The Adventure Zone: Dust - Fan Animated Opening

I finally took the time to make this animation, Dust was amazing! :}
Listen to the Adventure zone here: www.maximumfun.org/shows/adven...
Art by Me:
/ kelgrid
/ kelgrid

[@TenzinMasselli]

God I hope they go back to this arc

[@Hey-Its-Dingo]

Tenzin Masselli Travis said they will, he just needs to write it. They all only wrote up to where they stopped in each arc. Also, in the case of Commitment, Clint is looking for a different system to use instead of FATE to go forward. People have suggested MASK, which is part of the Powered By the Apocalypse system, if I remember correctly.

[@lizzyscutt7486]

I mean, it left on a cliffhanger with the banshee and whatnot.

[@AceAttorny]

God, I'm not ready for Amnesty to end at all, but I'm SO ready for a return to Dust.

[@natalie7851]

hey yall...... travis is dm-ing again after Amnesty and word on the street is that its a follow up to Dust!!

[@natalie7851]

Just Cos its been confirmed from an interview that they did for the release of the Rockport graphic novel that Travis is for sure DM-ing next arc (i read that directly and im sure that if you google it you’ll be able to find the interview in question) and i read on the taz subreddit that he had claimed G as TAZ: Gumshoes and was planning a sequel story to Dust. that one hasnt been confirmed from the McElboys themselves (at least as far as I’ve been able to find) but in case it does end up being true........ you heard it here first.

[@hannahjayne8566]

OP THIS SO GOOD MY EYEBALLS BUST A NUT

[@PerfectAgent]

In space that push your eyeballs backwards

[@isabellefleszar5851]

What kind of nut? A cashew perhaps?

[@FunnyFany]

You should get that checked

[@tywillis2395]

I read that in Griffin's voice

[@Nike_on_a_bike]

Isn't that crying?

[@pbgandie]

Is Augustus holding spectral cashews? I love it.

[@stardustorchard9316]

I feel like I missed them somehow?

[@osfichofis3453]

@@stardustorchard9316 0:22 Look at Augustus’ hands

[@SonOfaChipwich]

This is fantastic! I love the inclusion of the ghost cashews as both a reference to the joke, but also a really cool manifestation of how Gus fears that all he built in his life is slipping away through his fingers.

[@marlesimms]

Folks (myself included) really seemed to enjoy Dust. I wish Travis had GMed more of that instead of Graduation (without intending to throw negativity)

[@chupenot]

I really like this!! Even the first shot was poignant, I never considered that Jeremiah might have a wedding bad and seeing blood come outta there made me shiver! Good job!

[@zombiepony13]

oh wow you PERFECTLY captured the vibe of dust, this is so cool and atmospheric!!

[@mo482]

is it weird that I've only listened to each main arc once but I've listened to dust like...a hundred times..........

[@mellawrence1119]

Damn that sword of damocles reference!!!

[@KelgridAnimation]

:3c

[@HamburgerTime209]

What's the reference?

[@sasugakirin]

@@HamburgerTime209 The Sword of Damocles was an old story about a king that showed a guy named Damocles, who was complementing him, a taste of his life by letting him sit on a throne enjoying the king's riches, but Damocles had a sword hung over his head by a single hair. Thus he couldn't enjoy anything because he was always worried about the sword falling. The character in the animation with a sword symbol over his head is feeling a similar looming dread

[@daboredghurl]

i know ive already commented but i watched this again and i just love how much you elevated the song?? i didnt peg it as particularly creepy, maybe a little foreboding, but just watching this makes me feel tense and nervous. its incredible like you captured the tone of the arc really well

[@LemonScentedSharpie]

THIS IS AMAZING, Dust was my favorite miniarc and this intro is so FLUID and I love the sillouettes. Especially when the Banshee pulls itself from the old woman. Dylan flashing between human and werewolf (loved the wolf skulls) with the sword that is hanging above his neck is just.... Great. The COLORS my god the simple colors really help it retain the almost rustic feel this arc had. Also the trio at the end? Perfect. Sorry to gush I'm just so in love with this.

[@KeeliaSilvis]

I've watched this four times in a row now. The Dust theme music was my favorite from any of the mini arcs, and now this incredible animation is going to play in my head whenever I hear it.

[@KelgridAnimation]

I'm really glad you liked it that much!

