Twisted4000 2013-10-20 21:09:13

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Blordow 2013-10-20 21:19:32

That's why i like newgrounds, it gives us people a chance to get known. You can't do that on youtube, but I also recognize that newgrounds gets nowhere near the attention it used to, so it's kinda in vain. I still appreciate the site and find it a very humbling place. A place where many of these animators who now make income off youtube started. Like you guys said, it involves luck, and a fuck tonne of effort. Yet you see the people who are making income off it, put little effort in, most of them just pay other people to do most of the work, and then share it between their network of other buddies who also make money. Would be nice to see these people give up and comers a bit of a shout out, cause there are a shit tonne of people out there who deserve more credit (and i'm not just talking about myself, i am where i am for a reason). They might feel threatened by us or just want the spotlight forever on them. I dunno, the world is messed up. I mean look at all the shit that goes viral. It's a fucking joke I tell ya.

Brewster 2013-10-20 22:16:24

yeah man i gragree but fuck what that one guy said fuck him

ToonCastleTV 2013-10-20 22:24:59

amen

Ockeroid 2013-10-20 22:25:31

IMO it's crazy to have a career/money plan be just "make it on youtube"

That's like saying "Yo mom, don't worry, just a few more years of me playing guitar and I'm SURE my band will take off and I'll provide for my self!". Yeah, it could happen, and you've probably got a better chance than most regular folk (you have a skill for one), but it's crazy to put all your eggs in that basket, especially when even if things go super well, it'd probably take at least a few months to a year to be where you want to be.

Freelance or generally working in the field you want to be in is great, since there's no place you'll learn more than work (outside of a really top school). Plus IMO youtube/etc works best when it's done as someone's side thing
What does best on youtube is really often the more raw stuff that people just did because they found it funny and weren't caring about trying to make a big hit

Sum thoughtz on the subject anywayz

Ockeroid 2013-10-20 23:08:06

On people helping eachouth:
Youtube's changed this past year. Animators used to do a huge amount of helping eachother out on it and it had an amazing support group on youtube. But now that likes, favs, comments, etc don't show up in the main sub box as much anymore it's REALLY hurt new guys coming up.

With 2 of my recent toon a huge chunk of the big animator guys fav'd etc, but barely got any views compared to what it did when that type of thing happened last year. Plus with the sub feed change, people are having a hard time even letting their own subs know that they have a new vid out, let alone showing ppl new stuff. Subs really don't mean what they used to.

Also there's just a lot more content out there now. So it's not like back in ye olden days when basically as long as it was well animated it would get seen. You really have to make sure you're giving something people will enjoy and have a reason to pass onto their friends, since that's the only constant

SimplyRobot 2013-10-21 02:47:38

You didn't even ask how I was doing you farter.

dylan 2013-10-21 10:57:55

You and Bobbster are always either having deep conversations about the future and your careers, or you're talking about standing in an office with your dick out. I suppose in this day and age, those are almost one and the same

CatFat 2013-10-21 12:23:41

I partially agree with Ockeroid's first point..BUT...I am totally that "Yo mom! SOOOON!" guy HAHA xD

I've always had that "All or Nothing" mindset. If i'm gonna go for something, I'm gonna do it with all my effort and attention..which is the same way i approach my animations...for better or worse... hehe.

So, naturally, I disagree with doing "youtube" as a side project. I think that if it is what you want to do, then like anything else, invest yourself and all of your time into it. Approach it with conviction, not apathy. People who inadvertently achieve success on youtube, having done it only as a side project beforehand, are very rare. As common as they may seem, it is simply that their success stories are more romantic and therefore more prominent. I think you'd be surprised by how many people have "made it" by actually put a TON of effort in.

Having said that, it is also good to have a few options to fall back on if it does all go terribly wrong. For example, if things don't work out for me, I will pursue concept art or something in the same field
since I've tried working an average job before and became intensely depressed, not having an outlet for my passion.

I look at it like this;
Doing commissions isn't going to GROW into anything more. It just a job until the next job. Whereas pursuing something bigger and more uncertain like youtube has the potential to grow into something FAR more valuable in the long run. Which makes the low pay and slow progress at the start worth it.

Though I agree completely with Ockeroid's point about the impact that youtube's recent disastrous changes have had affecting creators being able to help out other creators. It IS still possible to "make it" on youtube today.

A prime example of this is Jaltoid. They started at the same time as me on youtube (October last year) and, within a year, are now pushing 300k subscribers..10x more than myself in the same time frame. They are a tremendous success and example of how to do youtube "right". They interact with their audience pretty much daily and thus their presence is near perennial..which is rare for animators.

Jaltoid didn't simply "get lucky". They've had a plan from the start. They made youtube their one main focus, rather than 'something on the side' and it has now become a career.

So the moral of the story here is...be more..like...Jaltoid?...hmm..i guess?..

kkots 2013-10-21 14:37:28

I am not going to say a large speech right now.
All I am going to say is this.

Keep all your old crap on your profile. Do not change your profile, unless you want to troll on forums. If you start freaking out in a news post about how your life sucks and everything's bad, do not delete it later.

People will see progress. People will see history. People will be inspired.

IronHeadShot 2013-10-21 19:53:45

So fucking true, especially the fact that most of them can release anything and get millions of views because they are already famous.

Cyberdevil 2013-10-27 03:17:18

So true. It's the same with websites too, sites like Google and Facebook came and conquered within their niche and now anybody else is going to have a tough time getting anywhere near their popularity. Even if you offer better services they have the resources to compete; do what you do if it's better than they do.