Software that I use for Inking and Coloring

My Teen Titans Post is sort of in the Backburner for now due to my job at the Café as well as switching Motherboards in my PC.

But I went at least one month without doing a Maverick Quickie and I'm not going to do another Quickie filler this month so until my schedule is worked out, here's something that has been in the backburner for the last 7 months:

SOFTWARE I USE FOR INKING.

This piece of artwork above was something I've done on Photoshop.

And pardon my DUCKMAN quote I used for Hayden here.

Back in December 2023, I did a post about Inking, the haphazards, the techniques, and the ideal Wacom Tablets you should buy if you have the money for them.

But what I didn't talk about is the various pieces of Software I use to create my art.

It varies.

I only told half of my social circle about this but I delight in drawing physically on paper.

But sometimes due to the cost of Photocopy Paper as well as resources force me to go digital in the realm of creating my art.

So here are the various pieces of software I use for my art:

First is my tried and true since 2012:

My Nintendo 3DS+Colors! 3D App

After losing my MDG Horizon 2400 PC to a Trojan Horse in June 2011, I had no PC to do my art. So all my art was done with this little Handheld below..... sort of.

Back in 2012, I actually had an original 2011 Launch Model 3DS console.

But what I did buy with my funds back then was this piece of Software:

Believe it or not, I still use this 3DS App even after a decade later after it was put on the Nintendo eShop.

I seriously have a ton of art done with this app but I can't show them all due to not having compiled them all in a single folder.

Maybe I'll show them in the future.

But anyway, for 2 years, This was my primary piece of software.

Then 2 years later, I got my Laptop.....

A piece of shit Laptop by the looks of it.

It's this HP Pavilion 3560M shown below.

But bad memories aside, there was one piece of software I used in tandem with my 3DS exports.

Paint.net

I'm really a Photoshop type of person but back then, I could not pay for the software, and I didn't know of Krita or GIMP so I turned to this piece of software referred to as Paint.net.

No relation to MS-Paint.

That's also when I sort of stopped drawing BGs and stuck to compositing my draws on separate BGs.

Then 2 years later again, I switched to Photoshop CS6 and I've never looked back...

Not even the migration to Creative Cloud was enough to deter me.

I did install Krita and tried using it but I could not get a feel for the software due to the difference in hotkeys that I'm used to so I stuck with Photoshop.

One would say why Photoshop and not Illustrator.

Photoshop is more versatile in the tools and brushes because it's a raster graphics program. 

Illustrator on the other hand uses Vector Graphics to generate it's artwork.

While Vector Graphics would have been more fitting due to the need to smoothen my inking, it's a pain to use.

I installed Illustrator and tried using it but could not get a feel for it so I've since stuck with Photoshop ever since.

While the inking is spot-on, there's one thing that Photoshop falters at and that's using the paint bucket tool.... sort of.

The nature of Raster Graphics is that it uses Pixels for generating the line art or assets you're drawing. And using the paint bucket has always been a haphazard on single layers.

Whenever we use the paint bucket, the algorithm always anti-alias the surround parts of the line art, making the line art less appealing and less authentic than I want it to be.

Fortunately, I've figure out a way to combat this issue. 

What I do Is create two layers.

The first is a single layer for the Line Art

While the Second Layer is for the color.

After the line art is finished, I go to the Color Layer.

Use the want tool set in STRAIGHT-LINE mode, 

and click away inside the line art.

Once I select the areas I so desire, 

Then I can use the Paint Bucket tool

And that's what creates this beautiful Cel without losing the authenticity of my line art.

As for 2D Animation, well....... 

I used two pieces of Software.

The first was ADOBE ANIMATE.

It was ok to use but I considered it the Poor Man's Toon Boom since it was built to replace Adobe Flash animator.

Once I switched to Toon Boom Harmony Premium, I never looked back.

Sure I had some issues with Toon Boom's Hotkeys but eventually, I got used to it.

Toon Boom Harmony is by far the more versatile of all 2D Animation software on the market.

The underlying tech, whether it's the easy integration with tools, brushes, Swatches, etc, I've been using this software since January 2021.

Sure, it's expensive since it's industry standard but what you pay for in versatility is the best that you can animate.

And you don't need Adobe Media Encoder to create your final export, unlike with Animate.

But what Toon Boom and Adobe Animate have in common is that they both use Vector Graphics to generate their artwork but at least the way they handle Vector Art is better intuitive than Illustrator ever was.

