February 1st, 2015 animator and creator Monty Oum passed away.
Most known for his work on the animated series RWBY and on Red VS Blue, Monty went in for a routine medical procedure, and had an allergic reaction. He fell into a coma and sadly didn’t recover.
I know I’m a little late to the news, but I only found out about it Wednesday morning. I loaded up the RT podcast at work, and saw that the title of it was “RT Remembers Monty Oum.” It was like getting hit in the chest by a 2×4.
I remember when he was hired on as Rooster Teeth’s animator. I remember seeing his Dead Fantasy and Haloid videos, and thinking they were awesome.
It’s hard to watch his videos right now.
It’s like walking into an old hangout, and finding out one of the regular employees is gone. You may not have interacted with him that much, but the place still feels kind of empty without him.
It’s a shame for such talent to get cut short so soon. Seeing his work now, I’m amazed how much he grown as an artist. RWBY looks visually stunning, and the fights are spectacular…
It’s a shame that we won’t get to see how much farther he would have grown.
I’m not completely sure why Monty’s passing is hitting me so hard. When Robin Williams died, I was a little sad. I got a little nostalgic/sad seeing him in movies. But with Monty, I find myself fighting back tears, even now.
Maybe it has to do with his age. He was only 33 years old. In those years, he accomplished more than I will probably accomplish in twice that time. That’s probably why I didn’t care as much about Robin Williams. Although he was still a great actor, he had already lived his life; had his career. Monty was only just getting started.
Or maybe, after hearing the RT crew reminisce about him, I felt we had a lot in common.
The described him as quiet; kind of introverted. He seemed to keep to himself. But he was also the kind of person you could lose hours talking to, if you got him on a subject he was into.
He loved learning, and seem to know a bit about everything.
He was a hardcore multitasker. They were talking about how he would be working on whatever project he had going, while also watching something else on another monitor.
How, when he got an idea, he would lose himself in it, working hard to make it a reality.
He was obsessed with efficiency. It seemed insane, although it made sense to me. One thing they brought up was how, when he needed to microwave something for a minute, he would punch in ‘5-5’, instead of ‘1-0-0’ because the first one was only two buttons, and thus more efficient.
All those little nuances reminded me of things that I do, although maybe not to that big of a degree. But I definitely relate to him at some level.
Above all else though, I think the reason I find this so sad, is that I never bothered to look into his work while he was still alive. I felt like he would be around for a while; I didn’t feel I had to start watching again until he got to the “really good” stuff. Then I could get around to commenting on his work, sharing it, “liking” it.
I know he had millions of fans. He had people thanking him, admiring him every day. He would probably never see what I would have had to say. But, the sad reality is, now he never will.
Even though I didn’t know him, if I could go back I totally would have let him know how amazing I thought he was. Even if I would have been another face in the crowd; an email in his box.
He had a saying: Keep Moving Forward.
He was always moving. He didn’t really believe in slowing down, or giving up. With that attitude at heart, he created some wonderful things.
His friends at RT said that, in lieu of flowers, we should honor his memory by creating something. The only real creative outlets I have are poetry, music, and writing.
The poem would have probably not have been very good, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have been into my style of music. So, at the very least, I’m writing this. I also will try to make more time in my life to be more creative.
Because life is far too short to waste, and if I left a fraction of the mark Monty did, it would be worth it.
My heart goes out to his wife, his family, and all of his friends. Rest in peace Monty Oum.
You were a bright star, and the world is darker without you in it.
-Shaman
Shame on The Universe 
What do you think?