September 26, 2026 : The Sea Beast – A Solid Watch
Marked under “Late to the Game”, I recently watched 2022’s The Sea Beast and was pleasantly surprised. It had How to Train Your Dragon vibes but in a good way (versus a blatant rip-off way).
I didn’t have any expectations going in but found myself very interested in both the story and the animation. I was particularly fond of the facial animation and camera movements. It turns out they built on tools used from Spider-Man: Into and Across the Spider-Verse.
A sequel is in development, but I’m not sure how much traction that has made since it was first announced in 2023 with little updates since.
posted by Pi Visuals at 11:34 pm
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August 30, 2026 : Your Studio and You – Universal Studios’ Fake Promo
I stumbled upon this underground video by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, made for Universal Studios. I believe it came out after The Spirit of Christmas but before South Park, and it has the Parker/Stone vibe throughout. The quality and quantity of cameos is impressive.
The clip at the end, which is an interview with Parker and Stone giving context to its making is a nice touch. It’s been a while since I’ve watched South Park, and this video reminds me of why I loved that show.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:18 am
Tags: Matt Stone , South Park , Trey ParkerComment
July 22, 2026 : Happy Pi Approximation Day!
It’s about time to celebrate Pi Approximation Day… sorry, I’ll show myself out.
In the meantime, did you know that while 22/7 is by far the most famous fractional approximation of Pi, it isn’t the best one? The fraction 355/113 (known as Milü) matches Pi to six decimal places, which is pretty incredible for such a simple fraction.
Milü was discovered by the Chinese mathematician Zu Chongzhi over 1,500 years ago, making it one of the greatest mathematical approximations of the ancient world. All this done before the advent of the iPad, something my kids have a hard time believing.
posted by Pi Visuals at 8:08 am
Tags: PiComment
June 27, 2026 : Joker’s Getting An Anime Series
I’m still not sure what’s going to happen with HBO when the Paramount acquisition goes through, but at least right now it sounds like it’s full steam ahead for HBO. HBO announced greenlighting Joker: Laugh Riot, a new anime series.
Obviously I’m digging the anime style, but the premise also intrigues me: Batman is murdered and the Clown Prince of Crime goes on a ruthless crusade through Gotham’s underworld to try to find his killer. The details on release date and length are not available, but I will be keeping an eye out. I will say one downside is this furthers my worries that I will need to get a Paramount subscription.
posted by Pi Visuals at 1:26 am
Tags: Anime , JokerComment
May 25, 2026 : Overlord 2 Plugin for After Effects
I heard about Battle Axe’s plugins for After Effects a few years back, but it wasn’t late last year that I finally pulled the trigger and bought Overlord 2 in order to incorporate it into my pipeline. Ever since then, I’ve been a huge fan.
The plugin allows for instant vector transfer, initially between Illustrator and After Effects, but now it can also do it with Photoshop and Figma. This two-way communication between programs significantly speeds up my workflow; and with a recent job change where I am currently without it (hopefully temporarily), I have come to appreciate it even more. There is a cost, but it’s only $75, which I think it worth it… and maybe reimbursable by by your employer?
All in all, something to check out.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:28 am
Tags: After Effects , Figma , IllustratorComment
April 12, 2026 : C2E2 2026 in the Books
Two weeks ago was the fun that is C2E2. As usual, it was a weekend filled with good times. Of course the cosplay action was top notch. Although, as with recent years, DBZ was very underrepresented. That said, I found this gem:
Artist alley was solid, along with many of the other booths (at least the ones that weren’t trying to hock mystery boxes). Panels of interest were a little on the light side, but part of that was my lack of motivation to attend any. At the end of the day, it was a great event!
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:36 am
Tags: C2E2 , DBZComment
March 14, 2026 : Happy Pi Day!
Another year, another Pi Day. It’s time to enjoy various math memes, pie photos, and general nerdiness that pops up online. It is one of those oddly specific celebrations that somehow stuck around.
One obscure Pi Day tidbit I recently learned: the holiday itself was first celebrated in 1988 at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, where staff marched around a circular space and then ate fruit pies. Hard to argue with that tradition.
While the mathematical side of Pi can get pretty deep (and infinitely long), the day itself is a nice reminder that math can be fun… and occasionally delicious.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:58 am
Tags: PiComment
February 27, 2026 : Cool DBZ Content About Yamcha?!
As someone who joins in on making fun of Yamcha, I was shocked to hear about a nearly 10-year old fan-art manga that centers around him. It’s called That Time I Got Reincarnated as Yamcha, and the premise is interesting: a high school Dragon Ball fan who accidentally gets himself killed and finds himself reincarnated as Yamcha (during the Emperor Pilaf Saga).
Below is a detailed story synopsis of the whole manga run:
The story is well done, filled with tons of references to the Dragon Ball universe, while giving a unique spin on some characters left by the wayside. I don’t think making this into a full anime saga would be worthwhile (besides the fact that fans would cry afoul for trying to canonize it), but it could be cool to see it in a movie format. At least, I think it might be more fresh than rebooting one of the previously made Super movies (ahem, Beerus…).
posted by Pi Visuals at 11:57 pm
Tags: DBZComment
January 24, 2026 : Zootopia 2’s Success
While I still haven’t watched it (insert sad emoji), Zootopia 2 is officially the highest grossing Hollywood animated release of all-time. The ‘Hollywood’ qualifier is needed because it sits at #2 for all-time animated movies. The film at the top of the list? Ne Zha 2 – the Chinese film, also released in 2025.
It’s great to see the film doing so well, particularly since the first film came out 9 years ago and warranted a sequel way back then. Just for those wondering, the previously highest grossing Hollywood animated release was Inside Out 2. Rounding out the Top 5 is 2024’s Remake of the Lion King and Frozen 2. The first non-Disney movie on the list is Super Mario Bros. and is #6.
posted by Pi Visuals at 11:59 pm
Tags: ZootopiaComment
December 20, 2025 : Tis’ the Season – For Another Holiday Card
Another year, another Holiday card (9 years strong, baby). Much like previous iterations, there was a time crunch. As such, I wasn’t overly ambitious with things.
The one hurdle I had this year was placing the photos how I wanted within the house silhouette mattes. Having the subjects properly centered often resulted in the photos not covering the full matte, which then resulted in the house shape not getting filled. To address this, I used Photoshop’s Generative Fill to extend the photos so the houses could maintain their shape. A much easier task these days with AI.
posted by Pi Visuals at 12:50 am
Tags: Holidays , Illustrator , PhotoshopComment