this short film, keep up the amazing work! I get the warm and fuzzies every time I watch it, and little details keep popping out at each re watch, can we all just talk about how badass they look in that last high detail shot of them grown up passing on the map to the new generation of adventurers?! Also the fact that Wilhelm is bald at the mirror scene leapt out this watch and made me laugh when he rushes to cover it up!
funny thing is, after watching the prequel to this, they could have gotten the treasure in that room all along. they just had to touch the mirror to see that they could go through it.
As kids, I know that a lot of us have dreamed to live in worlds like Super Mario, Pokemon, and such. But Alethrion, has to be the ultimate dream-life for me.
I absolutely love the lore and world-building you guys do just through the places your characters go through. No need for exposition, just stupendous visual art! This has been my favorite animation on TH-cam for about a year now :) Love all your stuff, keep up the good work!
Sun Creature Studio Me and my friend share a channel, I was reading this being all like waitwhat??whendidIpostthis?? But I watched the animation and I have to agree IT'S BEAUTIFUL and really funny XDD You have really smooth animations, keep up the good work ^w^ Theirbeardsareglorious
colors ! damn who ever colored this animation is super brilliantly talented . background designs , environment designs and shadows and lights . plss teach me this things.
"The real treasure was the XP we got along the way"
You had no comments for 11 months so I’ll just comment!
I’m the second comment! Yaay!
@@elleannachoe Third, epic
What about the loot?
@@namedyukinne4398 Loot is temporary, leveling up is forever
Legend says the echo of that magnificent high five still echoes through space and time.
Imfromjamaicaman Sound is a mechanical wave so it cant echo throughout space.
TheRockOfShame It can actually, since space isn't a perfect vacuum. It would just be very faint. Also, you're ruining the moment.
Imfromjamaicaman high five of the gods!
+Joe Kensei Those probably were enlightened beings in one sense or another, but i highly doubt they could be considered gods in the traditional sense.
+TheRockOfShame that highfive created light and light can travel through space :D
The greatest story of bromance.
69 likes ima change it >:)
619 likes ima change it >:)
669 likes ima change it >:)
8 years later still true as fuck
So the mirror is meant to show how the person became an adventurer, how much the adventure changed him/her and the evolution. Making the adventurer notice that the true treasure is the adventure.
But Alethrion from The First Hero didn't see anything when he looked at it because greed made him blind. He despised what adventure gave to him and only cared for the loot. That's why he decided to cross the mirror to go further in the search for that bounty, untill he notices the mistakes he made.
Far more interesting than what I tought at first.
Ranzord95 I think the mirror showed the "truth" before Alethrion used it, but after he corrupted it it just became a normal mirror.
Just some speculation, based on the commentary speaking about Alethrion's Greed.
+Ranz fucking dork
@Crowface Gaming LLD
Oh hey, a fucking degenerate.
i think they just didnt realise the treasure was behind it. for the better
So they evolved like Pokémon?
Love this. Even though the trope is old, I haven't seen it done so well before. Plus, that little bit after the credits! Ooh.
***** Thank you ! The adventure is to be continued, we finished the animation of the prologue of The Reward last week we will release it begining 2015 ! Looking forward to know what you will think about it :)
Sun Creature Studio
And I thought the wait for Bee and Puppycat was agony. Looking forward to see more fo your excellent work!
Old.. Not obsolete
This marks the third time I've watched this, and it is just so fantastic. I consider this short film a masterpiece. The world you guys have crafted is simply astonishing; your studio contains such talented individuals!
Thanks! Well, when the first part of the series comes out you might have to rewatch it again, haha. But hey! From today and a week forward we will be uploading little side stories from the film in a water color and line photo series the first one was uploaded today with a line up of the main characters of the series suncreaturestudio.tumblr.com/
Only the third time? O.o
Dizem que quanto mais uma ideia é repetida... por mais brilhante que ela posa parecer... mais tola/ingênua ela vai ficando...