[@KeeliaSilvis]

Lor Haine You did an incredible job. You caught all the little details (Augustus's cashews, Gandy's vest), and added beautiful symbolism of your own (the sword of Damocles, the Banshee's owls, etc). And the timing! You hit every beat with an emotional or ominous shift.

[@KeeliaSilvis]

Lor Haine I am now a fan. And I'm going to spend every spare moment today looking through the rest of your channel & Twitter. Please keep creating.

[@KelgridAnimation]

Thanks a lot for the nice messages!!! 😄 I hope you like dogs ahah (I use tumblr more often tbh)

[@dentistdamsel1345]

Keelia Silvis big mood

[@epiphoral]

I want this projected on my tombstone.

[@adriennefundy6087]

The cashews at 0:21. What an excellent touch.

[@asoaringheart]

Right? And the halves of the human and wolf skulls falling from my boy Errol were amazing.

[@PotatoPatatoVonSpudsworth]

Well played. Although I understand why they didn’t stick with it permanently, I’m very glad it existed.

[@thedeathbird]

Potato Patato actually they did say they plan to visit it again sometime. Like same characters and such. They did leave most of their mini arcs open after all.

[@bicarbonat1]

This is beyond perfect. You managed to hide the entire story (several _hours'_ worth of story) in plain sight, in roughly 1 minute. 😚👌

[@Arcae95]

By far my favorite song out of all the arcs themes. Dust and amnesty... DUST AND AMNESTY. gosh i love them both so much. But in the end it can't wait to hear more from ducks sweet sweet voice

[@thundertaps5752]

By the gods this is magnificent! I hope someone sends the link to this animation to one of the McElroy's!

[@kelseyh5337]

Thunder Taps Justin just tweeted about it :D!

[@rorygiambalvo2955]

I watched this before I had gotten to this arc and was super confused but pumped. Seeing it now that I'm done is awesome. Such great work.

[@pop-tartdepression393]

There's part of me that wishes they went with Dust instead of Amnesty for their second season but also I can't complain about Amnesty because it's been really good

[@houstonhorvath7163]

man we need some more of this arc

[@Rainbow-dt7me]

I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT I LOVE IT have the mcelroys seen it?? i bet they'de be so happy, it's so well done and beautiful!!

[@skeletorg]

I come back to watch this again at least once a month and it give me chills every time

[@jacobvalor1914]

This was so pretty it made me listen to dust and holy shit does it all make sense in context

[@AlunG28]

The color palate is wonderful

[@TheDimensionDweller]

Wishing we could see more of Dust again and I had to come back and rewatch this. It's still super cool!! I tried to pull out one thing to compliment, but, really, I love everything, especially the cool transitions!

[@irissagar1080]

This is fucking incredible???.What??? The style is so beautiful and the visuals so compelling???

[@SpeakingJargon]

Watching this again two years later and yep, it's still amazing. Dust was an underrated arc.

[@obsidiandragon6983]

Whoa, amazing style and tone and use of symbolism!

[@selahntro]

ive rewatched this so many times over the past month it’s not even funny because WOW this animation is PERFECT and this opening theme is a BOP. you’re so incredibly talented!!

[@Sketchington]

HOly damn. I think I may show this in a class if I ever teach Motion Graphics II.

[@blueskybelyr]

This is literally what made me go and buy the Adventure Zone comic, and now I'm 13 episodes into the podcast itself! So thank you for introducing me to those good boys

[@zarchblarch2490]

I love the part with Connors and how the order of what was discovered is the same as in the animation. He was unassuming, then they found the key to his house, then they learned of the chaos wild magic-the fire, and the murder-the bloody hands, then he revealed the full demonic-ness of himself

[@eldricjourneys]

I always thought that this and commitment were so good. I have no idea why they never went back to those characters to tell the rest of the story. It was funny and all the characters had potential. Clint was a great DM and Travis is DMing the current season. I will always be baffled that they never fully realized Dust and Commitment

[@Epichalestorm]

Bruh this is so rad!!! Your style is really smooth and satisfying, and your designs for all the characters and stuff are really nice! The bit with Dylan Mathis legit gave me chills

[@axennale]

God, I'm in love with it. It fits the song and atmosphere so well, wooooah ;_;

[@lr-]

Dust had the best music for sure. Chills every time a track came on, but especially this one.

[@WireMosasaur]

This is incredible, I hope the boys see this.

[@cahillcomics918]

This honestly is on the level of the stuff theyve done for amnesty

[@AnnaWebley]

this is so goddamn good holy shit!

