Mike Stamm
@luckbat.bsky.social
Director, animator, podcaster, webcomicker
https://luckbat.com/
https://luckbat.com/
Tickets are now on sale for The Ottoman's world premiere at the NY Shorts International Film Festival! We’re coming in strong at the top of Program 2, plus Q&A with all the animators after the show! Check it out, won’t you? www.nyshorts.net/program-2
October 2, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Tickets are now on sale for The Ottoman's world premiere at the NY Shorts International Film Festival! We’re coming in strong at the top of Program 2, plus Q&A with all the animators after the show! Check it out, won’t you? www.nyshorts.net/program-2
Had to throw together a new widescreen thumbnail while applying to film festivals, and I gotta say, I kinda dig the results. This title style is clearly influenced by the comic covers I’ve been drawing lately, but it had never occurred to me to try it on a movie poster…
August 9, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Had to throw together a new widescreen thumbnail while applying to film festivals, and I gotta say, I kinda dig the results. This title style is clearly influenced by the comic covers I’ve been drawing lately, but it had never occurred to me to try it on a movie poster…
In the span of five seconds, this shot combines a 180° camera move, ground deformations, flowing sand, prop manipulation, smoke, fire, and a character hitting the ground and running at top speed. Tall order for animator Laura Craig, but she delivered: intense action, and even more intense emotion…
June 24, 2025 at 10:10 PM
In the span of five seconds, this shot combines a 180° camera move, ground deformations, flowing sand, prop manipulation, smoke, fire, and a character hitting the ground and running at top speed. Tall order for animator Laura Craig, but she delivered: intense action, and even more intense emotion…
The boy’s stumble wasn’t in the script—animator Kyle Torres felt it was worth adding, and we extended the shot just to accommodate it. But what makes that stumble the right choice for the scene is the way it connects to the film’s imagery of resilience and perseverance seen throughout the film.
May 30, 2025 at 8:42 PM
The boy’s stumble wasn’t in the script—animator Kyle Torres felt it was worth adding, and we extended the shot just to accommodate it. But what makes that stumble the right choice for the scene is the way it connects to the film’s imagery of resilience and perseverance seen throughout the film.
After a long hiatus, the main storyline returns! But this time, featuring lush, exquisite coloring, courtesy of @jackarais.bsky.social! You’re getting maximum value here, readers.
automansdaughter.com
automansdaughter.com
May 16, 2025 at 7:59 PM
After a long hiatus, the main storyline returns! But this time, featuring lush, exquisite coloring, courtesy of @jackarais.bsky.social! You’re getting maximum value here, readers.
automansdaughter.com
automansdaughter.com
I normally rely on painterly rendering and shading for my colors, so this cover, with its giant hard-edged shadow, took me way out of my comfort zone. Nowhere to hide!
May 2, 2025 at 10:14 PM
I normally rely on painterly rendering and shading for my colors, so this cover, with its giant hard-edged shadow, took me way out of my comfort zone. Nowhere to hide!
This is one of my favorite shots in the film, because you can catch all the Ottoman family dynamics in just a few seconds: dad is oblivious, the boy is carefree, and mom is ever-vigilant for calamity. The Scarab is, as always, lumbering.
Animator Sam Wilson was a force of nature on this one…
Animator Sam Wilson was a force of nature on this one…
April 21, 2025 at 12:06 AM
This is one of my favorite shots in the film, because you can catch all the Ottoman family dynamics in just a few seconds: dad is oblivious, the boy is carefree, and mom is ever-vigilant for calamity. The Scarab is, as always, lumbering.
Animator Sam Wilson was a force of nature on this one…
Animator Sam Wilson was a force of nature on this one…
The challenge of a complicated camera move like this is that you can’t animate the camera until the animation is set, and you can’t animate the characters until the camera move is set.
The only solution: start with a best-guess camera move in an empty environment, and animate characters to match.
The only solution: start with a best-guess camera move in an empty environment, and animate characters to match.
March 30, 2025 at 6:16 PM
The challenge of a complicated camera move like this is that you can’t animate the camera until the animation is set, and you can’t animate the characters until the camera move is set.
The only solution: start with a best-guess camera move in an empty environment, and animate characters to match.
The only solution: start with a best-guess camera move in an empty environment, and animate characters to match.
Strap in, it’s another mecha shot, this time showcasing the Scorpion’s memorable reveal, as it unfurls from its compact parking stance.
Were the Akira-style headlight streaks really necessary? History will be the judge.
Were the Akira-style headlight streaks really necessary? History will be the judge.
February 24, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Strap in, it’s another mecha shot, this time showcasing the Scorpion’s memorable reveal, as it unfurls from its compact parking stance.
Were the Akira-style headlight streaks really necessary? History will be the judge.
Were the Akira-style headlight streaks really necessary? History will be the judge.
As we wrap up post-production, it’s a great time to start showcasing some of our favorite shots from The Ottoman.
And there’s none better to kick things off with than sequence 3 shot 1.1! This powerhouse of a shot features the Scarab mecha thundering across the desert ruins, headlights blazing.
And there’s none better to kick things off with than sequence 3 shot 1.1! This powerhouse of a shot features the Scarab mecha thundering across the desert ruins, headlights blazing.
January 27, 2025 at 9:31 PM
As we wrap up post-production, it’s a great time to start showcasing some of our favorite shots from The Ottoman.