Exceto esta animação... 5+ vezes assistida e continua surpreendente...
oh no i have found you here
@@filypefx Mesmo sentimento aqui, de tempos em tempos eu reassisto essa animação e sempre me surpreendo.
anyone else get "the road to el dorado" vibes out of this? xD
freaking beautiful
+Robert Fernandez join our patron and become part of the world of alethrio
www.patreon.com/suncreature?ty=h
+Robert Fernandez HA it definitely does have that feel to it. makes it even better :D
Oh hell yeah!
because they fell in love?
no joke you bet I do lol
I've came back to watch this after all these years. Is still inspiring me like the first time.
I came here for Ross and stayed for the art and storytelling: brilliant stuff!
For real, it was awesome
“You think those two are gonna be fine?”
“Yeah, sure. I mean, what’s the most dangerous thing we ever encountered in our travels… oh, crap. I think we may have just killed those kids, man.”
This comment hits different after the latest episode...
@@PotatoPatatoVonSpudsworth very much yes
Nope! Just one. :)
I love how in “special thanks” they thank dungeons and dragons. I think this was just a really cool animated D&D game
7:20 new anchievment adquired: EPIC BROMANCE unlocked.
Man I love how, even as Wilhelm is bleeding out, his first thought is to make sure Vito is okay.
The vibe i get from Alethrion is an original mix between Samurai jack and Adventure Time, with its own unique style that makes it standout. Take my money and dont stop lol
I don't know what it is, but every time I watch this it just instills in me a sense of adventure. It's inspiring.
We watched this in art class. Probably one of the best animations I've ever seen, because it feels like a whole adventure series in only 10 minute. It has all aspects of storytelling in one, even the FEELINGS!
i was supposed to watch this as a school assignment but now i cant stop watching it
I remember watching this numerous times when it was first released... I came to revisit it again today. How does this not have at least a million view yet?! Fantastic work, makes me miss playing D&D...
Oh wow, I just loved how this story went full circle... Wow....
Watched this again and I still love it. I see some things have been rewritten in the episodes 1 and 2 as to what is going on with the mirror. But it not only still makes 100% sense, in fact, the fact that we now know that behind this mirror lies the grave of greed incarnate makes it even better. All of the people working on this deserve good job award.
It's absolutely amazing-
The animation is beautiful
The art is amazing
The soundtrack fits it like a glove
And the story is great.
It's awesome.
David Vino Thank you so much ! It means a lot to us. If you want to see more you can go here @1862188728 High Five !
Sun Creature Studio
High five! you guys are awesome x3
Though it's just a random number for me ;-;
This short film has been on my mind since forever ago. I love this animation and the story. It may have no spoken words but the story is wonderfully conveyed. I could watch this 50 more times and still love it, just for all it’s wonderfully done details. I’m glad and grateful I found this short film again. I wish I had such a awesome friendship.
7:18 that epic high five was my favorite part, amazing! I would go on an adventure just for that high five! :)
so amazing, he grows his fingers back!
I can relate to this, spending my all of my youth doing all side quests before starting the main quest...
6:03 MAKE THAT A POSTER!
or a wallpaper :)
I still come back to this after all these years. Every year. Can't wait for next story episode
In the spring! ;)
@@TalesofAlethrion that spring date approaching
This is so damn touching and MY GOD this is SO GOOD
+Breadgun Thank you :) Happy you like it!
+Sun Creature Studio At your studio, do you accept submissions?
Sun Creature Studio all I have is a camp fire story some friends slaying a Dragon it's not bad could be better
+mathias winum I don't have that kind of money laying around I'll be lucky to get rent around hear I don't get crap
yes
What is important is not the goal of the travel, it is the travel made to accomplish it
Ooh, came because of Ross! Staying because of you guys!
I’m assuming he’s referring to Rubber Ross.
I can't believe I rediscovered this ten years later! Something had tickled a memory in my brain. The memory of a high five that shook the heavens.
