Thunder Bringer | EPIC: The Musical Animatic

Speed ran a 4 min animatic in 6 days! I'm not sure how I'm awake or alive at this point. Can't want to take a crack at the REST of the musical. OH and I actually captured footage while I worked so I can make a fun little "How its made" style video!
Music Credits to the very wicked ‪@JayHerrans‬
(I don't own the rights to the song)
Song: Thunder Bringer
Musical: Epic The Musical (Thunder Saga)
Characters: Odysseus and Zeus
Wanna have your name featured in the next animatic? Join the party over on patreon!
Wanna see some of my original work check out my Webtoon Covenant 13 :
www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/co...
If you want to see more of my work you can check out my other socials
Instagram: / neal_illustrator
Twitter: x.com/IllustratorNeal
Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/NealIllustr...
Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@neal_illustra...
Storyboards drawn and timed in Harmony Storyboard Pro

[@tarniabook3076]

I love that you fully drew the whole crew, giving them the same detail as Odysseus and Eurylochus. It really gives the impression that they're people too, they also have families to return to, even if we never see that.

[@dafinchie2927]

YES THIS ESPECIALLY! Seeing all those faces, their fear and pain, these are the faces of men who will never go home. It is something I have not seen shown in an animatic so direly. It’s heartbreaking.

[@beetlejuiceblues12]

Oh my GOD I didn't even think of it that way.

[@giacomoromano8842]

Yeah, fuck Odysseus, he is just the worst throughout the whole damn musical.

[@emerson4140]

@@giacomoromano8842Well, I’d argue he doesn’t become worse until later? At the beginning, Odysseus was doing everything he could to get his crew and himself home, but the gods kept fucking with him. I.e; Athena abandoning Odysseus and leaving him vulnerable to the other gods’ bullshit, Aeolus rigging the deal he made with the wind bag, Poseidon just being his dick-ish self, etc.

[@nikeleader3844]

I followed all video just for one eyed old man :D

[@ethanbalzhiser4331]

"But we'll die...." "Remember that bag i said not to open a couple sagas ago?"

[@masonmalo1471]

"Or the cow I told you not to kill?"

[@majora748]

"I am still bleeding from the stab wound you all gave me. The mutiny that just happened."

[@gamingloser5909]

"You know, none of this would have happened if Polites was still alive"

[@wellfuckit9936]

None of that would've happened if he didn't tell the Cyclops his name, tho , if he just just killed it like Athena told him too

[@-Commit-arson-]

“also that time when you all wanted to abandon each other when that witch was turning you people into pigs”

[@SabianTheNugget]

I love that Zeus's default facial expression is "Fuck me" eyes. I think this is my favorite depiction of Zeus.

[@Hjernespreng]

Which makes his expression on the *"someone's got to die today"* line so unsettling. It's an expression that brokers no argument on the FACT that someone is going to die regardless, and all the other smiles and singing is 100% just Zeus squeezing some fun out of this favor he is doing for Helios.

[@Minjit_me]

And a constant "Fuck you" grin. Very Zeus-accurate

[@user-oo8me7nf3k]

I think in the case of Zeus it's "I'll fuck you", but in general I love Hades more and his look: "Fuck leave me alone"

[@alinafreiberger5869]

like i get the "fuck me" eyes, but i think thats just his face lmao

[@PikachuProductionsPIKA]

"Wow Zeus looks so hot-" My middle school Greek mytho hyperfixation hitting me over the head: NO. WE KNOW BETTER.

[@acediamond5373]

How to avoid death in 90% of Greek mythology: DO NOT LOOK, TALK, OR EVEN GO NEAR SOMEONE WHO MIGHT BE ZEUS

[@mangomamba5482]

@@acediamond5373 I can fix him (Luke Holt's voice as zeus has me in a chokehold)

[@SorowFame]

⁠@@acediamond5373problem is that Zeus doesn’t always give you the choice. Actually scratch that, he never gives you the choice, if he takes an interest in you then he’ll do what he likes.

[@franciscorui]

But Muscles tho

[@wiilov]

I mean, lets be honest, MOST of his conquests were completely willing. So you're more likely to just suffer Hera's tempe-oh, yeah, you know better.

[@phantasmagoriaaa]

literally sobbing. the way eurylochus is the ONLY person who doesn't attack odysseus when he makes his choice. fucking amazing holy shit.

[@niceguyofgames9490]

Because Eurylochus knows this is all his fault. He knows if he had listened to Odysseus a number of times before now, they would have been back home safe and sound WAY sooner.

[@jp3711nc1]

This is why I always say he was always like this. Since the first song he was in.

[@michaelburns2003]

It really is great storytelling tbh & it makes sense since he was the one ( largely) that betrayed Odysseus and so understands & accepts his death because he brought it upon himself & his crew. HE was the one to betray odys’s orders & open the bag that sent them hurling across the sea & away from home. HE was the one that killed the sun gods cattle, something that the prophet from the underworld told ody & his crew not to do. He was Odysseus’s childhood bestie & also ( apparently) brother in law & ody is the king too, all that trust gone

[@Nisselak]

@@niceguyofgames9490 well, yes, Eurylochus has a large part of the blame, but let's not forget that the original cause of the adversities of the journey is Odysseus' hubris in revealing his name to the Cyclop

[@MarcyStevonshy]

@@Nisselakyes, Odysseus was the first to make a fatal mistake, and then everyone else involved continued making mistakes 😭 a true Greek tragedy where everyone keeps doing dumb stuff and getting themselves or others killed over it

[@Personontheinterne]

EURY BEING THE ONLY ONE TO NOT ATTACK ODY IS DRIVING ME INSANE. HES LOST ALL HOPE. HES RESIGNED. HES TIRED AND FEELS BETRAYED AND HURT. AND ODYSEUSS NOT EVEN FLINCHING WHEN HIS CREW MEMBERS DRAW THEIR WEAPONS. HES SO GUILTY BUT DEEP DOWN HE KNOWS HE WONT REGRET HIS DECISION. AND ZEUS LOOKING SO AMUSED AND CASUAL, USHSHWHWHSHS MAKING THIS IN 6 DAYS IS CRAZY ONMGH

[@nealillustrator]

I’m here to bring the pain my friends!

[@poisecritikal]

DEEP DOWN AKA SCYLLA WE ARE MAKING ALL THE CONNECTIONS AND GOING MENTALLY INSANE

[@laezin2442]

And he is also hungry. They didn't even get to eat the cows, which is particularly cruel ngl

[@mranderson9553]

the men just wanted to eat but he knew he would die when he killed the cow

[@RGinc-13]

​@nealillustrator can u do more epic songs plz

[@dailydoseofgenie9148]

So are we not going to talk about how connivingly sadistic Zeus is when he brazenly touched a Penelope shaped cloud and then later creates a whole vision of Penelope to manipulate Odysseus into choosing to sacrifice his crew? The way Odysseus covered his ears like a frightened child who hates thunderstorms, the way Zeus uses Penelope to coax Odysseus to look at her while singing Suffering, a literal "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" and when vanishes, Odysseus is left with that longing look on his face, letting the rain clear away his consciousness to make the choice, that was so well done!

[@Peaceiwantpeace]

Omg- I didn’t even realize that the cloud he was sexually harassing in the beginning, was shaped like this design of Penelope!! That’s so well written--

[@Little_astronaut1]

FRR

[@jamesmcmillan1833]

This all in Zeus wheelhouse. The Greek gods were horrendous

[@igorgracchia5788]

Girl was possessed by apollo, spitting raw art

[@mvolsic]

I mean. He is zues. So.

[@niceguyofgames9490]

Love how Zeus’ movement are all purely him LITERALLY flexing and posing. This is literally just a favor for him.

[@darkcheetah9448]

Molesting a women shaped cloud is such a Zeus thing to do, I love it. Also, really good animatic

[@nealillustrator]

It is very on brand for Zeus. And if you look closely the cloud woman distantly is shaped like Penelope

[@z2yn]

​@@nealillustratorThat makes it even worse. Odysseus has to witness the head god threatening to assault his wife and knows he can't fight him. This could be a good callback later, when the suitors plan to assault Penelope - Odysseus cannot fight an actual god, but he can kill a man.

[@feldfosful]

​@@nealillustrator to be fair. Ody's pride would be shaped like her if you could manifest it. Great work!

