Monty Oum’s Legacy

There are many different animation directors that have an influence on their fans. Monty Oum was one of those directors. Sadly, he just passed away. Monty had many different jobs but his work for rooster teeth will always be remembered for it unique story telling and visual animation style. Monty Oum is not with us anymore, but his presence and his skill as a writer and an animator will always be with his fans.

Monty had a unique background that is different from most animator currently in the industry. Monty was a high school drop out who began his career by putting fan videos together in 2002. In 2007 Monty made his biggest break through. He found a way to extract models from Halo using reverse engineering tactics. Along with utilizing Samus from Super Smash Brothers Melee he created a video called Haloid. This respected both games and what they had accomplished for their companies in different decades. After two months Monty’s work had landed him a job at Midway Games as a combat designer. After working at Midway Games he was hired at Namco Games, again as a combat designer and as an animator for Afro Samurai. At this point, a late 20-year-old Monty had already reached heights most animators could not reach, but in 2009 a fateful meeting at San Diego Comic Con that changed it all.

At San Diego Comic Con 2009 Monty Oum met Burnie Burns. The two talked teaming up and lead to Monty coming aboard the Rooster Teeth team. Monty first contributed as a writer to the successful series about Halo Red vs. Blue. Monty then went on in 2012 to be the key animator for Rooster Teeth’s new series, RWBY. His work with RWBY goes beyond animation. He directed, wrote, and voice acted in many of the episodes in the two seasons that have come out. Furthermore, the style that is utilized in his works focus on the portrayal of his characters. The feet of all the characters are rarely shown and the action is focused more on the characters upper torso and face. This style combined with the boldness of the characters in RWBY draws the viewer’s attention to the action that is taking place, in particular to the characters hands. His style in RWBY is heavily based on his background as a combat designer and feet movements determine a combat stance. Rather then spend the time and the money on accurately depicting the proper combat stance it is easier not to show the feet. Without seeing the feet the bold and vibrant character development draws a viewer’s attention to the most important aspects of the show, which are the story and the fight scenes, especially in season 2. The style that is utilized in RWBY is unique and can only be applied to a few animes that meet certain characteristics. Monty Oum will be missed as an animator, director and a valuable member of the Rooster Teeth team.

RWBY can be purchased here.