[@ohmenecio]

i took a break from TAZ after Balance and stumbled upon this vid about a week ago. It got me really curious. Since then I've listened to both Commitment and Amnesty, and I'm now just beginning Dust. This opening delivered me to the McElroys again, and I thank you for that! Can't wait to see where this mini-arc takes me!

[@ohmenecio]

OH MANNNNNN I JUST FINISHED THE CAMPAIGN AND CAME BACK TO REWATCH THIS AND NOW EVERYTHING MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE I MEAN IT LOOKED COOL BEFORE BUT NOW IT LOOKS COOL AND MAKES PERFECT SENSE I WANNA YELL IT'S ALL SO SUBTLE WELL DONE THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY EXCELLENT JOB!!!!!

[@seaweed5269]

Not only it looks fluid, the visuals and metaphors are fantastic! The moment with the sheriff is especially inventive (not to mention looks fucking amazing). Thesa 60 seconds are filled to the brim with so much style and tasteful editing that if I drown in it it'd be a happy death. Thank you.

[@alyshaknaphus1495]

Man, this just brings me back! I loved dust, Travis was such a good dm! Would not hate it if we got a dust arc next... the characters were amazing, hearing Griffin actually play a non npc was 100% worth it

[@canidayy7792]

Tbh I'd be SO HAPPY if they did Dust full time next, I love it so fucking much. It's so good??

[@apocahipsterart9865]

this is awesome, reminds me of the dragon age keep art style, which is super cool! love the transitions

[@SandersCat_yo]

this animation is wonderful! i haven't listened to dust yet, but this made me curious

[@lup3l452]

This got me to give dust another chance, and seconds after finishing it I came to the conclusion that this is an amazing animatic if I’ve ever seen one. It gives away nothing of the story but still gets you really interested!

[@whimsicalmimsy8054]

I’m a DM, and while I’ve been meaning to both start listening to the new arc and start writing a new story for my players, I haven’t done either. This inspired me to do both. I’m in love with this

[@---fi2ml]

i loooove when i forget his name??? is crying and it flickers between him as a human and him with a wolf skull with the sword hanging above his head. its so powerful and builds the tension... im actually scared when i see it like the dword might fall. but like an enjoyable kind of scared like u get from good fiction

[@111USURY]

Just as I read "Dust was amazing!", I was thinking to myself "This is freakin' AMAZING!" Awesome job, bud!

[@yvetteberner815]

YO THIS IS GORGEOUS????? WOW WOW WOW WOW

[@juxhex]

this is so incrediby cool and detailed, the bit with the banshee and the owls turning around gave me chills! great job!!!

[@xXxNecroDancerxXx]

I can't get over how memorizing this opening is.

[@ahobbit1273]

This is amazing!!! It looks like it could actually be the intro to a TAZ movie or tv show! Excellent work!!

[@julischrier]

Umm this is so good?? The animation is amAZING and you captured the vibe of Dust so well got DAMN

[@Lee-vn8xg]

Wow! This is so amazing, I genuinely got chills from it. It fits Dust SO perfectly, and the animation style you use is so dramatic and unique and just works SO WELL with Dust. This is fantaaaaastic. Well done, and thanks for sharing this!

[@cezar3169]

Don't know The Adventure Zone or why this is in my recommendations but I'm so glad I clicked on this

[@sarahmaurinebenson2081]

I spend a shocking amount of my time watching Adventure Zone animations, and this is by far the coolest one I've ever seen. It's so gorgeous, I absolutely love it.

[@seans6298]

I opened this just to remind myself what the theme sounded like and was immediately hit with “oh my god this is sick as hell” (very gorgeous work this would make a great tv intro)

[@syaoran5476]

It’s stuff like this, the creative energy and inspiration that makes me so glad I’ve decided to learn how to animate. Beautifully done, love the colors and contrasts of reds blacks and tan with white detailing, like an old time bounty poster! Thank you so much for sharing this is wonderful!

[@zarchblarch2490]

Dust was the only one that I skipped and now I want to come back to it because of this animation!

[@cheesepuf5000]

This is so beautifully made!! The ideas and transitions are amazing and so creative I love it

[@luckynumberme3188]

the banshee panels are absolutely perfect!!

[@chancellorally8766]

Wow this is so good, if I didn’t know where this was from I would think this was an HBO show intro

[@theunderfold]

This animation alone makes me want to give that arc a second chance. Thank you for this.