[@TorgKuman]

@@nealillustratorBro has to watch the literal king of gods cucking a cloud shape like his own wife

[@anne_0013]

@@nealillustrator This is a nice detail! Interesting to note as well in the later part of the myth is how Penelope was afraid that she might have to lie (bed) with a god which in classic Greek fashion, is something 'you cannot refuse'. She suspected that Odysseus (in his beggar disguise) might have been Zeus taking the form of her husband.

[@0axis771]

I think you perfectly depicted Zeus here. The fact that his literal first line is, "Pride is a damsel in distress" before turning a cloud into a woman before continuing on and showing some sexual gestures, it's a perfect way to show that their pride is going to get screwed by him. Zeus is reminding them that they are mere mortals and they arrogantly consider themselves gods by attacking Helios's cow. Even when he questioned how he made Odysseus choose, he showed how he knew Odysseus well enough that the choice was already set in stone long before Odysseus even considered the options. But it really didn't matter to Zeus. Whatever choice Odysseus made, Zeus had the enjoyment and pleasure of striking down their pride and reminding them that they were nothing but lowly mortals to him. And Eurylocus resigns himself to his fate because he understands that in the end, they brought this upon themselves by not listening to Odysseus when he warned them repeatedly.

[@Peaceiwantpeace]

In all honesty I’m glad someone points that part out, they made the choice to kill the cow even with the warning and they suffer for it and E guy (idk how to spell it) opened the bag and suggested leaving the men to Circe as pigs! He brought this upon himself tbh.

[@BlueCookies1116]

@@Peaceiwantpeaceeurylochus btw

[@Peaceiwantpeace]

@@BlueCookies1116 thank you-

[@magstrid4295]

Yup, they sealed their own fate in the end. Ody wouldn't have had to make the Scylla sacrifice in the first place if they hadn't opened the bag. Then not listening and killing the cow... then thinking that ody should have to sacrifice himself even though they betrayed him.

[@0axis771]

@@magstrid4295 Though keep in mind that Ody himself is not free of guilt. His freezing up after Polites's death cost the lives of many others who were pleading for Ody's commands. And then Odysseus arrogantly declared his name to the cyclops, which incurred Poseidon's wrath, something which Athena told him he should have done, but he chose not to heed her. As Eurylocus said, "If you want all the power, you must carry all the blame." The crew might have done wrong things, but Ody was their leader and many of his bad choices are what caused some of the worst things to happen to the rest of the crew.

[@TheNN]

*Then cut to the underworld where Hades is sitting there annoyed with the music all muffled, as bits of rock and the ceiling fall down around him* Hades: Do they SERIOUSLY not have anything better to do up there than musical showtunes?!

[@thebitten1]

Just you wait Hades, the heart broken poet will see you shortly with his own showtunes

[@_primrse_1252]

Also hades: has an entire musical named after him with multiple songs with him in it (Hadestown)

[@Princesstrixiesparklels4life]

Hahahahahahahahaha🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 poor Hades he feels left out😂😄😅

[@wiilov]

@@_primrse_1252 Please stop giving attention to that bastardization of culture.

[@_primrse_1252]

@@wiilov ?? I just made a joke about a musical that has music I enjoy?

[@emeraldmaster5388]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="135">2:15</a> I love how Zeus becomes half genuine when giving odysseus his choices, like he's say "look man I may be chewing this scene to hades but this is serious. someones got to pay" it's so simple but gives so much depth.

[@halfknight2310]

Gods yeah I can see that. It makes it seem he is genuine in a way. But as a god. His must do this. As a god, it’s both his right but also duty to do this.

[@flamenami]

@@halfknight2310 Not just any god. Zeus was, among other things, the god of justice.

[@halfknight2310]

@@flamenami … wait. Zues represents justice? Cause… that’s a bit hypocritical hehe

[@flamenami]

@@halfknight2310 Zeus was the god of kings, justice, oaths, and order among other things. Yeah it’s a little ironic.

[@halfknight2310]

@@flamenami yeah. That is very hypocritical. (Me to zues) Oaths? My guy. You cheated on your wife. Countless times. Even with your niece and other extended family. Even your daughter once apparently. (Gets zapped)

[@ifeeldead463]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="49">0:49</a> when youre forced to watch a god getting really inappropriate with a cloud

[@feldfosful]

That is literally the least disturbing thing he's ever been inappropriate with, and I love that they animated how absolutely unhinged the dude's libido is 🤣

[@andrewnyirenda2364]

For Odysseus, it's worse. He got to watch his great-great-grandfather feeling up a cloud

[@Geninacra]

@@andrewnyirenda2364 In the shape of his bride.

[@sup9441]

Subtle Ixion reference

[@your_favorite_jackalope_ba1325]

HEAR ME OUT THO

[@Ben_SGR]

The psychotic smile Zeus has the entire song like he's enjoying this it's creepy

[@nealillustrator]

Thank you! I figured he would be just a little to excited to flex his power

[@jiado6893]

Well the lyrics are making it really clear he's a serial rapist.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Oh he does, like go back the very first song and his "advice/quest whatever bs" is like really sadistic and hischpiceof words makes itclear he gets of on the powertrip

[@klausoshaunacey8429]

I feel like it’s because, as in the first saga, Zeus is proven to be absolutely correct when making assumptions about Odysseus. Athena can be as wise as she wants, but Zeus is always *correct* . That is, until God Games…

[@aina____]

for any other mortal, this is horrifying..for the gods, this was just another normal day.

[@tvanbus1759]

My favorite fact about this is that Helios cried to Zeus to avenge his cow and said "If you don't, I'll go to Hades and shine the sun in the Underworld instead" and I can only imagine Zeus being like "Okay okay chill dude, I'll avenge your fucking cow"

[@samanthaangelinedefensor]

I like when he addressed Odysseus as the King of Ithaca with a bow, it's more mocking and condescending rather than out of courtesy, since Zeus himself is the King of the Gods.

[@Eggs_hatching]

It almost feels like part of Zeus is offended by the mutiny itself and is giving Odysseus his "help" while teaching him a lesson & messing with him

[@Atlazuko]

Zeus is also the god of hospitality. it is good manners to bow to another king even if you are one yourself. zeus didn't care about alot of things but if you violated the rules of hospitality well the dude who last did that got to suffer hunger and thirst for eternity with both being just out of reach... so yeah.

[@vagaryn_]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="96">1:36</a> The sarcastic bow here us exactly how I imagined Zeus saying "King of Ithaca", how he's faking respect because mf is literally King of the Gods

[@senakumo1149]

Not just King of the Gods, he's also God of Kings. Moffo was absolutely sarcastic with that bow.

[@YuriDSC]

Odysseus was too full of himself, he believed to be able to achieve anything and everything he wanted without the help of the Gods. It's only natural that those same Gods as petty, envious and vile as they are will find this mindset deeply problematic and offensive. Bro had to be reminded where he stood on the totem pole

[@sinkandbath]

He bows, but still looks down on him. Both literally and metaphorically

[@error8119]

@@YuriDSCwell this is wrong😭 he repeatedly asks for help from the gods throughout his journey and in the end is the only one who truly fears the gods at all😭 he’s the one that tries not to go too far, consistently as well.

[@niceguyofgames9490]

@@YuriDSCOdysseus was trying to stop them from killing the cows. He learned from Ruthlessness that messing with Gods/Godesses only harms you in the long run.

[@chynafrance1594]

The fact that Jorge said that the gods can bring in voices of people that aren't there to join them in their songs... Dude just casually playing with Odysseus's feelings of missing his wife by using her voice (and form?) 😭

[@Brazilian_cheese]

Question, when did he say that?

