HEY NEWGROUNDS COMMUNITY

Sorry for the lack of update on things lately. Major life changes in the past few weeks and responsibilities with several of my priorities have been expanding as of late.

One of the first things that I need to get out of the way, I moved into a new apartment!

So now I got my own place to myself and that's going to be better for me in the long run to have my own independence moving forward. I've ended up getting enough room to have my own office space so that's super helpful on that note.

Updates on projects:

So far as the projects that I've been working on, I'd like to make a quick note that the Zero Hour team is still looking for more pixel artists! we've managed to get some more help here and there and this is a project where my responsibilities have expanded on. So if you want to get some work done on a project and get some training on pixel art, we're more than happy to give you a shot to try out for the team!

I have also had some paid work opportunities come my way very recently, not really anything I can talk about for professional reasons at this time. Regardless the time I'm able to commit to some of my own personal work has become very limited. That isn't to say that I won't continue drawing but between that and the stuff I've been up to lately there may not be as much coming into my art gallery for the next coming weeks.

So with that being said, I think it's fair I give that explanation to those who have been following me as of late. By the off chance I do upload something it will very likely be when specific projects such as the Transformers collab come out. There was some work I did for that a few months ago but personally I would rather hold off on uploading what I have done until the whole collab comes out. I just don't feel right releasing the work for it just yet!

Recent Happenings:

There isn't really much else that I have to add on what is going on my end. Before I moved into my apartment I touched on how I was able to go to a Bruins game in the NHL Thread. That being said it was my first game! ended up on the jumbotron, got a alternate jersey for the centennial season in addition to the one I already got.

Do I think that the Bruins will get the Stanley cup this year? ehhhh I have my doubts. I want to be honest and say that I want to be optimistic but the realist in me is doubting that they're gonna go the distance after tonight's game and yesterday's game. But they got a spot so I'm not gonna be too mad for what it is. (Even though I think Don Sweeney should get fired before anyone else at this point.)

I'm also going to be looking into new website platforms to host my portfolio soon. It's been on my to do list however given my current priorities between my day job, side gigs, and doing all the other grown up crap that comes with keeping an apartment while maintaining mental health it's been a game of juggling different responsibilities it's been pushed to the back burner of all things.

So, it came to my attention that WordPress has been making deals with Ai companies to train off my own user data. This is coming from the recent update from this week.

I have been contemplating closing down my site for some time and moving it to another platform, however, in light of this news this has now changed from being a gradual change to something that is going to be effective immediately.

Frankly I am disappointed but here we are talking about a company that is fairly big. My only option in this situation is to simply shut down my site and delete my account because to be completely honest, I don't approve of what they are doing and this is something that I do not consent to. So chances are, my website will be taken off the web in the coming weeks.

This is going to cause some changes in how I host my artwork but, if anyone has any alternatives into where I can create a decent website, let me know because I'd really appreciate it on my end.

Hello Newgrounders! We're still recruiting new pixel artists for Zero Hour!

So yes, We are still looking for a few people who know how to work pixel art and make some assets and such! Of course, there are still a lot of changes that are going to be made in project moving forward but under @LuckoDaStars leadership we have been making headway into the project.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR:

• Pixel Artists
• Background Artists
• UI Artists
• Concept Artists

NICE TO HAVE, BUT OPTIONAL:

• Programmers

Cool, So what’s the plot?

So it’s another day in school for Pico and things play out like they normally would until a couple of goth kids decide to pull a mass shooting. Familiar as it sounds things end up taking a turn for the bizzarre when Pico is dragged off into a portal that leads him into the different worlds of Newgrounds and now Pico has to fight his way through all these different realms where he meets a ton of different characters while fighting his way to get back home.

What we can do for you in return?

Given that, this project is done purely as a passion project through a collaboration of different artists, there is no paid compensation. HOWEVER, We are willing to be able to offer training on Pixel Art if you haven’t touched on it before, and this can very well lead you to other potential opportunities down the line that are paid positions. You’ll also be networking with other professionals working in indie gaming as well, so your efforts shall not go in vain if you do sign up!

Who to contact:

You can either contact me or @LuckoDaStars in regards to any interest in the project.

