Everyone should be aware that this has become a rather big discussion for the animation community from the fans all the way to the industry professionals.

People who love watching cartoons are disappointed, several people I know of have felt justified in saying physical media is better, and animators and even the people at Cartoon Network are pissed and well... who can blame them?

Then there are people like us involved in the underground animation community, even if, its one small part.

This is really just one man's opinion on the matter because I feel like if I just posted in a thread what I think might get lost in posts that otherwise are saying a lot of similar things at this point. Because I feel like there are several people who came to Newgrounds because they've found some level of fondness to the fact that people have started their animation or art careers here given that we're still a fairly underground community of content creators who were inspired by the big animation studios like CN, Nickelodeon, Disney, Warner Bros, Etc. and even several video game studios, for some, it's been a dream to work at places like those.

Obviously, this is an industry problem but the one thing I've noticed is that what tends to happen on that level is more often than not talked about and a lot of people who pay attention to what goes on in the news with those companies does affect how some people in the underground communities feel in regards to what goes on and, it's often just.

But the other thing that I think needs to be said too is that, things that tend to happen with the industry tend to change on where animators tend to find work in. I hear a lot of talk about how people may want to go independent in the same way Vivziepop did, but the thing I don't think a lot of people understand is the reason why she was able to pull that off and give a huge "Fuck you" to the Youtube algorithm is because she was able to build a following through patreon and marketed both Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss successfully, and it worked to her advantage despite the odds stacked against her, especially with the latter since Helluva Boss is going strong and happens to be one of my favorites.

And that's the thing that I think people need to realize. Between the competition for content creators in animation to get their work noticed and picked up in the same way Vivziepop or even to a lesser extent, Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling who were known for Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, is intense. I'm not saying it's impossible, because they clearly did it. But it doesn't make it any less difficult compared to some of the work that people had to do in order to get into the industry anyways. And that's just it.

So... what can be done far as the underground scene and the hopefuls that still have the drive to create shows or even work in the animation industry in general if things like this tend to de-motivate people?

Well... I think the thing that people need to remember is that Newgrounds is still just a small part of the underground community and I think where a lot of people should be having discussions should have to do with where people should be putting their focus on far as getting into animation.

There are still things like animation festivals such as Ottawa International Animation Festival, GLAS Animation, and so on. Even if your film doesn't get into a showing there are still things you can learn from events like those and you can also see how other animators get their work out there despite the odds. Even joining organizations like ASIFA can be good networking opportunities if you really hope to invest yourself into other parts of the animation community.

More importantly, freelance, self study, do what you have to do in order to keep going with your artistic endeavors.

You shouldn't have to let the external factors of what happens in the animation community over all, even if it's at the professional level, deter you from doing what you love doing. If anything it sucks for me to see artists and animators get bummed out by things like this even if they aren't in the industry.

And that's the thing that's been on my mind with all this.