@@oliverwolfe8225 high five! Love your brain for dusting off the memory :D
I've literally told anyone i know to watch this and they all agree that's a simple masterpiece, if there was more content creators like this there could be more masterpieces just like this.
I can’t believe this doesn’t have a million views yet. This has been one of my favourite videos for years!!
I want you guys to know that I absolutely love this short. I frequently come and re-watch it because the story is just so good and the animation is so unique!!!
I remember 10 years ago I first watched this in college. Glad it still holds up with all its glory
So good. The animation brings back memories of the style I used to watch as a kid. Really well done.
***** Thank you!
If they went through the mirror instead of looking at their reflection, it would've been a whole different story.
The message of this short film is a philosophy I've held for quite a while. We need an eternal partner to both get through the parts of life we can't by ourselves, and to add meaning to it where it might otherwise be hollow. We need people we can always rely/depend on, trust, and mutually understand. I like how the map was passed down so a new generation always gets a chance at the experience. And then that part after the credits just made me LOL because of the way my sense of humor works. I dare say this is a Masterpiece.
Elfos64 Thank you so much for your nice word. We really believe that looking at the X on the map is not what you should focus the most on but very much the journey which will get you there and therefore the people that support you and inspired yo ! I hope you will like our new episode coming out soon. Thanks again ! High Five !
so what if we no longer have that partner, or meaning. what then. eternal journey to find another? journey of journeys.
Tiko Hov You know those mix-n-match actions figures with interchangeable parts? I see the relationships between people as like those individual pieces of an action figure. If one of them leaves, it can be replaced with another piece to fulfill the same role, albeit not quite in the same way. No 2 people on earth are completely different, nor are any two people exactly the same.
Sun Creature Studio One Piece+Adventure Time= The Reward! (When is the next film?) :)
Elfos64 i think you are reading a little bit too much into this...
The super realistic shots with comedic purpose and the weird mermaid reminds me of Flapjack and I absolutely love them! Also your drawings have so much expression and personality to them!!!
The power of motherfucking FRIENDSHIP
why this isnt the most popular video on youtube is beyond me. the animation, the sound design, the plot, perfect
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! A zillion times thank you for sharing with all of us, the amazing, the spectacular, and one of a kind; Alethrion Universe created by all of you at Sun Creature Studio.
The art, the music, the dialogue (or lack of that is), and everything to do with Tales of Alethrion is simply beautiful. After watching/reading everything I could about your studio and stories, it has rekindled my desire to draw and write again. Again, thank you so very much and the best wishes for you all continuing the epic Tales of Alethrion series.
I am usually one to like action scenes the most (and they were all out of this world) in any kind of film, but my most favorite scene has to be when Epic Vito and Wilhelm share "The High Five of all High Fives" between each other. It was glorious!
Everyone, do yourselves a favor and watch all that SCS has to offer. Share with family, friends. heck even total strangers! Get the word out to watch, share, and help fund this project so we all may enjoy what these brilliant minds have to offer us.
-(I would like to claim to be...) Your Biggest Fan,
Kyle K.
+kats88 Thank you so much for those awesome words, it is so great to read so positive comments! It really gives energy and confidence to the all team to continue to work on the series :) I hope you will like what will come out the next months, we are working on the preproduction of the episodes and making making of videos too, looking forward to hear your feedbacks ! High Five from the all team !
Sun Creature Studio I have a camp fire story friends killing a dragon be cool hear
dude, you should apply to be a videogame writer, this was awesome storytelling :D
9 minutes of better art, storyline, drama, comedy, suspense, action, adventure, and motivation and enjoyment than LITERALLY 95% of films creates within the past 10 years. Literally perfect.
This just never gets old. Ever
Josh Osborn Thank you !
True
came back 10 years later. STill not old. glad to see updates still. Even invested a bit into it in the past!