So really, I use two pieces of Software to create my artwork.

One is my 2DS XL and it's Colors! software,

and then there's my PC with Photoshop and Toon Boom.

All you need to worry about is Software features you don't need, a functioning hard drive, or in this case: FUNCTIONING TABLET DRIVERS.

Yes, Drivers are important for your device to work, otherwise, what's the point to spend on a Wacom Tablet Display if the computer doesn't know what to do with it.

That's what Drivers are for, they talk to your motherboard and tell the device what to do.

And for those who are wondering, Yes I did swap out the Motherboard in my PC.

My current specs are:

GIGABYTE B650 AORUS Elite AX V2 Motherboard,

AMD Ryzen 9 7900x3D CPU,

GIGABYTE EAGLE 16GB RTX 4080,

32GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR5 Dual Channel U-DIMM Ram,

1000W Seasonic Focus GX-1000 Fully Modular PSU,

Fractal Pop Air Mid-Tower Case,

3 SSDs for my MOBO.

A 512gb Silicon Power, 

1 TB Samsung 980, 

and a 2TB Lexar NM710.

The Rise of Digital Ink and Paint

I've been ribbing about Digital Ink and Paint on this blog for quite a while and I don't know why.

Maybe it's because of my frustrations with the industry preferring puppet-rigs over the hand-drawn approach that I prefer... maybe it's the rise of generative AI tools that I refuse to use... who knows...

But Digital Ink and Paint, the current production tool used for 2D animation, is here to stay no matter how you ponder about it... it is here to stay.

So when did animation start using computers to color and composite animation?

For sure, despite popular belief, It didn't start with the early 90s. The tech goes way back to the 1970s.

And it certainly didn't begin with Disney. It actually began with HANNA-BARBERA.

Yes, that Hanna Barbera. The company both famous and infamous for popularizing television animation productions but also cutting corners to make it happen and as a result, influenced the animation scene to do the exact same limited animation principles that gave people like John K. a headache.

Anyway, the tech was discovered by Marc Levoy...

who at the time wanted to make the next big evolution to animation not seen since Ub Iwerks' patented Xerography process.

You know that part where I said that digital ink and paint did not start with Disney.... well I sort of told half a lie. What actually happened was that Levoy actually pitched the digital process to Disney back in 1979 but the Mouse House's then still living NINE OLD MEN rejected the technology.

The Nine Old Men.... at least at the time, rejected digital technology because they felt the automated nature of the Computer was going to take away their jobs......

Hmmm..... I wonder what modern comparison does this eerily look similar to.....

Anyway, Marc was so frusturated with this type of apathy that he decided to sell the technology to Hanna-Barbera and despite receiving a similar opposition from their employees, 

the company fully embraced his new computer coloring system.
The system helped to reduce labor costs and prove the next evolution in animation.

Though the system was far from similar to the modern x64-based Toon Boom system we use today. 

According to this PDF which I'll put a link to:

https://web.archive.org/web/20170703033828/https://excelsior.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~carlson/history/PDFs/hanna-barbera.pdf

Hanna Barbera's system used DEC's VAX based Minicomputer hardware....

And when I mean minicomputer, I'm talking about those computers the size of...

A Closet

or

A Refrigerator

that make wheeling from room to room easier than mainframes of the time.

Anyway, DEC's VAX computers were used to create the digital ink and paint Cartoons during the 1980s. 

Not every HB Cartoon used them though.

I think the only cartoons that used the new system were:

The Flintstones,

Pacman

The Snorks,

The Jetson's 1980's reboot,

and most importantly: A PUP NAMED SCOOBY DOO

But as exemplified by the Mystery Gang's expression, the rest of the industry was repulsed by the idea of using computers for coloring and compositing animation.

Most of their fears was due to their beliefs of the cost of installation, the automated nature, and worrying that the animation would look synthetic.

A good example of a few animators who absolutely refused to go digital during the 90s are both...

DON BLUTH

&

JIM JINKINS.

Don Bluth didn't want to make the switch to digital ink and paint because he firmly stated that art is meant to be something you hold and feel the acrylic paint, not use a paint bucket tool. 

He even said so in the Anastasia DVD featurettes where he stated he fought fiercely to remain the one studio to still use traditional cels.