And there’s none better to kick things off with than sequence 3 shot 1.1! This powerhouse of a shot features the Scarab mecha thundering across the desert ruins, headlights blazing.
And there’s none better to kick things off with than sequence 3 shot 1.1! This powerhouse of a shot features the Scarab mecha thundering across the desert ruins, headlights blazing.
Inking practice with some fan art of Motoko Kusanagi, wearing her “white jeans” outfit from Standalone Complex season 2.
December 7, 2024 at 9:29 PM
Inking practice with some fan art of Motoko Kusanagi, wearing her “white jeans” outfit from Standalone Complex season 2.
My entry for #meetthewebcomic is The Automan’s Daughter, a retro-styled mecha adventure comic set in a dieselpunk North Africa. If that sounds like your jam, check it out at www.automansdaughter.com, and consider supporting it on www.patreon.com/luckbat!
November 18, 2024 at 5:16 PM
My entry for #meetthewebcomic is The Automan’s Daughter, a retro-styled mecha adventure comic set in a dieselpunk North Africa. If that sounds like your jam, check it out at www.automansdaughter.com, and consider supporting it on www.patreon.com/luckbat!
The Automan’s Daughter is on summer (and fall) break! Perfect time to read the first nine chapters at www.automansdaughter.com!
In the meantime, feast your eyes on this incredible illustration of Aisha enjoying her summer break, drawn by the incomparable @kimhu.bsky.social!
In the meantime, feast your eyes on this incredible illustration of Aisha enjoying her summer break, drawn by the incomparable @kimhu.bsky.social!
July 26, 2024 at 2:19 PM
The Automan’s Daughter is on summer (and fall) break! Perfect time to read the first nine chapters at www.automansdaughter.com!
In the meantime, feast your eyes on this incredible illustration of Aisha enjoying her summer break, drawn by the incomparable @kimhu.bsky.social!
In the meantime, feast your eyes on this incredible illustration of Aisha enjoying her summer break, drawn by the incomparable @kimhu.bsky.social!
Process diagram for #webcomicday!
The Automan’s Daughter is a mecha adventure comic set in a dieselpunk North Africa, inspired by European comics of the 1970s.
Updating biweekly, it's free to read at automansdaughter.com
The Automan’s Daughter is a mecha adventure comic set in a dieselpunk North Africa, inspired by European comics of the 1970s.
Updating biweekly, it's free to read at automansdaughter.com
May 13, 2024 at 4:42 PM
Process diagram for #webcomicday!
The Automan’s Daughter is a mecha adventure comic set in a dieselpunk North Africa, inspired by European comics of the 1970s.
Updating biweekly, it's free to read at automansdaughter.com
The Automan’s Daughter is a mecha adventure comic set in a dieselpunk North Africa, inspired by European comics of the 1970s.
Updating biweekly, it's free to read at automansdaughter.com
It’s the season finale! More webcomic chapters should end with one of the characters telling you to go to hell, in my opinion.
Anyway, The Automan’s Daughter chapter 9 is complete! Perfect time to dive in, before we go on hiatus.
www.automansdaughter.com
#dieselpunk #webcomic
Anyway, The Automan’s Daughter chapter 9 is complete! Perfect time to dive in, before we go on hiatus.
www.automansdaughter.com
#dieselpunk #webcomic
March 9, 2024 at 5:05 PM
It’s the season finale! More webcomic chapters should end with one of the characters telling you to go to hell, in my opinion.
Anyway, The Automan’s Daughter chapter 9 is complete! Perfect time to dive in, before we go on hiatus.
www.automansdaughter.com
#dieselpunk #webcomic
Anyway, The Automan’s Daughter chapter 9 is complete! Perfect time to dive in, before we go on hiatus.
www.automansdaughter.com
#dieselpunk #webcomic
I feel bad that crunch time at my day job has caused the comic’s update schedule to slow to a crawl. Apologies, everyone! On the plus side, I did manage to post this page, where for some reason everyone is heatedly gesticulating with one arm.
February 9, 2024 at 8:38 PM
I feel bad that crunch time at my day job has caused the comic’s update schedule to slow to a crawl. Apologies, everyone! On the plus side, I did manage to post this page, where for some reason everyone is heatedly gesticulating with one arm.
These two started out as a pair of sinister henchmen, but they’re more like sinister hecklers, at this point.
Not sure what happened.
Not sure what happened.
January 12, 2024 at 9:38 PM
These two started out as a pair of sinister henchmen, but they’re more like sinister hecklers, at this point.
Not sure what happened.
Not sure what happened.
“Mecha-blimp, do not make me twirl my finger again.”
December 29, 2023 at 3:00 PM
“Mecha-blimp, do not make me twirl my finger again.”
TIRED: Oceanic gladiatorial combat, with mecha
WIRED: Shirtless contract disputes, with mecha
WIRED: Shirtless contract disputes, with mecha
October 20, 2023 at 9:58 PM
TIRED: Oceanic gladiatorial combat, with mecha
WIRED: Shirtless contract disputes, with mecha
WIRED: Shirtless contract disputes, with mecha
He’s right, it is a pretty great question.
October 6, 2023 at 2:17 PM
He’s right, it is a pretty great question.
I'll level with you guys—warping and tracing that tattoo until it looked right took way longer than drawing the mecha-tank.
August 27, 2023 at 9:51 PM
I'll level with you guys—warping and tracing that tattoo until it looked right took way longer than drawing the mecha-tank.