ITS LIVE BABY THE POKEMON MYSTERY LOVERS COLLAB IS LIVE!!!!

Thank you to all who made this possible!

Alright babitos, it's a bit of an early announcement but since my hands are tied with a lot of things I wanted to get this out of the way.

THE SOFT DEADLINE FOR THE POKEMON MYSTERY LOVERS COLLAB IS FEBURARY 2ND. AS OF WRITING THIS THAT IS TOMORROW.

Still working on a Submission? No problem!

Remember that this is only a soft deadline. That means that you have a bit of a warning before the hard deadline hits Feburary 10th, which is the Saturday after this one.

So if you happen to still be working on a few submissions OR figure that you have enough skill to sneak in a submission within the next several days, By all means! JOIN NOW!

Otherwise, forever hold your piece because once 11:59PM hits on the 10th, YOUR WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED INTO THE COLLAB.

So what will the final result look like?

Well right now, 36 users have joined in on the fun, a few who haven't even posted in the thread and opted to DM their submissions!

In total as of writing this we have 56 submissions. Will we get more? I don't know! I'm actually a little surprised myself that it got this far! Stay tuned!

I COME TO YOU WITH NEWS OF THE HERE AND NOW AND WTF I DO WITH MY PEN AND TABLET!

So here we are in the beautiful new year! It's 2024, the snow is falling, politics are getting wild, and scientists are probably going to move the doomsday clock down to either 60 seconds or 30 seconds depending how fucked they think the world is right now. BUT THAT'S NOT STOPPING ME FROM DOING MY THING! Besides it's the 25th Anniversary of Ed Edd n Eddy and later this month I'll be officially hitting my 30 year mark.

So lets get the ball rolling.

NEW SUBMISSIONS!

COLLABS!

WE ARE NOW OFFICIALLY NEARING THE LAST STRETCH FOR THE POKEMON MYSTERY LOVERS COLLAB!

As of right now, 23 users have come together to make it happen for the Mystery Lovers collab and many many submissions have been made for the project!

But we can do more! And there's still time before Feburary 2nd when that soft deadline hits! If ya feel like joining in on the shenanigans we're having in the collab board then by golly JOIN NOW! The more submissions we get the better for the Big Picture!

That being stated, I am going to start getting to work on setting up the canvas and compiling everyone's submissions! By next week I'm also going to set up the project's user page and getting it ready for launch come Valentines Day.

I also did finish my submission for the Transformers Collab and did some art for the credits roll... Shout out to @CrockketDK for the opportunity to contribute!

I'm also continuing to work on Newgrounds Zero Hour as we speak. I've been talking with @LuckoDaStars and the rest of the team and we are in fact looking for pixel artists so, that said if you have experience with it, DM one of us! We'd love to have you on the team.

OTHER THINGS:

So there are no updates to any of the current submissions that are uploaded. I've been tied up between learning my new job and getting the hang of my new work schedule as of late so I had to start prioritizing some things on my end.

BUUUUUUT assuming that WWIII doesn't start and we don't end up in a situation where our current superpowers and other countries initiate M.A.D. and we all end up in a nuclear winter... What I will say is that for what it's worth, I'm going to continue what I've been doing best on my end and essentially keep making content. I'm also going to start looking into ways I can get more content submitted on a regular basis since the 7:00am to 4:00pm schedule gives me far more leeway into doing the things that I would rather be doing with my time and focus on building up my portfolio while having a consistent routine which... makes me pretty damn happy!

Until next time!

No major update at this time to really update stuff at the moment. I figure that I'd save that for another time later this week.

What I did want to say is that this past year really has been quite the trip. There's been growth, some pains and other things. But if there's one thing that has always pleased me about this community is that there's always been a level of support coming from everyone and we continue to push each other to new heights.

Lets keep that going in 2024 yea? No expectations, no anything like that in case shit hits the fan and the world gets nuked, we all just run in head first and enjoy the ride!

SEASONS GREASONS FELLOW N.G.'ERS!

It's that time again where we join friends and family to celebrate some holiday cheer, but on here it's weirdness and awesome shit galore!!!