Speaking about Anastasia, he eventually conceded to digital ink and paint after the failure of THE PEBBLE AND THE PENGUIN as well as getting sick of the whole SACHARINE push from other studio executives who want to trounce Disney as King of Animation in the 90s.

As for Jim Jinkins, even when DOUG switched over to Disney, Jim still refused to let computers be used for the ink and paint.....Ok... Maybe Disney's DOUG did use computers but only for the video editing, animatics, and color correction. Everything else such as actual animation was still done the traditional way.

Despite Fandom's mixed opinions on whether or not which version is better than the other

*COUGH*Nickelodeon-Is-Better*COUGH*....

I still think Jim made the right decision to keep Disney's DOUG's Animation Cels away from an SGI IRIX or Windows NT paint program but I still think the series would have benefited staying with HANHO Heung-Up instead of switching to Mike Judge's PLUS-ONE for OVERSEAS animation......

Whatever, here are some high-quality screengrabs...

Just to prove that DOUG doesn't need ToonBoom or Cambridge's ANIMO for his cel paints:

Why do these screenshots above look so good?

What secret does Plus-One have that HanHo Heung-Up doesn't have?

Or maybe Doug under the MOUSE HOUSE tried too hard to be like

Beavis and Butthead or Hank Hill in terms of animation photography.

Now let's flashback to the late 80s.

Disney at least finally gave into digital technology back when they bought a shitload of P-II image computers from Pixar which gave birth to the CAPS system used by Disney during the 90s.

But was it worth the switch?

THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER released November 16 1990 was the first film from Disney to use the CAPS process completely and despite a few things that have not aged well such as the non-cel shaded CGI, the digital cels have better visuals than most of the early 90s films made by Disney.

I don't know what filters Disney was using for this film but it made the cels look real nice and authentic, even on Blu-Ray.

I can't say 4K Streaming because Disney+ didn't give the film the 4K ULTRAHD status.

Beauty and the Beast's digital cels to me are a mixed bag. 

Some characters like Belle, the Beast, Gaston, and most major characters look authentic when the right lighting and shading are used but man, most of the digital cels haven't aged well, especially when all VHS, Laserdiscs, DVD's Blu-Rays, 4K Blu-Rays, and 4K streaming prints use the CAPS Digital masters instead of the actual 35MM filmstock regardless if it's the original theatrical or 2002 IMAX Special Edition.

It's not helped by the fact that the film was rushed in development during the early 90s due to multiple rewrites as well as Jeffery Katzenberg's disgruntlement with the direction the film was going before the revamp. That and of course, Howard Ashman's deteriorating health at the time.

And according to sources, the film wasn't supposed to use the CAPS process. The only reason Beauty and the Beast ultimately used CAPS was because of a last-minute decision to use the process after the animators were impressed with their results of the famous Ballroom CGI sequence.

Sometime later after BEAST, the rest of the industry caught on.... well sort of.

I've read that Ferngully: The Last Rainforest did use computers but the animators limited it to... 

CGI Vehicles and Machinery,

Flight Reference,

And Dynamic Camera Shots.

as the animators at Kroyer Films were not happy with their results of the digital cels.

Ren and Stimpy at least made the commitment to make the switch.... sort of.

The very first Ren and Stimpy episode to make the switch to Digital Ink and Paint was MAN'S BEST FRIEND

but that was a George Liquor-centric episode and Nickelodeon fiercely hated Liquor's guts so they refused to air it.

Instead, the cartoon to get the reigns of being the first Digital Ink and Paint episode was Out West.

The Japanese side of animation however refused to use computers for digital coloring as far as I'm aware. Until the later part of the 90s, they refused to make the switch.

"I see what you're thinking Isurugi but the answer is no. We ain't making the switch to Digital Ink and Paint until the year 1999."

I may be wrong but I think the first anime to use computers was Cowboy Bebop in 1998 but even then, it was only used for a few select scenes in some episodes while everything else was done using traditional Cels.

Examples of shots that use Digital Ink and Paint in COWBOY BEBOP are several scenes where Radical Edward is playing a game of chess against a geriatric old man named HEX.

My guess was that in the episode BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, the scenes had to be made digitally because compositing 2D computer Graphics with 16MM photographed Cel Animation was next to impossible back in 1997-1998.

Actually, the first anime to use Digital Ink and Paint completely was Akira Toriyama's Dr. Slump remake in 1997.

