[Cid]in' picture restrictions...

I've been working on this icon for hours, trying to make my first smooth animation. I think it rocks as it is, but damned if I can get it under the 40 KB size limit without making it totally ugly. If I yank out too many frames, the animation gets choppy. If I cut down the number of colors below 32, it's a gravelly mess (and even 32 is a little scratchy). Part of the problem is that the background isn't even a constant, because the entire scene wobbles (for those who never saw the "AzuDai Web" mini-episode, Tomo's filming all this with a video camera and a somewhat unsteady hand). I briefly toyed with the idea of cutting the background out of every last frame, but after attempting it with just one, I realized it would a) be a LOT of work and b) look really weird when I was through.

Ironically, this was going to be my new "angry/frustrated" icon.

Anyone have any suggestions? I've gotten it down to around 50 or 60 KB; any additional ideas might be enough.

[EDIT: Here's the smallest version I've been able to create so far. Still slightly over the limit...]

[EDIT 2: It's up! Thanks, Shadey!]

Ever have one of those moments of inspiration that wouldn't shut up?

As a fan of Five Minute Voyager, I've occasionally toyed with the idea of writing my own fiver. But today I started typing out a few lines for one, just to get a feel for it, and suddenly the ideas started pouring out like crazy... ten hours and plenty of crumpled digital paper later I've got a complete rough for the first Five Minute Firefly: "Serenity". So much for my prior plans for the afternoon... Anyway, anyone who is a) interested in giving some constructive criticism for a fiver and b) familiar with Firefly, reply with some way for me to contact you (assuming I don't have a way already). I'll bounce it off you.

( And speaking of writing... )