[@owlpip8992]

THIS ID AMAZING WOW

[@thalassous]

i think the best experience i've ever had singlehandedly was coming back to this video throughout the series as i understood each reference more and more.

[@andreweddy7278]

shit the animation for this was so good wow nice ahh and i love the designs and just its so good i love this and i love dust

[@MsOAWR]

uhhh that was so good and so smoooooth and godammit bless you for this

[@verikodavitashvili5523]

Literally got chills multiple times while watching this because it's truly astonishing! Reminds me of a combination between a storybook and an occult text. So fucking cool!!!

[@bowtiefox]

This animation is so smooth it'd go well in a glass with some ice. No but seriously this is beautiful and fits the show so well just 1000000/10

[@zigzagzoom369]

Back here after the TAZ: Dust continuation announcement, can't wait to hear what kind of soundtrack it gets

[@christinegeiger7142]

That was OUTSTANDING.

[@largehenne5988]

Dust was the best of the new arcs in my opinion and this was done really well, gave me goosebumps!

[@m-2450]

voting between amnesty and dust was the hardest thing ever. i voted for amnesty but still hope they come back to dust because of how interesting the world space was for storytelling.

[@username_unavailable7592]

Holy shit this is amazing! It perfectly fits the music and the tone of dust. I can actually picture this as the intro to a tv series or something.

[@tigerserum]

this is PHENOMENAL. I love the smooth transitions and the color palette!!

[@houstonhorvath7163]

watching this again and again makes me cry, the art is so beautiful it catches the exact essence of the music

[@Selaphane]

Tbh, here for the opening song. Dust was great and all, but for some reason this tune got so stuck in my head. Best bit of music by far in the Adventure Zone IMO.

[@mariejessou]

I've never seen something this beautiful in my life

[@coolguy9869]

absolutely amazing 11/10

[@aud7593]

not only is this beautifully animated, it's extremely satisfying to watch!! i kept going back and watching specific moments several times - like the skull changing in time with the music, and the owls turning

[@cocaptainliz4520]

I saw this before I started listening to taz and to come back and see it now, I literally just finished Dust, this is spectacular.

[@pcg13]

this is GORGEOUS. and i love, love, love the timing with the music -- you've done such a great job.

[@Targemq8]

This is glorious.

[@EAncients]

low-key the best theme of all the campaigns

[@Elite942]

Easily my favorite TAZ animated opening yet. This is so so good

[@caeod]

Extra points for things that aren't spoilers but are clearly identifiable once you've listened! The Banshee, for instance.

[@sydneynordhagen7891]

This is so freakin cool. The style is so cool and the way the animations move really smoothly, idk how to describe since I'm not an animator, but it looks SO COOL!

[@RaikyaDafiren]

I LOVÉ IT ??! The style ... perfect ! The symbolism ? AMAZING !!!

[@ethancrowe280]

I've made my yearly return to this video and it's still just as good as when I first watched it.

[@mads9545]

THIS SLAPS ON SO MANY LEVELS

[@patchworkpuzzles]

This really convinced me to finally listen to the Dust arc. IT'S SO GOOD!

[@adriennefundy6087]

OH MY GOODNESS. THIS IS AMAZING.

[@keithbadger143]

I am losing my mind over how good this is!

[@Elektroschnitzl]

Well, that sure gave me some goosebumps all over my body and shivers down my spine. Well done, friend!

[@krfrostbight1489]

Travis gets a lot of shit for graduation, but he really made something deeply intriguing and atmospheric with Dust. Great work on the animation. Beautifully done!

[@abbycantrell1369]

I watched this when it first got posted and I still can't help but revisit it because I just love it so much!!!

[@pujee2846]

AH gosh you’ve finished it!! I just found you from your wip3 video just yesterday man, everything looks so smooth and amazing! I love the texture of the brush you used- makes it have the necessary vibe for the campaign, yknow? And just everything is ahbsidh I haven’t listened to Dust yet (because I wanted to finish balance and commitment first) but I’m rlly hyped for it!!

[@Aylakah]

I could watch this 100 times in a row and never get tired of it. Just this minute long animation made me incredibly emotional and now I desperatly want to relisten to Dust!

[@onfrolicker9317]

Hot diggity shit that is a baller intro. I feel sure that when they inevitably do a TAZ animated this will be there