[@castleplayz2361]

​@@Brazilian_cheese awhile ago when there was only two sagas out

[@jonathanmathai9269]

Zeus was known to impersonate people 😥

[@arvoredeuva5485]

​@@Brazilian_cheesea few sagas ago, he was explaining why the gods have an ensemble always ready even though they weren't there before and the difference from the human characters and their backing vocals

[@The_Cowwwthem]

YUP FR

[@shadsword0]

Its only here that I kinda realized that this song isnt just for Odysseus, but for Eurylochus as well. This song is the end of pretenses for both of them; Odysseus that he doesnt cares about anything else save for getting home to his family, and Eurylochus that he just wants to live but doesnt have his captains ability to lead with wisdom. He opened the bag, killed apollo's cow, refuses to make some sacrifices (hunger or Scylla) when needs must. While Odysseus got his reality check after the cyclopes and has suffered throughout the journey for it, Eurylochus only got his now. The difference being even in the worst circumstances, Odysseus can work a way out of his problems (blind the cyclopes, open the bag to escape Poseidon, convince Circe to help, choose Scylla/6 crewmen over Charybdis/the entire boat) while Eurylochus has no exit strategy when things go bad under his command. Even Zues's ultimatum exemplifies this; choose to kill Odysseus, the smart one who chose to suffer if only to have a chance to get home, or his mutinous crew, the group who while well-meaning are not warriors of the mind and have made a mistake (arguably several) they cant fix. The animation does so much with this just by having the last scene of the crew charging Odysseus like that can still do something about this while Eurylochus, now in Odysseus's sandals, having realized he messed up big and has no recourse, just stands there ready for his judgment. Odysseus has hardened his heart after the prophets augury and chosen the to be the monster in order to get home, but even he doesnt want to see his crew die. Its only the last push from Zeus that he makes the call, a hard one but the only that will get him home to Penelope. Him falling to the ground crying at the end is him losing that last bit of Humanity he had left. Now he has no-one else but himself to hold him back from going home. He can make every ruthless decision now as he has only his wife and son to lose. There's your win Poseidon; Ruthlessness shall be Odysseus's only mercy now. Curious to see how the next saga will work with this broken Odysseus. Great animation!!

[@Fluffy-Angel-wings]

In a way, if Odyssues had chosen to sacrifice himself to save his men and leave Eurylochus as captain, then the mistakes that he'd make would basically kill them all in the end and nobody would return to Ithaca :(

[@aishwaryakatkar2126]

I absolutely love and respect how you put everything into words 💯🙏

[@CaptainPoseidon282]

Odyseus: "You killed the cows! You got turned into pigs! You opened the windbag! Why should I help you keep your lives when you've turned mine into Tartarus on earth?" valid point there theese guys are so incompitent I think if they somehow all escaped Odyseus would genuinley not get home

[@nealillustrator]

Odysseus is essentially the leader of a group project at school. He is the only one putting in the work to get the task done

[@CaptainPoseidon282]

@@nealillustrator yeah that's the best way to put it. But it's like something where the older students help the younger ones and the young ones just mess everything up

[@armorbearer9702]

I have to agree. Someone pointed out there is no one on the crew that matches Odysseus wits. They will probably all perish to the next crisis.

[@Kat-xc7xf]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="83">1:23</a> it’s so simple but when Zeus reclines on the mountain, it is just the most casual yet larger than life show of power

[@madnessofmortals]

Right??? I was so ecstatic when I saw that. It’s great to see the gods act like *gods*

[@Mythinu]

ohhhh i didnt even think about the idea that zeus is giving odysseus a vision of penelope to manipulate him. penelope appearing yellow was NOT an accident T.T

[@user-sc8ol3qv9p]

you could also see it as apollos influence

[@Mrdragonjack]

The cows are from Helios, not Apollo, Zeus was sent cause Helios is always busy.

[@big3fanboy19]

​@@Mrdragonjack correct me if I'm wrong but there are myths that apollo got the cows as well in some way.

[@Mythinu]

I mean, regardless if its Helios or not, in this version of the story its Apollo since he will actually make an appearance later in Act 2. Helios does not, so in this story its pointless to have the cows belong to him in this part of the story only to never make an appearance. Edit: Okay I can't say for sure that it WILL be Apollo's cows, but its likely. God Games features gods that have been picked by Zeus because they each (from what we've seen) have something against Odysseus (Aphro hates that he let his mother die of a broken heart, Ares hates the way Odysseus uses his men and sacrificed them, and Hera is just hard to convince in general and was probably a "gotcha" from Zeus but he didn't expect Athena to pull the "Odysseus never cheated on his wife" card), so its not *that* inconceivable that the cows are Apollo's and he's upset that they were killed. Edit2: Its just better planting and pay off that way, is all. Thats what good retellings of these old stories do.

[@Mrdragonjack]

@@big3fanboy19 I don’t know if you are wrong about that but in the book of the Odyssey the cattle they kill belongs to Helios

[@lelaa.9274]

I like how in the beginning Eurylochus looks at Odysseus on how to act, but when he sees he's scared then he knows that he should also be scared.

[@animeotaku22]

After listening to this song a few times, I find it *fascinating* how pride was equated to a "Damsel in distress", and through the whole song Zeus sings about a "her". Given Zeus' normal reputation with women, if it weren't for that first line, you'd think it's just Zeus being Zeus and taunting Odysseus about how he's gonna take his wife or something after forcing him to choose his own life or his crews lives. With that first line though the entire thing changes, because Zeus isn't playing with women this time, he's playing with Odysseus specifically, and even more specifically, he's playing with Odysseus' Pride, forcing him against a wall, applying the pressure, to reveal what kind of man Odysseus is at the end of the day, and how far he'd go for his own goals.

[@TwiggyShei]

"Look, I don't really care which of you actually killed the cow, Apollo is pissy about it, so somebody's gonna have to fess up and die."

[@harry_homunculus_3454]

Sorry for being picky, but the Sun god in question is Helios, not Apollo

[@TwiggyShei]

@@harry_homunculus_3454 You are correct. I am dum.

[@harry_homunculus_3454]

@@TwiggyShei dude it’s fine Apollo is considered the sun god in most Greek canon it’s just when the Odyssey was codified, Helios was the sun god. Easy mistake

[@PuccaLover15]

“And, Odysseus, since you’re the mortal king and captain here, these guys and their actions are your responsibility, so I’m leaving this decision to you. Isn’t being king fun?”

[@SantosoWijaya]

@@harry_homunculus_3454I thought it wasn’t until Roman time that Apollo was syncretized with the sun? In all the Greek stories that I know of, Helios had always been named specifically for the sun.

[@lillianadkins5378]

I feel like some people have been shying away from the horrifying sexuality of the song but this animatic really mailed it. Zeus holding the figure by her neck at the beginning was Oughhh-

[@nealillustrator]

I try to nod to the creepy vibe without being to aggressive with it.

[@SingingSealRiana]

Zeus is a total creep, always was and always should be portrayed as such. He is a predator, he does not know empathy and both the song and the animatic aknowlage that as they should. Perfect vibe of false glory, threat and pleasure seeking

[@skycastrum5803]

@@SingingSealRianaYou’re slightly off. He may be a creep, but the glory is all there. Dude is a god at the top of the pecking order. That doesn’t discount his creepiness. Only makes it worse, that the desire to devalue him has absolutely zero effect.

[@mixedbaggamer]

​​@@skycastrum5803best way to describe Zeus in a modern sense is he is the CEO of a company the promises promotion for gratuitous quantities of sexual favors and rarely delivers

[@Thomazbr]

@@SingingSealRiana Zeus is all glory.

[@peppercornucopia_]

Now THIS is a proper Zeus design. Handsome, sexy, powerful, and not quite young or old, exactly the type of form that a vainglorious King Of The Gods would choose to appear as. The "madness-yellow" motif is a great touch too.

[@feldfosful]

This entire song and animatic is just Zeus going "Am i the fucking shit or what? Anyway, Apolly is fussy so who's taking one for the team?"

[@bananabanana484]

Making Zeus’ eyes yellow grants him a level of insidious energy which you don’t actually see often. He usually gets a softer blue or sky blue, but Yellow really gives him a sickening presense and connects him more to lightning and stormbringing than the sky. It’s a nice touch!

[@morningstarcollective4671]

The blue I like to give him is a harsh neon-electric blue. Which is closer to how I've always seen lightning

[@clayandros2038]

I think blue works when he's in a calmer "gentler" mood, its what makes him more personable and approachable. While here we see him acting in his full capacity as a god dealing out judgement.

[@GeorgeECorser]

Zeus is a Sith Lord confirmed. U N L I M I T E D . . . P O W A H ! ! ! !

[@inigochicano]

Fr

[@dragoniccrab]

This really shows just how Zeus is not a good guy. Like, yeah, it's super easy to make Zeus the ultimate good given his role in the pantheon, but he's just not.

