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Michael Swearingen

@michaelvanswear

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Executive Producer/Animator
💽@modularstudio.tv
🐶🐶@heck.studio
🕷🌎🔥@hellavisiontelevision
Minneapolis, MN

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Announcement time!

@heck.studio is @petersteineck and I’s corporate project baby that we will be pouring our creative energy into.

Please follow Heck because we want to make cute and fun things for you to enjoy.

We are currently taking clients and inquiries for character focused marketing and animation, so please repost our reel and help us spread the word!

❤️🐶🐶 by @michaelvanswear

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4 years ago

Mouth House was such a treat to work on. There was a lot of growing pains in how to actually pull off a 2 and a half minute short in Blender but we built things and broke things and it somehow turned out great.

This is arguably the first project for @heck.studio that @petersteineck and I worked on. Our friend @lorn.payne approached us with a pitch for the late Cartoonito and it was totally up our alley. I usually sketch in 2D before bringing characters to 3D and our design instinct meshed. @warcat.3d helped with all the rigs and any technical direction we needed while we figured out wtf we were doing.

We went to pitch this around and didn’t get any bites. Children programming seems to be pretty much dead. It lives on YouTube with around 4 mil views which feels good on my brain. Go watch it! It’s actually good!

Thanks for listening, I’ll post another project when I’m feeling nostalgic again! by @michaelvanswear

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4 months ago

Boom Dude posting because I like Boom Dude and it was only shared on @heck.studio so now I’m sharing it here.

Going to post a few projects from the last few years here and talk about them I guess.

Boom Dude started from a joke where Peter and I would say “niiice” in a Batman voice I guess and then it turned into “I’m gonna poop my paaaants” and that’s about as deep at the origin story goes.

We played around with what a short would look like and landed in the @adultswimsmalls universe and pitched it. Two episodes later and I’m very proud of what we made. A bit rushed but we built an entirely original 6 minute, 3D animated short in Blender between client work and that rocks.

There is a series pitch gathering dust on my Google Drive but ultimately the entertainment landscape put me off from pitching it. Things don’t get made like they used to. Or maybe they never did. Either way we have some funny silly outlines for future episodes that maybe could be revisited but probably not!

Making cartoons is fun but a lot of work. I’ve kind of taken a break from personally making shorts (even with @hellavisiontelevision ) and I feel free! I recommend.

Shout out everyone who helped with Boom Dude of course. 💥❤️

Oh, also Boom Dude is on YouTube. by @michaelvanswear

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4 months ago

2025 was an ambitious year that I need to be more proud of than I let myself be. Heck finished its Adult Swim Small ‘Boom Dude’, Hellavision created 3 full episodes, and we started Modular Studio.

That’s a lot in 1 year, so I think it goes without saying I feel a bit burnt out. I spent time enjoying newer hobbies like golf and Magic. Went to LA for the Smalls screening, Berlin for Picto and Ottawa for OIAF. My hot wife loves me and my dog is cute.

I have a lot to be grateful for.

Here’s to gratitude and maybe giving myself a break next year but also probably not. 🫶 by @michaelvanswear

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9 months ago

Looks like the chimp is out of the bag. Chimpy is here and he has something to say.

Like, comment, subscribe if you think we should make ‘slay’ shirts.

Boom Dude has officially been uploaded in its entirety on the @adultswimsmalls YouTube. Be sure to follow our link in bio to check it out 💋🙈

Music by @biibocc by @michaelvanswear

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2 years ago

I have been wedded 💍 08/24/24

I love my hot wife @_macall_

Thank you to all the besties who could make it. I really enjoyed sweating and crying in front of all of you. 🫶

Epic photos by @stephaniesunberg by @michaelvanswear

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2 years ago

My submission for @hellavisiontelevision presents Debt Quest. Scene 23 🙈 written and directed by the talented @lije.mo and co-written by @coolguy.zackdresher . We screened the episode across 8 cities and you can find it online at You Tube Dot Com. by @michaelvanswear

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2 years ago

My contribution for @hellavisiontelevision’s Debt Quest vault. The next theme is a lot of fun. A cursed duo of dice are rolled to unlock a mysterious fate (prompt for submission). Go check out @hellavisiontelevision and click the link in the bio for more info on how to participate.

Also, hire my studio @heck.studio for your animation and motion design projects. by @michaelvanswear

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2 years ago

Another Voicemail by @michaelvanswear for Episode 4 (2018) by @michaelvanswear

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2 years ago

Malta > Amsterdam > Iceland

I don’t really post life stuff on social, so here’s a fun glimpse into my recent trip. Malta was sick, everyone drove really fast which I liked. Amsterdam at a lot of bricks which was cool. Iceland had blue water and what clean air smells like.

Idk maybe I’ll post more photo dumps or something on here. 🗣️

Go follow @heck.studio by @michaelvanswear

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2 years ago

In 2023 I tasked myself to create a character everyday. Mostly using a blue pencil brush in procreate (I threw some effects in AE to make the images more readable). I’ve been struggling to summarize what I learned over the year. Most of the time I would just combine 2 interesting things off of Pinterest. I often moved back and forth between flat and volume. I started finding more rhythmic poses and attempted to move away from perfect circles. I can say I enjoy 95% of the characters I ended up with and I rarely iterated from an initial idea.

I think overall I gained confidence in creating appealing characters. However I don’t know how original they are. I don’t know if I pinned down a single voice, I feel like I played with so many looks and styles but remained in the realm of my own taste. This is certainly a passive exercise to keep myself making with a low stake goal.

Not sure what I should do in 2024. I don’t really enjoy pushing illustrations to their finished states. I think it’s because I struggle with compositions. I like the /idea/ of a character rather than the presentation. Maybe these characters are just for me. I like looking at them. by @michaelvanswear

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3 years ago

Cursed Thanksgiving Day Parade 😱 🦃
Our staff & friends of Cartuna imagined our very own #MacysParade
Every character was sculpted in @womp3d! The software was so easy, fun & goopy, that we knocked this out in a few hours!
Special thanks to our director ⚡️🐶⭐️ @jasonjoannes_work and all those who contributed including 🏈 @aarongosch 🐈 @bbishop2 🛹 @michaelvanswear & 🦔 @petersteineck of @heck.studio and the entire team at @womp3d
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#pikachu #snoopy #patrickstar #garfield #bartsimpson #sonicthehedgehog #sonic #peppapig #babyyoda #cursed #cursesimages #cursedmemes #cursedimage #3d #3dart #3dmodeling #thanksgivingdayparade #macys #thanksgivingday #cartuna #womp #thanksgiving #floats #macysthanksgivingdayparade #thanksgivingparade #pokemon #starwars #spongebobsquarepants #thesimpsons by @michaelvanswear

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3 years ago