It’s been years and this animation still hits me like it did when first watched it. It feels good to look back and remind myself that sometimes it really is about the lessons and experience you learn on your journey.
Seriously... That was amazing. Every single aspect about it just worked.
imafastcar1 Thanks !
This is a tale of how young men must become in order to have the things both known and unknown to their minds. Each journey different for each person. Life is a game meant to be won!
100% !
i keep coming back to this, it's so great. This deserves more views.
Everything you make is pure gold! Shoutout to the sound designers who balanced the sounds well while creating an atmosphere!!
How could ANYBODY not like this?! It currently has 8 dislikes and all I can say is... "what the hell?"
This 10-minute short film is amazing and worth the 10 minutes. The producers, Sun Creature Studio, totally deserve any credit they get. They manage to get so much across in such a short time without ANY dialogue. Wonderfully done.
Matt Medeiros Thank you ! We just finished our new episode, 20 minutes still without dialogue. We will release it soon. I hope you will like it too !
Sun Creature Studio if it's even half as good as this one, I'll still love it.
Well, the way they choose for represent woman in this work its absurd and ofensive... soooo.. yeah
7:24 blast of COOLNESS
Awe inspiring. My current DM, whom I'm about to enter a campaign with, told me to refer to this video for an idea of the setting. I expected a little story, some towns, some monsters... but man. That's touching. It's fantastically illustrated, it reaches some emotional caverns of your heart, and it really shows the progression of a hero. This is the best thing I have seen all week.
This is such an amazing show, and so far tells a great story. So much hard work was put into this, and it was so worth it.
The background art is incredible. :O I'm sooo happy I backed this project. So great.
devicattt Thank you!
It's rare that I find a film that inspires me as much as this project does!
Thank you for putting the full film (in a single chunk) on your TH-cam channel, guys! Right now I can't remember how many times I've watched "The Reward"... but I just added another one to the total. xD
I first saw this a few years ago, and it is still my favorite short animated film. I don't often rewatch a video once I've seen and experienced it, but I've watched this one at least 10 times. I haven't found anyone else that can tell such a powerful story non-verbally just through visuals and body language. I love all of the shorts you guys have made, but The Reward will probably always be my favorite. I'm so glad that you were eventually able to prelude and continue the story, and truly bring life to the amazing world you created. If there is one complaint I have, it is that I didn't particularly like the pen and paper RPG ruleset, but I'm more than happy I bought it and definitely plan to run games in Alethrion, just with a different system.
I dare to say this is the greatest short film i've ever watched. Great job!
DizzyMoon Thanks !
Sun Creature Studio Just figured you where danish. DET GØR MIG STOLT!
DizzyMoon I totally agree x'D
The final reward room is an amazing idea. Whether it is punishing regret, or great spiritual fulfillment, it shows you that you have a place among legends. All it needs to do is remind you of the treasure you yourself created by traveling there.
men everytime i watch it i feal like "This is what i want to do !" as a beginner animator this short movie is so inspiring !
Saw this year's ago and I honestly love it the same amount I did back then
So a bit of context, I’ve been asked to review a piece of media that one day I wish to contribute too, and as an animation student I watch a lot of short animations in my spare time. “The reward” is one of those animations that started pretty decently but by the end not only was it motivational but I wanted more, but I hope that if you actually read this you will be pleased to know that you’ve already started creating content capable to motivating and inspiring myself and many others. Here we go.
“The Reward” is a story of two young men in a boring old village, a hero travels through to pick up some women and drops a treasure map. They fight over the map and rip it in two, each claiming their own piece, they decide to team up and together follow the map till they find the treasure marked with an “X”. This is the tale of their journey.
Aesthetics
The visuals of the animation are quick and loose, this obviously is not only quicker to create but it also adds a certain personality to the animation, but the background shots are usually pastel themed shots which have a blurriness too them allowing for viewer to create their own imagery of the scene with the small details they are given. The draw style also adds to the realism of the world, it adds to the gritty adventurous theme that is set both in character animation and with the open background themes.