[@nahlannentrela5376]

it makes so much sense that he wouldn't walk amongst them, he would be so far above them by choice-especially with how big his voice is throughout the entirety of the song ...he looks so chadtastic in this animatic. lol

[@nealillustrator]

I love the idea of the gods being HUGE or atleast the “king of gods”

[@nahlannentrela5376]

@@nealillustrator They would be the size they choose to be, and why lower yourself to the stature of your pawns? Equal height is to make your peer more comfortable with you. The Pride of a being like this would not allow for that, unless they wanted to play a manipulation game or gain honest and fearless responses from them

[@bosi1665]

​@@nahlannentrela5376 Or the more.. hands on experiences zues likes to have with women

[@boredbby3326]

Chadtastic is the perfect word for zeus lol

[@AlexMunz-bg3bc]

He is ultimate gigachad

[@LadyAndromeda1234]

I love how terrified Odysseus is when the storm clouds roll in- of course he immediately knows what's coming, I'm not surprised he has some Zeus-related trauma since the last time he saw him he made him kill a baby.

[@nealillustrator]

He knew he was in for another tough choice

[@Mothman_In_a_T-Pose]

Dude. Zeus is absolutely perfect here. The way he's animated? The character design? The fuckboi energy????? Screaming over how good this is.

[@kellymccormack8346]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="44">0:44</a> Eurylochus:...Captain? Odyssey: Yes? Eurylochus: Doesn't that cloud look like...? Odyssey: Don't you dare say it.

[@nealillustrator]

This is the exact interaction that happened in my head

[@elijahcruz9468]

Doesn't that cloud kinda look like your wife? Bro not even above taunting his own descendants...

[@vixionsvisions]

*sing song voice* Penelope

[@rightburstawesome4056]

Eurylochus: YOU MAMA

[@Mayonaka0tsumami]

It defiently had happened lol

[@nairav9156]

I love how Odysseus isn't concerned about his man attacking, in a twisted way he had Zeus backing him up, no need to worry

[@theawesomeperson2579]

or his ready to face there punishment if his not

[@Noah-fy4ib]

and also just ody not necessarily caring about what happens to him in that moment, considering the grief he feels having to sacrificing the remaining men he's known for so so long

[@beatricegurrobat7846]

He already made the final choice who gets to die from the gods' wrath, he just accepted that he couldn't do anything else about it

[@agatha6999]

Zeus is the god of oaths afterall, if he says Odysseus gets to live then he will live

[@foreilise]

oh i thought he was just suicidal ☠️

[@Obsidianen]

I love how Zeus' hair looks like lightning bolts

[@blademadlabs2423]

I like how he’s not throwing the lightning at the end but merely dropping it, really emphasizing the sheer power of the god these idiots just pissed off

[@HuyNguyen-rz7cd]

The ultimate adulterer himself, here to gaslight Odysseus, gate-keep Ithaca, and girl-boss his way into avoiding any consequence for his own bad actions

[@darkgamerlord431]

"girl-boss his way into avoiding any consequence for his actions" that seems like a brand new sentence

[@dummydodo737]

​@@darkgamerlord431key word, seems. Zeus's been doing this for centuries. He's tho og gaslighting girlboss gatekeeper.

[@Redd-Monarch]

zeus gets a bad rep for what nearly every greek god does but he's the most just and fair of the gods. he's the judge and the jury and he keeps the balance by making the hard choices.

[@mado-wh4jv]

​@@Redd-MonarchYes and no, not every God is adulterer and not every God has taken as many as him. The only fair point of it is that, for most myths, it is consensual.

[@AllMight6]

@@Redd-Monarchas long as you don’t include the cheating and rape but basically every male god not named Hades and Ares did that so I guess it was normal.

[@bontiac]

As it’s been said before, the devil works fast but epic animators work faster 💨

[@nealillustrator]

Some could say they work fast as lightning

[@justtheguy444]

@@nealillustratorThey wield it.

[@deraybell9140]

Use and guild it you can say.

[@animacaodeumamador1006]

​@@deraybell9140Show them they're the judgment call

[@joesplace2960]

I suppose their true nature is revealed then.

[@natashiamacon9430]

Zeus: This is the most fun I've had in decades! Odysseus: Dammit Grandpa

[@Atlazuko]

Odysseus: I'm tired of this grandpa! Zeus: Well that's too Damn bad!

[@qryptid]

Eurylochus: "you want all the power, you must carry all the blame" Also Eurolychus, upon facing the consequences of his actions: "uhhhmm, Captain..?"

[@astxrope]

The crew: attacking Odysseus Zeus: 🕺💃🕺💃🕺💃🕺 insert singing abt himself 🕺💃🕺💃🕺💃🕺

[@Aman123ace]

Suavementè

[@MrReich1918]

​@@Aman123ace Glad I'm not the only one who thought he looked like Ganondorf.

[@FloweryFeline]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="220">3:40</a> ZEUS WAS SO COLD FOR THAT. Most people expected him to throw a lightning bolt down and obliterate the crew BUT NO. In this version he just casually drops a ball of certain doom as if he wouldn't even let the men die in a glorious fashion because he really just doesn't give a damn.

[@michellewest4796]

They are, quite literally, beneath him. He got his jollies tormenting Odysseus, but this was an errand. He, the god-king, on an errand. The only person worth *speaking to* is a king. Zeus just wandered in singing his personally written theme song off to go end the people who killed someone's cows somewhere and he can emotionally torture a prophecy laden human king his family has been bitching about? Cool, he's gonna torment, drop his boom and skedaddle, writing a new verse of "I am Zeus and I am awesome" on the way.

[@FloweryFeline]

@@michellewest4796 "I am Zeus and I am awesome" I have never seen a verse that better described Greek gods 💀

[@quentinchambon9362]

That and the psychotic smile he have while dropping that ball of doom....

[@osirisshadoll4572]

@@michellewest4796 Lmao, yeah, entertaining himself in job time? Base af

[@Cafeno-fc4xw]

Imaginary Technique:

[@chorliteshatter]

i don't think anyone here has talked about how cool it is you make like just the specifically regular ass clouds move, like even if its like a frame a second they just feel how clouds should look and move??? THEY'RE SO FLUFFY AND THREATENING AND ADD TO THE SCENES, the whole thing is great i love zeus and the whole thing but i feel like the clouds had to get shoutout

[@toelintetch635]

This is the ONLY way Zeus (that damned horndog) can ever be depicted

[@Bi.StanderXO]

The way that Zeus is the only God that makes an appearance BUT doesn’t have anyone say his name is so powerful 😭 like, his thunder IS his intro, he makes his own! ⚡️

[@akemikobyashi8478]

It's like the thunder is enough to show who there dealing with...fucking brilliant

[@timbuyoti1198]

I get this point, but I think Poseidon only had that tribute because of his location. It was the island of the Laestrygonians and they're said to be his descendants so they'd probably be in awe of his presence and back him up. That's my thinking anyway 😉

[@flamenami]

@@timbuyoti1198minor spoiler but In God Games the gods that Athena has to convince are also introduced the way Poseidon was.

[@JEhrig]

I like the detail of them not even actually reaching the boat after the events of mutiny, the idea of the last verses of that being a dead sprint not desperate rowing is very interesting

[@nealillustrator]

That’s exactly what I was going for! The idea that at the end of mutiny Ody is trying with all his might to rush them back to the boat before a god shows up to punish them and they just don’t make it gets. Even after all they had been through he wanted to try and save them and he failed. Ah the pain.

[@cjkadar2832]

Heck they are supposed to be hungry enough to kill a golden cow (I think they are supposed to be gold). If they were all set up to butcher, cook, and eat it, there's no way the crew would have the energy to make it to the ship that fast.

[@hiddendsyr865]

@@nealillustrator only problem with this is canonically ody and everyone else falls into the sea and that is how ody finds his way to calypsos island. He would never have drifted there if they weren't on the ship to fall in the water to begin with. This isn't to detract from the animatic though, you did astounding and this is my favorite iteration of Zeus yet!

[@cjkadar2832]

It's not like Odysseus can sail the giant ship by himself. He would have to use a smaller boat, or build a raft. ​He could then struggle against the storm/or have Zues be more of a jerk and strike him down anyway. Ody would still end up on Calypso's Island.