The bottom image of Dr. Slump may not look like it though and but the series does use Digital Ink and Paint.

My guess is the image below is a lithograph.

"Look Gatchan. We're colored with computers... HO YO YO!!!"

Eventually at the turn of the millennium, probably due to the rise of computer use as well as rising labor costs eventually forced the industry to make the switch to Digital Ink and Paint... 

no ifs, ands, or buts.

So shows you've seen that started around that time that include Danny Phantom, Teen Titans, Ben 10, Phineas and Ferb, Family Guy, Futurama, etc, they all use computers for their productions.

Ahh... the 2000s. Truly it was a golden age for digital animation in the 2D space, so what happened?

Goddamn corporate executive decisions happened.

Somehow, executives care only about money which is my belief but here's another thing that I also found out that I think is the reason why I antagonize executives:

MARKET RESEARCH

Ugh.... that one word that artists (Including George Lucas) dread.... sort of.

Artists do care about Market Research but the kind that the executives use does not resonate with us artists.

In the 2000s, animation executives care more about trying to unseat Disney as the animation champ... unless you're Disney's execs where the goal is to defend your position as the champ with varying degrees of success.

After the failure of Home on the Range in 2004 as well as the 2008 Great Recession as well as the rise of viewers preferring anime over our USA/Canadian made programmes, Animation studios desperately needed a way to win back the crowd.

Then in 2010, Pendleton Ward created Adventure Time

This show is rather interesting. I've been hearing and reading about this show for quite a while due to it's excellent subversions of content and story.

It's written off as a kiddie show with fantasy elements when in reality, it's set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with surreal stuff as well as much needed character development for many characters that have appeared in the show.

But just like John Kricfalusi likes to blame Scooby-Doo for influencing animation tropes during the 1970s, I sort of feel like Adventure Time is used by executives as a figurehead for thinking that the only reason animation in America continues on despite the 2008 recession is due to design simplifications and puppet rigs.

However, unlike John K. who still hates Scooby Doo to this day, I actually do like Adventure Time since it doesn't use puppet rigs and I actually like things such as the post-apocalyptic setting as well as the rather excellent tragic backstory of ICE KING.

"You killjoys. I'm real tragic. Stop mocking me or I'll sic GUNTER at you!"

I really want to watch Adventure Time but I can't  because currently I have no way to stream it here in Canada.... The show is on MAX but we can't get MAX here in Canada due to a licensing snarl with goddamn BELLMEDIA... and I'm a bit too inclined to sign up for CRAVE.... maybe in the future.

Did I mention that I have issues with BELLMEDIA'S monopoly in the Canadian content rights holdings? Ed the Sock... or rather his creator and performer Steven Joel Kerzner has real problems with BELLMEDIA.

"BELLMEDIA ain't no AT&T at least in my fabric eyes. I've been antagonizing BELLMEDIA since they bought and f***ed up MUCHMUSIC."

Adventure Time has left a mark on 2010s animation. It has led to the creation of shows such as 

REGULAR SHOW, GRAVITY FALLS, RICK AND MORTY, STEVEN UNIVERSE, just to name a few.

While I'm fine with newer shows that use the new mandatory puppet-rigged style, what I don't approve of is when executives and showrunners mandate that existing I.P that get rebooted need to switch to the new art style and I have seen many a negative comment and meme on Facebook where people lambast TEEN TITANS GO, BE COOL SCOOBY DOO, 2016's Ben 10, etc. 

I wish I had the meme to show you but I didn't save it in either my phone or my external HDDs.

The rise of all this in 2010s animation has led to John K. creating the derisive term CALARTS style.

I'll get more into the Calarts style in a future blogpost since I don't want this post to be derail into unnecessary ramblings and I want to stay in topic so lets back into topic.

Back to the 2000s.... before all that executive meddling. 

When some shows made the switch to Digital Ink and Paint, some of these shows actually used filters to hide the digital nature of the artwork and make them still look like their old self. But not all shows had the balls to do that. I think only THE SIMPSONS did that.

I know the THE SIMPSONS did something like that when they made the permanent switch to digital ink and paint during the 14th Season where they used tools to make the cels look as authentic as their previous episodes were.

Funny how SIMPSONS was the only show to do that but not FUTURAMA.

I'm guessing FUTURAMA was too new at the time to use such tools considering FUTURAMA's 1999 debut.