Story and Script
The lack of dialogue and replacement with grunts and sound effects creates the need for solid characters, for the audience to connect with, I feel this is done splendidly. All characters have personality and depth even if they cannot speak, through facial animations, actions and sound effects the characters meaning and reactions are clear and concise, which in turn created a clear plot line and character arc.
The true grittiness of the story and style becomes more evident at the half way point of the animation, with character arks becoming more vivid, along with even more evident exaggerated animations, both bloody and sexual the theme is cast into full motion. Overall this isn’t an animation aiming at children but rather towards younger adult to middle age, with strong themes but adventurous story it will kick start your imagination and I can personally say it motivated me to continue to pursue my own projects.
Conclusion
I won’t spoil any story details for anyone reading this prior to watching, but what I will say is in conclusion this animation is something I would expect from a larger animation studio, but from what I am aware was created by recent animation graduates. With both grungy exaggerated animation styling complimented by vividly coloured backgrounds that allow for personal imagination topped with a full circle plot line and great character ark this animated short will leave you wanting more. Which there will be.
Some extra praise
You have definitely got my continued support and I hope that SunCreaturesStudios goes a far way, because I feel that you truly deserve it, so keep making great content and continue to inspire and motivate fresh animators and film makers.
Brennan Murray Thank you so much for this awesome feedback. As you mentioned the all Sun Creature Team is freshly graduated, but we really do believe that more stories has to be told in animation. It is full of possibility so we want to continue as much as possible to make animation. Did you see the prologue th-cam.com/video/DUlg8Y_mLfA/w-d-xo.html I hope you will like it too if you haven´t see it. Now we are developing the 2 other episodes that has been finance thanks to Kickstarter backers. Reading your comment strengthen us in the believe that we have to continue further ! So again thanks from the all studio! And Best luck with your animated project as well !
There wasnt one second of this video I didnt thoroughly enjoy. Even had the Wilhelm scream. Absolutely fantastic work. I hope you make this into a movie.
This is 1000% the best thing ever. Most excellent indeed!
Sam Lee Thank you :)
I love the art style difference from the normal video to when they zoom in on the adventurers, both at the beginning and end.
I was linked to this soon after it first came out, I think almost two years ago? (Holy crap!) It came at a time where I was wondering if I had made the right choice pursuing a career in animation and struggling to find work. It inspired me to keep going, keep trying, and keep creating stuff! Every time I'm feeling stuck or down, I watch it again, and it relights the fire to keep me inspired.
And now I am stoked to hear you at Sun Creature Studio are planning to spin off into the "Tales of Alethrion". I can hardly wait to see what you come up with next!
From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
odorinobakphoon Thank you so much for those kind words. Looking forward to hear what you think about our new episode coming out soon ! It is 19 minutes of epicness ! High Five !
This animation, I found it originally years ago when I started my college education as a game designer. Every finals my friends and I would get together and no matter what end up watching this. It helped all of us in some way, rekindling friendships that had frayed due to challenges from that semester, or simply a reminder of the awesome that can be done when time and dedication is set to said task. I still remember the first time we watched it. My friend's immediate comment as it started was: "I really hope that the reward at the end isn't friendship" After:"Oh my god I'm So glad the reward was friendship!"
Sir I have to say thank you. Thank you for helping us with your animation. Reminding us what can be made with hard work dedication and love for what you do. Thank you also for helping keep together a rough band of misfit gamers, programmers, writers, and artists.
This has been one of my most favorite things since it came out. I can't wait for the two new episodes
There is something deeply funny about watching this in chronological order vs release order. Because the release order reveals the whole story of Alethrion and his greed naturally. But in chronological order, you know what that place is and what's in there! and you go on this grand adventure to that place and these two doofs just wholly miss the final boss in favorite of a beautiful metaphor. That so god damn funny
4:20 Aw man, finished watching the latest episode. This hits hard.