[@The_Cowwwthem]

In the myth they die on the boat at the shore I think too or smth. I like it a lot tho

[@spottedheart6265]

I love the way Eurylochus doesn't attack with the rest of the crew. He knows he's responsible for Zeus even being there, and in Mutiny, he says he wants the suffering to end. He's a man who has lost the will to keep going after so many mistakes and guilt. While Odysseus, despite it all, still keeps going because he still has something to live for. I've seen a few artists show Eurylochus rushing to attack as well which is also painful but this one just hit me more because its just quiet acceptance rather then dying in rage with the rest of the crew.

[@Lithiel]

Saddest part of this whole “choice”, is basically it was no choice at all- again. Love for his wife and child aside- His crew wouldn’t have survived without him anyway- that’s why Zeus weighed ALL their lives against his own. Not just one person for another. ALL of them! They just proved it moments ago they were as good as dead without his wisdom to keep them safe. That’s why his friend didn’t attack. He knew. Brutal!

[@angge_xp4910]

OMG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!! The fact Zeus here looks more amused and cocky than angry or threatening?!?! It shows how this almighty God really doesn’t care, as long as someone’s paid the price.

[@nealillustrator]

I’m glad you caught that!!

[@justexisting6109]

@@nealillustrator im glad that you made it to show how zeus is just showing off when he's not talking to ody like because it makes so much sense cuz he doesn't care he just want to show off and kill some people

[@astxrope]

Plus, it’s not Zeus who’s been offended, it’s Helios (who threatened to take the sun to the uNDERWORLD-) he’s here as a third party for… whatever reason.

[@justforfun1205]

O​@@astxrope

[@EpicGamer-lg9ih]

Zeus is here because he is the god of justice.

[@rein9450]

I love the way you let Zeus play with female-shaped clouds and lightning like clays. He considers human to be like lightings: it is something he has authority over, FULL CONTROL over, something to be wielded and yielded by him. The shot where the female-shaped lighting gets stretched to a thin line is especially impressive

[@Coldpanda-ce7il]

Its very impressive when people can depict an action through body language alone. The fact that it looks like the lighting is SCREAMING in a pain is very cool!

[@lord.of.chocolate]

I like the moment where he just destroys the cloud woman, showing that he really doesn't care once the sex part is done

[@Litchert]

I *adore* the stylization of Zeus in this. The ego of the King of Gods drips out of every expression and pose

[@TheVacivus]

Love Zeus being such a diva. That glance at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="67">1:07</a> feel like, 'Are they still looking? Yeah the are still looking.

[@ChasoGod]

For some context the crew slaughtered one of Helios sacred cattle against Odysseus' orders as he told them to not touch them. Well when they killed it the Primordial of the SUN Helios told Zeus "you can either deal with them, or I will refuse to bring light and warmth to the mortal realm ever again which will result in EVERY mortal dying". This forced Zeus to make Odysseus make this decision of him or his crew.

[@Anonyomus_commenter]

Eh not really accurate. You’ve merged bits of EPIC and the Odyssey which other than character backgrounds, you can’t really do as Jorge has stated they have very different plots. In EPIC, after Odysseus sacrifices six men to Scylla rather than informing the crew that that was the only way home and offering the option to just not head home, Eurylochus stages a mutiny- supported by the crew who save him and stab Odysseus. He wakes up on “some island, the first one we found”, tied to a statue of Helios, where Eurylochus (and as far as we know, JUST Eurylochus) chooses to kill a cow because he is starving, despite Odysseus’ pleas otherwise. Odysseus then reassumes command and orders the crew to row as fast as possible from the island. Zeus is then sent on behalf of Helios, although we don’t know how he convinced him, and he forces Odysseus to choose. In the Odyssey, the six men die by accident when the crew are distracted by Charybdis as they are trying to sail between the two (although they sail slightly closer to Scylla as per Circe’s recommendation). There is no mutiny per se, although the crew still disobey Odysseus to get to the island against his wishes, and Zeus sends a storm to trap them there for a month. Eventually, when Odysseus is out praying and then sent to sleep by the gods, Eurylochus convinces them to kill the cattle, suggesting that they build a temple upon returning home, and they do so as they are starving, despite Odysseus having warned them that Tiresias prophesied that if they killed them they wouldn’t make it home. At which point Helios tells Zeus that he will shine over the underworld and not the living world if he doesn’t do anything, so Zeus destroys the ship, no choices given. Odysseus just happens to survive.

[@moondivine2288]

⁠@@Anonyomus_commenterthe reason why Odysseus was willing to sacrifice his crew is because they were so close to home. They were literally at the shore when the crew, specifically, Eurylochus, opened the bag containing the winds Odysseus wasn’t supposed to open. And because the theme is Odysseus killing to get his goal I can see why he was pushed to the limit when Eurylochus confessed. All of that could have been avoided if Eurylochus trusted Odysseus and not opened that bag.

[@ollievalentine4239]

@@moondivine2288a very interesting key to scylla is that Odysseus told Eureleclous to light 6 torches, He didn’t stop him from being one of the people holding the torch. This is part of the scylla animatic that Jorge oversaw. Eureleclous was meant to die to scylla, but he handed off his torch, It’s highly likely Odysseus was okay with him being the one to die because he was the entire reason none of them were home (opening the wind bag)

[@AxelSpinnet]

@@moondivine2288 I disagree. I think he already made the decision to get through by sacrificing six men when Eurylochus confessed - at this point, Odysseus was willing to do anything to get home. The Mutiny happens because Eurylochus and the Crew are tired, suffering, and lost all hope of actually getting home so they'd rather just stop.

[@moondivine2288]

@@AxelSpinnet I can’t say what was Odysseus plans before Eurylochus confessed but after he did it was when Odysseus told him to light up 6 torches. My guess is maybe Odysseus planned to have it done randomly to not call attention to himself. Idk. I get that the crew was tired but, by now they should have known from experience not to make a God angry. If they rather stopped it is understandable but, I can’t blame Odysseus who still wanted to go home to sacrifice his life over people who not only did the one thing that they shouldn’t do but, have already given up.

[@cinnakincat4260]

See, the thing i really love is that fucking SMILE Zeus has the entire time, that makes it SEEM like he doesn't actually care, but paired with the lyrics, it seems he's almost DELIGHTING in the murder and making Odysseus choose

[@FlintsForge6931]

because he doesnt these are helios' cattle on helios' island hes just doing this for the PR bonus from the sun

[@therealopaartist]

He fucks clouds and stole a prince he thought was pretty to be his cupbearer. Of course he’d revel in the murder of the crew. Very on brand for Zeus to not care about anything but himself.

[@29elines21]

Oh he does. It something that let's him flex his position. And maybe you noticed the smile he flashed at the moment Odysseus made his choice known? Was at 3:17 And he most certainly is making the most of it during the entire song. PS: I SAW YOU FLASHING THAT PUN!

[@flamenami]

And the fact that he only really ever drops it during “Someone’s gotta die today?” Like, he’s having fun but he’s reminding Odysseus that even though he’s dicking around it’s still serious.

[@tiffgaming8412]

The fact Zeus just smile in amusement and just show off his powers.He doesn't value their life at all it's just a distraction and it is very well made animatic.

[@LilacRose-rp8vw]

I love how Zeus doesn’t touch the ground. Unlike with other gods, he stays huge and in the sky at all times, because he knows he doesn’t need to lay a finger on them to murder them all. Don’t know if it was intentional, but that’s how I always imagine it being.

[@thenosieyartist6924]

Started off with 600, lost 14 to Polythemus, 558 due to Posidon, 1 from wine and a roof, 6 from scylla, and the last 21 from Zeus. Damn

[@itsjustvin7630]

Actually he lost 557 to Poseidon and Polyphemus. Elpenor was the 1 who made it 558

[@thenosieyartist6924]

@@itsjustvin7630 that would make it 601 I thought

[@itsjustvin7630]

@@thenosieyartist6924 14 for Polyphemus, 543 for Poseidon, 1 for Elpenor, 42 for Zeus 14 + 543 = 557 + 1 = 558 + 42 = 600

[@wahhh1673]

@@thenosieyartist6924nope makes it 599

[@thenosieyartist6924]

@wahhh1673 I'm about as bad at math as Jorge I swear :(

[@captainfordo3978]

Like how most/other Thunder Saga animatics portray the end of the "Mutiny" as Odysseus & his men making it off the island and are already going full speed ahead (no pun intended) before facing Zeus the "Sky Father". but here, THEY BARELY EVEN MADE IT OFF THE BEACH!!! So Zeus was already after them right as Eurylacus slit the poor cow's throat.