Hoping y'all are having a fine holiday, as for me I've been a good boy this year and Santa gave me the best gift I never would have expected!

Well technically, it was from a secret santa my relatives have every year. It just so happens I got a T-Shirt with my favorite cartoon of all time on it. I'll probably be updating this with a selfie later down in the comments because why not. But I digress I couldn't be more happier!

Speaking of which, here are some of the things that I've been up to as of late.

NEW ARTWORK:

So as a foot note, one of the submissions was actually for @fe3l1ngsk1lleddd 's snowman collab! Check out everyone's submissions on it while you're at it!

Speaking of collabs, another one I partook in actually got completed, @bisteca2007 recently uploaded the Burger King Collab that I partook in fairly recently. Check out some of the work everyone did on it!

And lastly, it's worth noting as a fun fact the Patriotism piece I made was actually for a cousin-in-law of mine that I ended up making a print for. My old man wanted one too so I ended up going out of my way to make one for him.

Don't worry, I framed the bottom one too. But I figured for the sake of seeing what it looked like without it in comparison to the frame it'd be a fun thing for y'all to see.

POKEMON COLLABS: FOR THE SEXY LOVERS AND HORROR FANATICS!

So now that we are on the December Christmas mark, we are a little past the half way point for the collab.

But don't fret, if you want to join the madness, THERE IS STILL TIME!!!! Just be sure to read the rules and when the deadlines are.

Also as a bit of a cross-promotion, I wanted to highlight what @Thetageist has been up too with their collab and suggest y'all check out the Pokemon Mystery Meat Collab!

If y'all got the stomach for it and want to piss off PETA to remind them that people do in fact eat tasty animals... You should join up! I plan on submitting something in the near future for it as soon as I get a few other priorities out of the way but I do feel that for those who want to be able to take on something a bit more horrifying then y'all should give the collab a shot!

There isn't really much else I need to update you guys on. Other than a few other...

HAPPENINGS! HNNNNGHHH!!!

I suppose it's worth mentioning that every now and then I upload a few gameplay videos of what I am up to on what I'm playing. Recently, I decided to throw a little commentary onto a gameplay video of F-Zero 99

"But dio, why add your babbling into a video of some gameplay?"

Well for one I figure it would be good practice to get in front of a mic and for other reasons I actually want to get into doing some streaming every now and then. I figure it would be some good practice and if anyone has some feedback on how I can do better on this I'd be more than happy to take on any suggestions because to be honest doing things intentionally while playing a game is actually a bit harder when multitasking is not my forte.

But hey, we all start somewhere so why not?

In any case, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!

HELLO ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL SOULS MAY THE LIGHT SHINE EVER SO FROM YOUR CREATIVE SOULS I HAVE COME TO YOU WITH UPDATES ON WHAT I HAVE BEEN UP TO!

FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS - POKEMON MYSTERY LOVERS COLLAB!

I am pleased to announce that we now have a total of 69 replies to the collab!

But you may be asking yourself "Why on earth does this matter? that's just the amount of replies!"

I'll tell you what that means. It means that a total of 16 Users (Myself included!) have contributed to the cause of the collab! In total right now we have about 23 Submissions and currently counting!

Ironically enough, I actually wasn't expecting the collaboration to take off as quickly as it did in the past two weeks alone! With that being said there is still much much work to be done before we hit our deadline for the lovely holiday that is Valentines Day where people will be hogging down chocolates and getting jiggy with it!

And that means that you still have time to join our collab! So don't wait until the last minute like some dork, ACT NOW!

NEW SUBMISSIONS AND UPDATED SUBMISSIONS:

So as of recent, the following posts I have submitted to the art portal are new submissions from yours truly:

^ For the Burger King Collab! ^

For organizations sake, some of my pieces that I have submitted into the gallery have been relocated and moved into one submission. This is something that I felt was appropriate since I felt it would be better to have some of the pieces I've made in the past to be put into one place so people don't have to go bouncing around between different places in the art gallery to find them.

I also updated some of the other pieces I have done in the past for digital art specific pieces because I thought it would be worth compiling some process related stuff like sketch work into some of the submissions I have made to give people an idea of where I went about making something from nothing, so to speak.