I actually watched that episode before I watched this one. So this provided some context for me.
Is it just me or does this give off a very strong adventure time feel? The wildly creative setting, strange creatures, etc.
There's a channel called CGIbros that posted this video to their channel and they don't make any reference to you guys. I'm not sure if they straight up stole your video or not, but you may want to look into it if they did...
FunyunRob I think they just feature a random clip in that channel every week, and they include the end credits which show every person who made it
Caylum Butler still, they just straight up took it...
Christian Sosa they shared it, to be precise. Didn’t steal it.
@@whatwillmakebethebestforev8556 but they still should ask before reposting. It is polite.
Rocket 721 why do they need to ask in any way?... 🤨 And what makes you think they didn’t anyways 😆
Aaaaah I just love this! The animation, the soundtrack, the story, the world, the fact thta there isn't a single spoken word! I wish you all the best
Haven't seen such a great animation for a really long time!! You guys are awesome! Keep up the good work!
SonSkaos Thank you so much for your support !
Man, I finally found it again... after years of trying to find this video, I’ve finally found it again!!!
Nice! Welcome back :) then you'll be happy tonsee that we made a whole series around it !
I cant believe its been 6 years ago I remember like it was just 3 months ago
It’s been 5 years and I have to say that this is a timeless masterpiece. I love the art, the story, and the overall world that you’ve created.
Thank you :) it brings a happy tear everytime someone comes back and shares their care for this world and its characters. You rock! Looking forward to share the next tale with you later this year!
Its like thru their whole adventure, they did not look at their reflection
Absolutely beautiful, even more so because of its simplicity.
Jason Norris Thank you !
Watched this a LONG time ago. Coming back to find it's just as great as I remember it being, and so much better with more episodes.
I was really hoping for this to be a continuation of the first episode, I really did, but Im not disappointed because, well, this is just fantastic
Watch until after the credits then it makes sense :)
+Sun Creature Studio Isnt that the first shot of the first episode? So did they find the treasure and become rich? Im still sorta confused
+Ryan Miller Which I just realised is alethrion old and dead
Considering you've already watched both EPs, I'll explain below...
For everyone else who might not have watched both episodes... Anything past this point contains information regarding and/or directly referencing events about the storyline of both episodes, so... =====SPOILER ALERT=====
Disclaimer: This explanation relies on my own interpretation of the story. Your mileage may vary.
Episode 1:
At 11:20, upon arriving at the temple, the first hero drops the map, thinking he won't need it anyone, as he, consumed by senseless greed to the point of killing other adventurers to steal their treasures, has already obtained the greatest treasure between all adventurers (probably), and upon killing the gods in the temple, will obtain ultimate power and/or recognition.
At 18:10, the map, still marking the position of the temple of the gods, gets unrolled and then swept away by the winds.
At 18:54, after an unknown amount of time, the map ends up getting stuck in a tree next to where an adventurer is sunbathing, and so is subsequently found by that adventurer, thanks to casting an inconvenient shadow on him. (AFAIK:) The time this happens might be anywhere between the same day, to a few years, to several generations after the events of the first hero in the temple.
Pay close attention to the sunbathing hero...
Episode 2 (this video's):
At 0:50, an adventurer passes through the town. He is the current owner of the map, up until that point. And he has a strangely familiar face, don't you think? =)
Now, if we rewind just a few seconds, to 0:40, and look at the kids in the background with some attention...
Then, at 7:40, we see two adolescents who are just about at the age to start their own adventures, huh... And... Those two adolescents have strangely familiar faces as well... Hehehe xD... Well played Sun Creature Studios! Well played!
Oh, and btw, Ryan... Alethrion is probably the name of the world in which the story happens, not the name of the first hero (DISCLAIMER: I could be wrong!).