[@vevesumi]

Helios: istz if they touch my cows- Zeus: *in staring run-up position* lets fucking GOOOOOOO-

[@Ghostinasuit]

@@vevesumiLMAOOO

[@CoolColton947]

@@vevesumi "Finally, Zeus the Lord of Dunking shall have his day."

[@randomwriter9570]

Technically, they have to be quite far away from Apollo's island when they encounter Zeus, because Ody gets lost at sea and washes up on Calypso's island. A completely differnet island than before. If they hadn’t managed to said quite far away, Ody would have been pulled by the tides, back onto the island with Apollo's cattle

[@Ghostinasuit]

@@randomwriter9570 (minor tidbit, but at the time of writing the illiad and odyssey, Apollo wasn’t an established god yet, let alone known as the sun god. Instead it was Helios, the titan, who was the sun god with the cattle.)

[@MrRockingHippie]

i absolutely love this version of Zeus you've created, the muscular body, him being larger than life, how you never see his lower body through the clouds, and the yellow eyes oh my god. I'm not gay but seeing this Zeus makes me question that.

[@generalman1496]

"Hear me out" ahh comment 😭😭😭 in a good way

[@Fluffy-Angel-wings]

For your own good, NEVER, EVER, say that you think that Zeus is attractive unless you're trying to flatter him, he'll disguise himself as a bull and try to get it on with you, and then you'll get killed by Hera :/

[@Triksterpuckavalon]

Yeah you don't want my smoke my dear, I get what your saying but ThunderDaddy is ALWAYS TROUBLE!!!

[@bluesapphire170]

You nailed how much of a smug bastard Zeus actually is. Also nailed the disturbing way he treats women, like replaceable toys.

[@Zephirite.]

This version of Zeus is so reminiscent of the "Hercules" movie version, but with an ominous, self-aware hunger that is terrifying. The contrast between his nearly cartoonish glee with the dire situation is really well done...

[@tfly999]

"BUT ALONG CAME ZEUS!" but make it a nightmare.

[@bochordofleaspell1983]

YES! This! It really has like- a nostalgic? connection, an immediate- Yes, thats absolutely Zeus- feel. and then Every action Zeus takes takes that feeling and forges a connection to the myths. NGL everytime I will think of Zeus back in Ancient Greece I will now be picturing this version.

[@HenriqueLSilva]

"MAAAAAA, Zeus is molesting the clouds again!" Such a well made animatic, it's just top notch.

[@29elines21]

Hera: "Oh for Olympus' sake, not again! ZUES!" BTW: there is a story about a greedy idiot gone mad, Ixion, who got to feast with the gods because of Zeus' pity and then lusted after Hera. Zeus didn't buy it when Hera told him, but to to test the him... he used his powers to make a cloud in Hera's shape that a mortal couldn't distinguish as a fake. And send it to Ixion to seduce him. Ixion bit and "did the deed" with the cloud. He was sent back down with the equivalent of a slap on the wrist for it. (Not a happy Hera) Now he started bragging about doing the dirty with the queen of Olympus and that's when he got send to the underworld and given a special punishment. So he got bound to a spinning burning wheel for eternity. Oh, and something was born from that cloud. A son named either Imbros or Centauros, who then bred with the Magnesian mares on Mount Pelion. Resulting in a new race named Centaurs. Which are also called the Ixionidae because of their bloodrelation to you know who. Aditional: the reason he went mad is because he killed his father-in-law... Because he stole horses from him because Ixion didn't deliver on his promise of the wedding dowry. For this he got cursed, exiled (and while not mentioned probably divorced). Yay to random knowledge that won't improve my life.

[@robertsrtukel5723]

​@@29elines21You did not just go BTW = a whole fucking short essay

[@thefungiwhisperer2313]

@@29elines21 I just want to say, I love you, thank you for the fun fact/story, I adore greek mythology

[@error8119]

One thing i like about this song is that it also highlights how badly the siren truly was impersonating Penelope. When she said “i would/can/will take my suffering from you” she NEVER gets it right. Zeus shows us what Penelope would truly say “i can take the suffering from you, LET me take the suffering from you”. This Penelope shows an almost need to help him. She shows the RIGHT to help as his wife without making it feel like she’s in charge. It’s not “i will” like “you can’t stop me”, it’s “let me” as in “allow me to fulfill my duty as your love”. It completely takes over so that even though he KNOWS she’s not here, just like the siren, he can’t help but fall to it.

[@robertsrtukel5723]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="146">2:26</a> i love the reaction from the crew when they realize he didn't even consider himself an option. He immediately asked "please dont make me do this" he knew immediately he would kill them all if he could get home himself

[@Atlazuko]

to be fair they did just stab him and get them into this mess by not, not stabbing the cow.

[@robertsrtukel5723]

​@@Atlazuko I mean yea. If I was ody and just did a whole song about how killing these immortal cows is a bad idea I would let them die too

[@camerongrow6426]

Zeus looks like he belongs in a Disney movie and then he does weird suggestive things with a cloud. Spot on depiction!

[@DontObliteratetheCommenter]

So like a Hazbin hotel like show. I can see it.

[@Shadowblader98]

this version is way more accurate in personality then the actual disney zeus

[@chylcody7804]

Man’s over here looking like Ganondorf’s cousin

[@bridgerhibbert2993]

Seems like something Dreamworks would do...

[@ZeroOmega-vg8nq]

​@@chylcody7804i thought i was the only one who noticed he looked like TOTK ganondorf

[@reneehoenicke4765]

I like to think Eurylochus understood. Odysseus has never given up hope on getting home while Eurylochus had felt resigned to just surviving as long as possible at sea. Between opening the bag, suggesting abandoning men on Circe's island, the mutiny and the killing of Helios' cow, Eurylochus probably realizes that he is not guiltless here. Neither is Odysseus, but I believe Eurylochus gets it. And watching the god of the heavens personally ask Odysseus who gets to live and who dies? To know that the gods have their eyes squarely on him and that the rest of them are pawns in a test they give him? Eurylochus accepts his fate and the decision. I don't think Odysseus would ever be forgiven, but I believe his brother understood.

[@somedragonbastard]

In the Odyssey, Eurolychus outright states that he knows there will likely be retribution for killing the cows, but chooses to do so anyway to avoid starving and reasons that it's better to die at sea at the hands of a god than slowly starve, which is kind of how I took his decision in the musical as well- he's tired, he thinks they can't get home, and he's just realized that Odysseus will sacrifice anything, including the crew, to see Penelope again, mans is not in a good headspace and it shows. None of this would've happened if the crew had some snickers or smth I swear

[@KingIshimaru]

The end of Mutiny sorta shows where they stand; Odysseus is focused on getting home to the point nothing else matters, because it's the only thing that can possibly balance out the suffering they've been through. He has to believe seeing Penelope again will make it worth it, he can't accept the idea this terrible journey was all for nothing. Eurylochus has also suffered, and simply reached a point where he wants the suffering to END. He hears Odysseus's warning about the cattle but all he sees ahead of them is a journey filled with starvation, sacrifices, and the gods laughing at their efforts. He's done; this is as far as he's going. It doesn't make it any easier to hear Zeus force Odysseus to place his own life above all of theirs, but yeah, I think he understands. He made the decision to end it on this island, one way or another; Odysseus has resolved to continue hoping and struggling even if that is a decision to continue suffering.

[@djwilson1993]

Zeus literally asked Odysseus “Who lives? Who dies? Who tells your story?”

[@Woofle22]

AHHHHH OWWWWWW

[@rahmahchowdhury4856]

​@@KingIshimaru This should have been called the suffering arc but Zeus used his veto power.

[@manicdogma2240]

I really love the way this animatic recontextualises the bit at the start? It's kind of frustrating how Zeus' hornball antics have largely become his core personality in online spaces, but here you've reframed that whole part of the song as basically a *bit* Zeus is putting on as a power move to unsettle Odysseus. It's such an excellent Zeus, malicious and petty in extremes but also phenomenally majestic and charismatic. He was the King of the Gods for a reason, after all.