THE SIMPSONS dropped the filters during both the Movie and Season 19 when they made the complete switch from Paper Scanning to Paperless Wacom Cintiq animation.
 

Nowadays, we are torn by what software we use for digital animation.

Choices are boiled down to Flash, Toon Boom Harmony, Adobe Animate, RECTAS, Krita, Clip Studio Paint, etc. 

I used to do animations on Adobe Animate since it was included in my Creative Cloud Plan but as soon as I started paying for my annual license, I switched to Toon Boom Harmony Premium and I've never looked back. There's alot of things in Harmony that I can't get in Animate.

One is that you can adjust the color palettes without using the paint bucket tool over and over again. Another is the use of nodes which let me achieve the looks of traditional cels without actually making physical cels. 

But so far, I've only got as far getting shadows, drybrush blurs and relying on the default renderer dulling my colors.

I still want to add 35MM film style grain to my work like I did with my Photoshop art so stay tuned for that. And yes I promise to document my process of finally achieving proper film grain in Toon Boom.

Holy Shit, was this a long blogpost. Not only that, I've recently switched Keyboards for my main PC.

Since December 27 2022, I've been using a Razer Blackwidow V3 Halo Edition which uses Razer's Green switches which are clicky and loud.

It's been a good keyboard but in August, I've changed desks and I've been lacking in deskspace for my keyboard tray. That and the keyboard has endured some wear on the switches so I went to the nearest BEST BUY to buy a TENKEYLESS Razer Blackwidow V3 which uses YELLOW Switches.

The Yellow Switches are linear instead of clicky so they go all the way down as well as sound much quieter than the previous keyboard.

Funny thing is, I've started this Digital Ink and Paint Blogpost with my previous keyboard and now I've finished it with my new Keyboard.

I wonder what's next? Who knows.

Update as of March 25 2024:

Some things have changed since the last time I made this post. For one, When I started typing on my Linear Switch Keyboard, I briefly had a hard time getting used to my keyboard's lighter actuation but now I'm used to it. I do tend to type some typos every now and then but I'm somewhat of a fast typer so I'm used to it now. My Linear Switch board however didn't come with a wrist rest which I need due to having difficulties reaching the number keys due to the length of my fingers as well as fears of Carpal tunnel so I'm reusing the Wrist Rest that came with my previous Razer Board.

Also, due to the Dr. Slump 1997 image I used, I had to add Akira Toriyama's name in the Label section of this post out of respect for the late Mangaka artist due to the news of Toriyama's death early in March 2024...... May the greatest mangaka artist live a good afterlife.......

Another Update as of December 25 2024:

When I typed this, I was using my Razer TKL Linear Switch Keyboard.

I no longer us that board. Instead, I now use my EPOMAKER DYNATAB 75 board.

Kellogg's strikes again

Remember my post in August about how Kellogg's started to make these cereals that they say are advertised with the Classic Designs of their mascots?

NO? Well here's the link to that blogpost:

https://maverickmartinezarchive.blogspot.com/2023/08/cereals-they-dont-make-them-like-they.html

Anyway, I was shopping for some Ancient Grain Bread from Dempster at my local London Drugs when all of a sudden, I saw this:

My God!!! Kellogg's really wants to cater to those Boomers and Gen Xers, and Millennials who love old box art and are getting sick of that Air-Brushed, CalArts, or clusterf**k graphics crap that's permeating today's cereal boxes so that's why they're releasing these boxes into stores.

Doesn't really matter to me if I get these cereals or not. I don't eat cereal that much anymore due to things like eating late such as in 10AM or so. Another reason is that I would rather have Eggs, Rice, Quesadillas, or whatever I can cook for breakfast because I demand at least a sliver of my own nutrients in my stomach... otherwise... I'd skip breakfast altogether.

In fact, the only cereals I'll occasionally eat every now and then are Cheerios, Corn Pops, or Choco Krispies.

 But even then, I tend to eat them at night.

Talk about a sugary day reversal.

However, I have said in my August Cereal post that these retro box arts aren't as accurate as the original boxes are. In fact, I have a hunch that whoever was in Kellogg's Graphics Department had to painstakingly copy these box arts by hand on a Wacom Cintiq.

How can I tell that these are painstakingly copied? Things like graphic placements as well as the inclusion of that RETRO EDITION banner on the box. 

As well as having access to a smartphone where I can just Google the images of old Box Arts and man, the results didn't disappoint.

So here's what I found.