Tales of Alethrion is one of the best, if not *_the_* best animated short I've ever seen. It has an interesting, very well balanced story, with very good animation (when expectations are adjusted to take studio size and other such factors into account... could it be even better? Yes. But could the studio be reasonably expected to deliver any better without blowing their budget? Or can they be reasonably criticized for the quality they delivered? *_absolutely not_*.), and they even go so far as to have this well-rounded storyline with little "hidden" (not really) gems for the viewers with a sharp eyes (or the ones who just love this animation and either have too much free time, or as is my case, procrastinate enough, to watch it over and over)
AlmightyR Alethrion the land was named after Alethrion the first hero who was the hero of episode one
Back in the day you used to get short animated films playing between mainstream programming. I think having projects like this or similar to this put out there is a good way to get positive messages across. I'm having flashbacks to my youth. Well done to the team, and thank you..
Vito and Wilhelm are the most Iconic depictions of Adventurers/Murderhobos, I have ever stumbled across. Comical and short as their story may be, they encompassed most components of classic adventure/fantasy roleplaying in an amazingly epic way.
My gratitude to Sun Creature and any others involved.
Anders Torp oh it's not over muhuhu there's a whole world of story going on still including the extended adventures of Wilhelm and Vito
This speaks to my SOUL! Sun Creature is the bomb, and I will eagerly await everything you do forever.
Marcus Schlueter Thank you so much for your support ! High Five !
I'm here from 2021 to tell you, that this is still the best project to come out of TAW.
How this doesn't have millions of views is beyond me.
This is one of my favorite animated short films. It inspired me to become a animator myself.
TheRetroZombie Thank you for your suport ! High Five !
Sun Creature Studio *slaps monitor*
Every time this pops up on my TH-cam feed I can't help but click on it! I absolutely adore this short film, keep up the amazing work! I get the warm and fuzzies every time I watch it, and little details keep popping out at each re watch, can we all just talk about how badass they look in that last high detail shot of them grown up passing on the map to the new generation of adventurers?! Also the fact that Wilhelm is bald at the mirror scene leapt out this watch and made me laugh when he rushes to cover it up!
"It's not about the destination, It's about the journey." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
He never told that.
Hands down one of the best animated stories I've ever seen.
Bromance!
By the way... they should have entered the mirror. There was a pile of gold hidden behind it.
But that "reward" was awesome too!
+Ezekiel Koroisau
Better for them that they didn't. Watch the prologue and you'll see that the chest contains a great evil trapped within it.
+Nnelg they didn't have to open the chest
Javier Beltran
But why in the world wouldn't they?
It's a spooky chest
Javier Beltran
Exactly my point!
I can't express how much I like this animated short and the world where it takes place.
funny thing is, after watching the prequel to this, they could have gotten the treasure in that room all along. they just had to touch the mirror to see that they could go through it.
As kids, I know that a lot of us have dreamed to live in worlds like Super Mario, Pokemon, and such. But Alethrion, has to be the ultimate dream-life for me.
Agreed!
That was adorable and amazing.
I absolutely love the lore and world-building you guys do just through the places your characters go through. No need for exposition, just stupendous visual art! This has been my favorite animation on TH-cam for about a year now :)
Love all your stuff, keep up the good work!
THANKS ROSS
Came here on recommendation from Ross via the Official Podcast and was not disappointed; what a delightful animation.
That was amazing! The animation and story was all just amazing! I just found your channel but you've got a sub!
Scuttle Skittle Thank you so much for your support !
Sun Creature Studio Me and my friend share a channel, I was reading this being all like
waitwhat??whendidIpostthis??
But I watched the animation
and I have to agree
IT'S BEAUTIFUL and really funny XDD
You have really smooth animations, keep up the good work ^w^ Theirbeardsareglorious
Come back every now and then to see how this channels doing sense this episodes release, it seems ive missed alot
Thanks Ross! Love yah man
Ross sent us
colors ! damn who ever colored this animation is super brilliantly talented .
background designs , environment designs and shadows and lights .
plss teach me this things.
damn this needs to be full-fledged feature film !