OTHER UPDATES:

So progress is being made on my end for other projects like the Transformers Collab and Project Zero Hour, of course, those things have been a priority for me to focus on given the nature of the projects and their respective deadlines. Of course, the other thing too is that I've been in the middle of an onboarding process for a new full time job. The only thing I'm waiting to hear on is if I ended up passing a drug test but assuming that I do then I'm probably going to end up being more busy in the coming weeks soon as I know my start date, so that will be an adjustment to my own personal schedule when all of that comes to pass.

Unrelated Happenings:

My boys at the Boston Bruins however haven't been doing so hot lately. I'm hoping personally that they can get their shit together come Thursday when they face off against the San Jose Sharks, but that aside there just seems to be a lot of bullpucky going on in the NHL as of late thanks to Bettman being well... Bettman. But that's just another day in modern day National Hockey League I guess. He's someone I'd like to rip on sooner or later... Hell I'd actually rip on Jack Edwards from New England Sports Network personally I don't get why people love him that much I think he's a bit of a fucking nut.

Also, thanksgiving was great. Got together with family, ate, did all that fun crap that most Americans do I guess.

But that's all I really have to talk about today. Go fourth, and do good for the world!

ATTENTION USERS OF NEWGROUNDS

READ THIS POST CAREFULLY

Do not panic and stay calm

It has come to my attention that several users on Newgrounds and a few other websites have had their artwork stolen thanks to this thread that has been made on the Art Forum of the BBS thanks to @Prismisho and @Hexamak. Some of the artwork in question has also been some of my own. Upon further investigation, there has been many more developments that have come to light regarding ArtWishers.

Scam Adviser's verdict is that ArtWishers is fraudulent and attempts to scam people out of their money.

Do not attempt to buy anything from this website.

Remember your web smarts: Do not give out any personal information such as emails or credit card information to sites that are not reputable.

That being said, I do have to own up to adding to an otherwise chaotic situation since I have not anticipated what the intent behind the owners of ArtWishers may have been when this news first broke out, given the site is using a search engine based on google to steal people's artwork it is safe to assume that it likely will do with everyone who uses since it's likely a scare tactic.

If you have not already visited the site then please do not attempt to go looking for the website. Instead, just report it as a scam to the following places below. It will feed into the algorithm.

If you have already visited the site and intend to send a DCMA Complaint,

then DO NOT SEND AN EMAIL THROUGH THE SITE ITSELF.

Doing so will not only prompt the owners of the site to block your IP address. Additionally, you will be giving them your personal information since these people are likely not selling your art as much as they are intending to steal people's money and other important information.

Please send the complaints to the following parties:

DNS PROVIDER - CloudFlare

DCMA complaint page

Email: abuse@cloudflare.com

WEBSITE HOST - Hetzner Online GbmH

Email: abuse@hetzner.com

Sauce 1: https://lookup.icann.org/en/lookup

Sauce 2: https://blogimg.ngfiles.com/1113000/iu_1113172_3993712.webp

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO BRING ANY MORE ATTENTION TO THE SITE. Given recent information that AutomationTonic of Toyhou.se has provided, It would be safe to assume that whoever made this site did so with the intent to use word of mouth in an attempt to get it fed to online algorithms. (Thank you @Bappledik for posting this in the thread!)

The website in question looks like this:

Upon the information that has come to light I felt it appropriate to update this article in a way that will help those identify what the site will look like upon seeing any of the posts involving art wishers.

@Zfert has pointed out that there are similar sites to ArtWisher that are insanely similar to each other that are gathering images from google searches in the same manner as the site above.

There isn't much more I can do beyond what has been looked into. I do hope that this blog helps a few people out and these sites are taken down in the near future. Sooner rather than later if anything.

FINAL UPDATE TO THIS POST (11/16/2023):

While I have no intention of further updating this post, if new developments come to pass I will put it in the post if it's needed however, given the information that has come to light this will not be edited any further than it has been.

I appreciate everyone's efforts into getting to the bottom of this. All I can say at this point is to report the site to CloudFlare and Hetzner.