That Box of Frosted Flakes is actually highly accurate to this box of Frosted Flakes shown below which is from the 1960s.

But by this point, Kellogg's wasn't limited only to this box. They had a ton of boxes to go with during that time, even into the 1970s.

Truly a magical presence by Tony the Tiger as originally drawn by Martin Provenson. 

So why did Kellogg's ditch this design for these shown below?

"Hey that's me during the 1980s holding a good old 1960's cereal box. I sure was Great in the 60s."

My guess is Kellogg's was pressured by parents that kids need a proper role model for being active and as cute as the original Provensen design was, that particular Tony wasn't the exercise appropriate so Kellogg's took notice and forced a redesign which made Tony more humane...

Did you know Tony the Tiger's animations on those live-action commercials are actually rotoscoped?  

Now as for Toucan Sam, well.... it's clearly referencing his 1970s design since that was when they settled in on his final design.

This is what Toucan Sam looked like back in 1963, the year he debuted:

Have you noticed that the Retro box from London Drugs has the artwork flipped?

Whatever, Toucan Sam almost got the axe in 2020 when some bastard in the graphics department decided to change Sam's design to be more like those awful CalArts style designs mandated by today's showrunners. 

I don't have a reference image to show you but the 2020 redesign was so bad that people demanded that they change Sam's design back to what it was.

Speaking about that, 

I remember back in 2016 and the first half of 2017, General Mills got into a lot of trouble with Cereal Consumers when they changed Lucky the Leprechaun's design to that awful CalArts style the marketing department was so obsessed with.

LGR didn't mind the change back in 2017....

Ok. I take it back. He agrees that Lucky the Leprechaun's 2016 redesign was awful.

Good thing General Mills went back to the classic...... 90s design.

These photos are of him eating the 2016 Lucky Charms out of spite.

Considering General Mills also got backlash back in 2016 for doing the same thing to Lucky the Leprechaun, Kellogg's decided to do what General Mills did by reverting Toucan Sam back to his original design in 2021 and suddenly, people were ok with it.

And don't say Toucan Sam's 2021 Redesign was a CGI Render. It looks like it was rendered with CGI Software but that box art is still the same Classic Air-Brushed Toucan Sam we know and love.

However, these were the only cereal boxes I could find at my London Drugs and I can hazard a guess these are limited time offerings so don't push your luck with having these as everyday shopping shelve fixtures. 

Also, I noticed something on these boxes:

Are those Free toys in Boxes?

And John K. used to bitch on his blog about how modern cereal boxes were doing away with actual toys and cardboard box factories, instead going for sweepstakes, movie ticket vouchers, etc.

However, I'm a bit too old for these Frisbees, unless I have a dog to play with. And I can hazard a guess those Frisbees are going to be made with cheap plastic. 

I'd rather go for Box Top sweepstake where you can at least earn a chance to win a free Phanteks ITX gaming computer from XIDAX Elite Rigs or Hyper-X.

Speaking about cereal box tops, I read someone's YouTube Comment for LGR's video on the Gateway Astro All-In-One Computer on how back in the year 2000, he/she had to earn his/her Gateway Astro computer by sending in a shitload of LAYS Potato Chips codes just to get a free Intel Celeron computer.

The result was leftover stale potato chips but it was worth the hassle to get a free computer. Why didn't I have something like that back then?

My guess was that the sweepstake was only in the US and I live in Canada.

Oh well, I was a toddler back in the year 2000 and my parents domineered my eating habits. Plus I was perfectly happy with my Compaq Presario and later my Vobis Highscreen back in the year 2000 since those were actual ATX and Micro-ATX towers where you could upgrade the components, plus having a lot of leftover chip bags would have annoyed my parents anyway.

Since posting this Blogpost, I've heard KELLOGG'S changed their corporate name to KELLANOVA but thank god that name will only be for the international division of the company. The name change is not for the North American branch of the company.

I live in Canada by the way but the U.S and Mexico will also still keep the KELLOGG'S name for the cereals too.

Update as of August 27 2025:

The Xidax Phanteks ITX PC I was talking about during the Sweepstakes paragraph was referring to LGR's XIDAX X-4 Phanteks PC he got on his 32nd Birthday in 2018 which unfortunately got destroyed during Hurricane Helene in September 2024.

He's since replace that PC with his AMD RYZEN 7 9800X3D Build since March 2025.