[@knightofsteel2783]

I love Zeus's design. He looks suitably kingly, but in adddition he looks like what you'd expect from the father of Heracles. The yellow eyes just add a great point as well

[@Mario-us5xm]

Also I love that you made this happen still on Helios' island on your animation because now I just imagine him coming back like "Hey Zeus, thank you so much for taking care of those people who killed one of my poor cows man, it means a lot to m-WHAT THE FUCK WHAT HAPPENED TO MY ISLAND" as he sees a bigass crater in there mskfgbmfksgbm

[@nealillustrator]

Haha that’s such a funny thing to think of omg!!

[@gandalflotr2898]

I bet he regrets should get Hades instead

[@valmid5069]

Eurylochus: "Listen to me, my comrades, brothers in hardship. All ways of dying are hateful to us poor mortals, true, but to die of hunger, starve to death-that’s the worst of all. So up with you now, let’s drive off the pick of Helios’ sleek herds, slaughter them to the gods who rule the skies up there. If we ever make it home to Ithaca, native ground, erect at once a glorious temple to the Sun god, line the walls with hoards of dazzling gifts! *But if the Sun, inflamed for his longhorn cattle, means to wreck our ship and the other gods pitch in-I’d rather die at sea, with one deep gulp of death, than die by inches on this desolate island here!"* (The Odyssey) Zeus: (loads his thunderbolt after many crewmates disobeys Odysseus' instructions not to touch the gods' cattle and leads a mutiny against him) *Alright, Bet!*

[@CoolColton947]

"Bet." -The Lord of Thunder, unheard because everyone around him got deafened halfway into his song.

[@Jivetalkin13]

Why am I imagining Zeus loading his bolts up into a shotgun.

[@samantha6270]

@@Jivetalkin13 I was thinking of more or so of a rocket launcher

[@stellar_nathy6679]

Welp, at least he died with a full tummy

[@internlisa5508]

I love that we only see Zeus' upper body from over the cloud here. But I can't stop imagining him sitting actually in olymp half looking out of some kind of portal. And his lower body is still there. And Hera just being annoyed about her husband being a shof off again

[@jasoncrawford5417]

I appreciate how Odysseus stands his ground when they attack him. He made the choice and he owns it, even if it's terrible.

[@CeceW-oo8yd]

Is it terrible though? They were the one who put him in this position. And not the only time either, captain was done with those dickwads.

[@l.raphaelnery7299]

The thing I personally find to be fascinating here is that in the original oddessey Zeus was more indifferent his pride made him see everything as beneath him and only punished when the sun god asked him to...here he's actively more arrogant and it shows more of his god of divine justice aspect....it also shows that on some level even he was annoyed with Odysseus because he was too prideful for a mortal who thought he could outsmart anything and everything that came for him...

[@SingingSealRiana]

Oh, he is plain a sadist... Like he had way to much fun even back then when he told odysseus to kill the babe. He gets off on the powertrip

[@l.raphaelnery7299]

@@SingingSealRiana not going to disagree... but in this scene it shows something more...in the cruelest way possible

[@l.raphaelnery7299]

@@SingingSealRiana Odysseus is first and for most their king, captain, and leader a king who can't control their own soldiers is no king...by making Odysseus choose Zeus gives him a chance to earn his dignity after his own crew mutinied...also Zeus's trying to make a point that just because he's smart and fierce doesn't mean he's invincible... because even though Zeus will never admit it he knows there are beings still more powerful than him such the Fates and Nyx of primordial night...he also want to remind Odysseus that he still just a mortal who like any mortal will choose themselves when pushed comes to shove....

[@ShadowFox1412]

@@l.raphaelnery7299yeee tho honestly it would be a different story if it were him or Penelope and Telemachus. Odysseus is prideful, but he’s less choosing himself over his crew and moreso choosing his family over his crew.

[@cub-square]

​@@SingingSealRianai think it was just a test but in cruel way. Hey bro you leave this baby he will take revange on you and he isn't wrong exactly. We will not stop you but you have to choose to accept conseqence or finish the job

[@taliaumen232]

Zeus is flexing. Flexing his power, his status, his success in “love,” his majestic body. If Poseidon got pissed off by the disrespect Odysseus had shown, Hades didn’t care much (he tortured Odysseus with the souls of his comrades, mother, and Polites, but not more)… then Zeus… Zeus was waiting for someone to “punish” and show off.

[@user-dp4gu6bn5v]

Pretty sure odysseus getting tortured by the souls there isn't Hades fault

[@LintuWaterfall-ey9xo]

Hades - "I don't control the dead to do that. It's just what they do."

[@lordcthulhu8472]

It's Persephone that sent the death souls to toture Odysseus, atleast according to Homer's Odyssey.

[@yay29823]

It was probably Persephone who did that

[@user-dp4gu6bn5v]

@@yay29823 why would persephone do that

[@RavensaursRex]

Jesus. Having Eurylochus just stand there defeated and awaiting his fate is heartbreaking.

[@specialgamer0072]

“But we’ll die” If you want all the power, you must carry all the blame EURYLOCHUS

[@drmedic593]

Zeus posing before committing a small genocide is the perfect depiction of him

[@acediamond5373]

I don't wanna be picky but it is technically just mass murder, Zeus didn't kill all Greeks just like 40ish men, still bad but ya know

[@Bit01ByBit01]

I love the slight detail of Zeus just tipping his hand after the grand gestures to gather power. Like he's not even smiting them for real, it's just a spectacle to him and others.

[@SantosoWijaya]

Makes sense, they’re only like ants. He defeated Typhon a gigantic kaiju. His full powers have geological consequences.

[@thelibrary4833]

​@SantosoWijaya Didn't it take all the Olympians and 2 tries to beat him, with Zeus getting his tendons stolen and having to be rescued?

[@niceguyofgames9490]

And he doesn’t throw his electricity. Throwing would require effort. Why would he exert effort when…all he needs to do is let it go and let gravity take care of the rest.

[@bendrowned8506]

@@thelibrary4833i could be wrong as well, but i think the tendon thing was from when the olympians where fighting typhon.

[@flamenami]

@@thelibrary4833 no. The first time he and all the olympians got beat, but the second time he took on typhon solo and won.

[@dreaming_destiny675]

Wow, there are just…so many things I love about this animatic. I love Zeus’ design and how big strong and muscly he is along with his size. Just goes to show not only how strong Zeus is, but also how powerful. I also love how he uses Penelope to threaten Odysseus. If you think about it, the implications of that are actually terrifying because while Penelope could and has been resisting the suitors, she could never resist a god, more specifically Zeus, without consequences. I also love how she’s used to shape his final decision. It’s all just **chef’s kiss**

[@crowking5474]

There's something so brutal about the way you decided to portray the crew. Like, you gave them hair. And faces. And expressions. You made them people, where most might've just made them a faceless mass of bodies. Brutal dude, I love it

[@ShinnyShinnShinn]

YESSSSS THE faces at "Someones gotta die today" and "You or youre crew" are PERFECT. Its so matter-of-fact and almost like hes giving a child a stern warning. FUCKING YESSSS

[@candlestickcaleb2806]

This was a flawless animation in my eyes. Zeus was perfectly portrayed as an uncaring asshole Eurylochus was given justice through him accepting Odysseus' final decision The "I will take your suffering" part demolished me as it should. 11/10 I will be billing you for the trauma sustained

[@nealillustrator]

I’m getting quite a few trauma bills tonight lol

[@amw5288]

Yeah. Have to say. I like that while the rest of the crew charges Odysseus, Eurylochus just accepts it. Both the consequences of his own actions as well as Odysseus' reasons to do this. In the Jorge commissioned animatic Zeus' bolt hits with Eury's Greatsword's edge inches from Odysseus' face but I prefer this one.

[@RCOLLINS1446]

@@amw5288Ditto

[@OsQuinneOsGwynneOsRobynne]

God, Epic is right. This is presented like a classic Dreamworks film, like I could see this being a Classics style movie in the vein of the Prince of Egypt. Gorgeous choreography on Zeus's seductive arm movements in the third chorus, really hitting home his mix of debauchery and perversion and sheer unadulterated megalomania and bloodlust. The varied facial expression's of Oydsseus's crew in the crowd scenes are excellent as well. I honestly don't know much about this musical, nor the story of the Odyssey in general, we never studied it in school. But if you do more animatics for Epic I'll gladly tune in.

