Radical Face | Radical Face - A Light in the Woods (Book One: Hidden Hollow) @RadicalFace | Uploaded 11 months ago | Updated 5 minutes ago
I first started working on “A Light in the Woods” back in 2018. How I arrived at this final format is kind of a strange story, but if I had to summarize it quickly – I really just wanted to combine my three favorite mediums (writing, painting and music) into a single project.

It sounded so simple on paper. I had no idea what I was signing myself up for.

I didn’t anticipate how much time digital painting would take me to get comfortable with, despite having drawn and painted most of my life. I didn’t expect to start learning (albeit simple) animation, or how to design environments and strange creatures and all that goes into world-building. I didn’t foresee learning how to narrate this myself, or teaching myself audio mastering. And I certainly didn't anticipate how much experimentation it would take to fit these pieces into a cohesive whole.

But I think sometimes it’s best not to know. If I knew what I was getting myself into, I likely would have chosen something simpler. And that would’ve been a real shame. Despite it taking ten times the effort of anything I’ve ever attempted, I’ve never had so much fun with a project. Now that I’ve got my head wrapped around it all, I love working this way. And it’s led me to some surprising new relationships and collaborators (I’m looking at you Stefano, Mitra, Griffin, and Sinix), and a newfound appreciation for two of my most constant sounding boards (hi, Josh and Jeremiah).

I’m still not sure what to call the final result. A living book? A semi-animated fairytale? Your guess is as good as mine. But whatever name I could give it, this is only part one. I have five more books coming. So if this is something you wind up enjoying, I hope you’ll come along for the rest of the ride. I can’t wait to share what else is in store.

But before I go, I’d like to leave you with one quick hint – don’t let the simple surface fool you. While this project is in some ways my love letter to fantasy, nature and animation, I’m using it to explore some of my largest and most complicated questions about life. I’ve described it to friends as a fairytale for my existential fears, and it’s turned into one of the most personal stories I’ve ever written. But there’s beauty in it, too. I promise.

Until next time,

-Ben

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Chapters:

0:00 Intro
2:32 Vagus's Youth
6:17 Message From the Other Side (Song)
10:12 Tea With Priscilla
12:34 The Great Tree
17:18 How To Say Goodbye
19:20 Over The Garden Wall (Song)
24:54 Packing To Leave
28:00 Enter The Woods (Song)
35:10 The Morning After
35:52 Credits

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Dedicated Website: alightinthewoods.net
Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/hb4lwf
Discord: radicalface.ffm.to/discord
Instagram: instagram.com/radicalfaceofficial
YouTube: @RadicalFace

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