saucybird 2015-06-11 02:41:09

Man get on your feet and start creating! I'm sure you got hundreds of ideas you wanna execute by yourself, so get to it and remember whether it's good or bad, inspiration is inspiration and everything around you is inspiring which is enough to last you a lifetime. Good luck!

MysticSkillz 2015-06-11 15:03:06

No-one can really understand or overstand what you’re going though R1665 unless they walk in your shoes. But I hope my two cents may help out a bit sir. Now that C-Rap is out of the picture, your inspiration with the projects you two suppose to be working on has now faded and it does sucks and it can be hard to pick up where you left off. But please don’t let that kill your drive for doing projects you have in mind.

Get up on your feet, dust yourself off and walk! Keep walking until you feel like running!
You have done so much for others with collaboration and I for one thank you for taking the time out of your daily life to help. I know you heard me saying this to you like a thousand times before but man, you’re also a great inspiration to me as well!

If it wasn’t for you and @Techlesswayz, I wouldn’t be into sprite animation as much. It would be a shame to lose another great animator and your work is unlike anyone else’s.
You put professionalism in your work because you take pride in what you do. You don’t half ass your production because that’s not your style. You give it your all! And you give it your best!
It’s ok to take time out from working with others to recap, focus on yourself for a change and start fresh when you’re ready to do so.

Produce what ever you feel like doing and go with it. If you need the inspiration to do so, look up some other animators and see what pops for you. Maybe that’ll start the engine again. ;)
Good luck R1665, I’ll be looking forward to your future work and what you got for us in this collaboration. (Hint, hint)
~MS~

Thricesplice 2015-06-13 19:19:59

I still think that VG exiles is awesome and has great potential; don't give up!

Does the series absolutely need artwork to progress? It's a nice touch, but I think it would survive without it. Or just a few pieces to 'flesh out' the characters.
But the story was an important part of Exiles, not just the fights. The fights were awesome, but the story was the glue that held it together. The artwork provided nice touches and improved attachment to the characters and their emotions, but story/text and serve this role too.

Was the story all you, or heavily influence by your past collaborators?

The one-offs would be nice, I'd probably check them out because you're a great animator. But, I don't know if they'd keep me checking this page every week or so. You have me, a grown man (I'm your age and I like to think I'm intelligent and have good taste!), checking your page semi-regularly, even though it has had little activity for years. This is because of the story in Exiles combined with the fights was addictive, and I think had potential to be an epic saga.

Hope that helps for motivation!

Also, I know previously you have said you are not really into monetizing this hobby of yours...
but just for thought, imagine the idea of making a blog, and installing some ads on it. The start is slow, but as your daily hits rise, perhaps it gives you increased motivation to produce more. When you start getting enough hits to make tangible income, the motivation increases further.
People have blogs about stupid crap; what they cook, what they did in their life, etc... surely the world can support a blog to document your hobby and the releases of VG exiles.

Thricesplice 2015-06-14 07:04:01

As to whether Alvin could have made a living off of it based on advertisement revenue, I'd be surprised if he couldn't have at least made considerable money on the side. I'm sure he could get many thousand views per month. The guy was/is immensely popular. But there are people that make a living off blogging, and what they do is often nothing from fancy. Take the Food Babe for example; an idiotic blog, but even it has found a niche audience, and that blog is her job. Of course, your cost of living affects whether it is enough to live on.

As far as whether when your hobby becomes your job, it takes the pleasure from it... Sure, that's a possibility. I also wonder if in some cases it's a cop out. When you spend lots of time on something, it eventually becomes boring, or you hit hurdles, etc... Greatness requires breaking though those hurdles. It's why lots of people play instruments, but only a small handful become prodigies. Practicing the instrument requires dedication and focus, getting through the cloudy days makes the sunny ones brighter. The optimist might view this phenomena this way; having those harder times makes but good ones that much sweeter. Perhaps this applies to your current form of... writer's block?

Definitely couldn't guarantee that you'd make a living, but I'd be surprised if after a year or so of building up a fan base and developing content, you don't make enough to at least give you some extra spending money. There does have to be good addictive content, though. Part of this can be blog-type updates, but addictive animated flash series is in there. You would probably have to ditch newgrounds (in order to place advertisements). I would also be curious how popular flash sprite animation in general is versus time.... need to follow some trends to stay popular I suppose.

Anyways, having animating as a casual past time is perfectly ok, I definitely respect that. I'm just prompted to suggest the blogging idea since this hobby in particular requires a large time devotion in order to get the quality of animation you're probably needing to feel satisfied.

grieverbravin 2015-06-16 21:13:28

glad to see you're still among us my friend! looking forward to all future endeavors and projects you got planned.

it is a shame such a powerful partnership ended, but you have the ability in yourself to produce great work, you have before, and you will do more in the future.

WhiteGhost 2015-07-04 16:42:03

i come back every several months to see if you made something new. I get it man its rough when people expect things and its just a hobby to you. It can be frustrating. I suggest you start fresh and do your best. All of your fans will be happy.

mvinicius 2015-07-25 23:51:20

Man..........Plx dont end VG exiles.its an awesome story.your animations are awesome.i hope this ``Depression´´ of yours pass out(Sorry for the english errors,i am Brazilian)

deathsdoor 2015-09-10 23:15:21

Hey Riggs! I'm so happy to hear you are back working on new flashes for us to watch. Thanks so much for being here for us action viewers! I used to show all your flashes to my friends and we would re-watch them a bunch of times. On top of the good times you have given my friends and I , the music you have shown us as well is amazing. Thank you from the bottom of my twisted heart. Now we the people of Newgrounds get this awesome treat of good news that you are still hard at work for us! You cant imagine how excited I am for the news of a possible new series. As always I will wait with baited breath for your next front page block buster.

smoothuser 2015-09-25 10:54:53

I know what you mean. It's hard to get the bug back once you've lost it but you are a very creative artist full of innovative ideas. I know you will start animating again. it just has to feel right. You can't do anything half assed you have to really feel like doing it or you won't do it at all. Just give yourself a break collect your thoughts, live a little, and when you have the urge to animate again do it. No matter how much or how little just do it and that will blossom your creativity.

hero-armor-zero 2015-10-02 01:03:28

It's a damn shame that such things happen, but all we can do is press forward. Since the unification of Rap and you, I have been in for the long haul. I've waited this long, I suppose I can afford to wait some more. At the end of the day, I love what you have done in the past, and that is the driving force behind my patience. I whole-heartedly believe that you can do AMAZING work, and that is what I am willing to wait for. I think I've said it before, but I'll say it again; Take as much time as you need, man. I'll still be here when you're ready.