[@nealillustrator]

WOW this is a HUGE compliment!! Thank you so much!!!

[@MaluuniRosa]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="46">0:46</a> And here we get a range of "Oh we screwed up bad", a simple "Uh Oh," "I will punch this god, I don't care he's the king of them," "Is he really doing this? To a cloud? Right *now*?" (the two faces on the faces ends) and my personal favorite, Mr. Broom Mustache in the back looking like "Man, screw this, we need different gods who aren't playing out Ixion's fantasies."

[@aquari-um]

THE WAY YOU DREW/ANIMATED ZEUS IS SO COOL IM GONNA EXPLODE???

[@nealillustrator]

No exploding that is Zeus

[@justmeagain4662]

The whole 'Pride is a Damsel' imagery actually made my skin crawl. This is so well done!

[@donovanblackwelder4301]

That's Zeus for ya

[@Shadowblader98]

lets be honest, for zeus this is rather tame

[@ANP4158]

The first half of this song made me like WTF since it’s accuracy

[@ricardical]

I think my favorite thing about this Zeus design is that it looks like a Gwyn or Nameless King from the Dark Souls line. His massive hair and ridiculous physique sell the “mad, absolute adjudicator” vibe.

[@loganfrandrup6590]

Take this in absolute strides, I grew up with mythology and seen a lot of different interpretations of Zeus, but this…this has got to be my top favorite now. The design alone was already pretty damn good, first subverting the idea of giving him a massive beard of clouds, and instead giving him shorter more jagged facial hair and making his hair reminiscent of enormous roiling storm cloud bursting with lightning, that gives a literal striking silhouette. But what tops it is his body language, posing, animation and facial expressions. All of that Oozes bragging confidence and sincerity, he knows he is the god above all others, he knows he can do whatever he wants and has the power to do it, and he is honest with that fact to anyone that looks at him. Heck, even the act of making a female effigy out of clouds and then with lightning shortly after, and forcing his will on both, fits so well with his character it hurts!

[@kawaiiTuna]

This is absolutely breathtaking, your design for Zeus is so good. Also, Eurylochus not charging with the rest of the crew hurt me.

[@nealillustrator]

He knows Odyssey to well to waste his last moments fighting him

[@Phasmania]

@@nealillustratorThe fact that he called him “Ody” and “friend” after their fight says it all. Also that final exchange sounded so resigned, that ending with him being the only one to not attack is my personal canon lol

[@tumblingartist]

⁠@@Phasmaniaikr!! adopting it as a headcanon as well

[@ChuncheeCat]

Zeus mannerisms and design is beautiful, and him being inappropriate with a fricking cloud makes me as mildly uncomfortable as it should do. Well done.

[@karathewolfsfanficchannel933]

That was supposed to make us uncomfortable? 😦 I might need help

[@vincentender1486]

​@@karathewolfsfanficchannel933 Considering all the forms he's taken to diddle women with or without their consent.

[@29elines21]

@@karathewolfsfanficchannel933 Don't worry to much. It depends on ones point of view. Zeuss is known for being forceful with whoever he likes (regardless of their consent) So the cloud touching can be seen as him being "forceful" or him showing his womanizing off. Naturally the "forceful" is going to make people uncomfortable.

[@cookieoppressor9700]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="135">2:15</a> this shot right here is my favourite. He makes Ody make a decision that noone ever should face and he looks like he doesn't even realyl wanna be here "Yeah, Helios wanted me to come here, so pick who dies so I can go home"

[@izzywes9839]

Why he MOVE like that!? 😫 i don’t want to be attracted to Zeus!!! 😩 <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="36">0:36</a>

[@krbthewitch]

Daaaaang girl! All this in only 6 days? Maybe you're the one who made a godly deal.

[@nealillustrator]

Oh Gods I hope not lol! If I learned anything from the epic musical…the gods are not nice

[@neilpakulath1503]

@@nealillustrator Fun fact that just popped into my head, gods are influenced by how nature treats the civilizations there. For example, the Nile River flooded predictably and safely, so Egyptian gods were more beloved and kind, while in Mesopotamia, the Tigris and Euphrates flooded violently and unpredictably, so their gods were more feared and scared. (reasons aside, the case differs from god to god, and Zeus is rarely one of the good cases.)

[@Anonyomus_commenter]

@@neilpakulath1503This influences modern religion too- Yahweh (the Jewish god) originated as a storm deity, and is very prone to violence in the Old Testament/Torah, but when he became a more all encompassing god he started being depicted more pacifistic with the New Testament.

[@SantosoWijaya]

@@Anonyomus_commenterthe commands that he made to his people when waging war and what to do with the defeated enemy tribe … was more on par with Ares. Yahweh was totally a war god.

[@DY-gb5jd]

That opening with the cloud lady made me wanna get my pepper spray lmao

[@noctisvigil470]

as usual of zeus

[@florencejorence]

when i first watched this i thought the crew was running to try and attack Zeus which made me laugh then i realized they were running at Ody and was like oh. yeah, that makes more sense.

[@Savaris96]

If I were Odysseus "Captain?" "No, no, no, dont you "Captain?" me, you assholes ignored my warnings and literally mutinied, the Poseidon mess was on me but this one was all you"

[@kingofpoliwhirls7464]

I mean, technically, half of the Poseidon thing was on Eurylochus too

[@giacomoromano8842]

What? Odysseus literally cursed them all with the Polyphemus debacle, which cost him basically the whole fleet, then acted more and more crazy up to Scylla, where he straight up sacrifices 6 guys, all the while they are desperate, starving men whose captain betrayed their trust and is so obsessed, he kills them all just to go home, ignoring how they all have families to come home to. So in what world are you saying he has the moral high ground when all he did was messing up by picking the wrong choices?

[@multilk6399]

@@giacomoromano8842 Well, Eurylochus DID open the wind bag, which led them straight into the hands of Poseidon which led to the deaths of 90% of the fleet, but the poseidon thing itself was also Ody's fault, so it's sorta both their faults. About Scylla. Ody had 4 choices: 1) Fight Scylla, which isn't an option because they only had 43 men left and the sirens even said Poseidon himself was afraid of her. 2) Fight Charybdis, which also isn't an option because it would've likely destroyed the ship and the entire crew with them (Charybdis might not have been an option actually, since Ody fights her later in the story) 3) Fight Poseidon, since he was looking for the crew and DEFINITELY wouldn't've let them go, and they don't even have any method of escape this time. 4) Sacrifice 6 men to let them pass through Scylla's lair. Overall, the variant he chose was the one that would've led to the least deaths, but people got mad at it. Of course it is also sort of Ody's fault, since he could've at least explained himself like Eury asked him to. In general passing the blame in this musical is a bad idea, everyone fucked up and it's everyone's fault. I'm just saying that Ody's not much worse than Eurylochus, because largely he only made one large mistake (which could technically be explained as caused by Athena? Probably not but it was due to an inner conflict of Polites' morals and Athena's practicality. Though I wouldn't exactly blame Ody for choosing the worldview of his BEST FRIEND who died right in front of him.)

[@flamenami]

@@multilk6399to be fair I don’t think it would have made a difference, except for getting them farther from home. There’s no way they’d have escaped Poseidon while they were on the ocean.

[@justinquiring445]

You absolutely nailed Zeus' DRIPPING sarcasm. His expressions on "Tell me... Odysseus", and his bow on "Enlighten me, king of ithaca" matched it so well. He's just LOVING this, just eating it up.

[@emanresU2020]

I love how at the beginning Odysseus is freaking out upon seeing the thunderstorm as the last time he had a talk with Zeus he had to make one of the hardest choices in his life. And then Eurylochus sees his captain’s fear and is a tad confused until he realizes which god is up there and then his face reads as “Oh, we are ROYALLY fucked!”

[@chrisamon9645]

This is one of the best animatics ever. So somber while Zeus just goofs around, playing with their lives and getting a sick joy out of it. 11/10. Really brought the song to life.

[@raibread2818]

odysseus saying “please don’t make me do this” is so brilliant on Jay’s part. not only is it a call back to infant and the horse and how odysseus likely already knows he’s going to sacrifice his crew. it’s not a “no i canf do it” it’s “i will do anything to see penelope but i don’t want this guilt” 💔 sobbing