It's been a month since my last update on here, and regarding the hijack? Well, since a few weeks ago, I got access back to it. The channel is now under my control and I can do whatever I want with it at the moment. But other than that, the videos are all still gone. I could re-upload them now, but I'm STILL waiting on a response to get them restored beforehand. So that's what's been going on, in case anyone was wondering. That's all. Buh-bye!

​-T4k

Recently I have been informed that the internal YouTube team has confirmed the channel was hijacked. I was then told to create a new brand account so they could give it ownership of the channel. What's weird is, after I made said brand account, it got deleted. I told them about this and am now once again waiting on an answer. I think what's happening is that there's two teams not communicating with each other, one was just aware that the channel was uploading spam videos and according to their protocol, they took it down. The other is the team I have been communicating with and is aware that the channel was compromised. So I think what happened was that the unaware team figured the spammer was trying to recreate the channel and do what they were doing before, so they took it down preemptively? LOL I don't know. All I do know is that things should be all back to normal pretty soon, yes, deleted channels even with all their videos gone can be restored, I've seen it happen before. Thank you to all who have been messaging me and informing me as to what has happened; I am aware. :)

-T4k

About five days ago, my YouTube channel was hijacked, and just this morning they started uploading videos. I promise, they're not from me! About two days ago I got a hold of YouTube and they told me the situation has been forwarded to their internal team; as for a time frame, I haven't been given an estimation. This could be sorted tomorrow, it could be a month from now. I do not know! But I got a few messages from people informing me of what happened, so I figured I'd just post this to anyone who may be confused.

I'm sort of glad this happened, this was a bit of a wake up call for me; I was starting to take my channel for granted. I was getting all "how come I'm not getting as many views as I used to, how come I have so many subscribers but barely any of them are watching, how come..." blah blah blah, but you know what, when the channel was taken away from me, I realized "hey, there at least ARE people watching what I am uploading, there's people who don't have views whatsoever on their videos and would love to have even 50 of them." Once (or, if, I don't know) I get this channel back, I will be a happy man.

​-T4k

2019 was a weird one. An interesting year for me. Not good, not bad, but interesting. The workload was at an all-time high for me, both with my animation job as well as my own personal projects. But the first thing I got released was in early October: a Madness fan game I call Madness Gemini. It was based on a concept I had conjured a little over a year ago, but not knowing whether it would work well or not, I decided to test it with some good old fashioned Madness Combat characters. The response was generally positive, so if I ever get around to it, making a game with a similar system is not out of the question, one day.

A little over a month later, I finally released an animation: Mick the Mercenary: The Rescue. It was without a doubt the biggest, most detailed project I have ever tackled. It initially was just going to be a little promo video for the film some friends and I made a couple of years ago, Mick the Mercenary: The Movie, but I got a little carried away with it.

And just in time for Christmas, I hacked together a little seasonal 'toon, A Smashing Christmas Dinner, a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fan animation. It's graphics are not quite up to par with what I've done lately, but I did not have the time. Well, I could've detailed it a bit more, but then It would probably take until about New Year's to get it done, if not later.

So what was wrong with this year? Although I got what I would call an entry-level dream job of mine, as far as my personal stuff went, I was pretty disappointed with how many people were able to see my last couple of videos; it's true when they say that you shouldn't just focus on numbers, views, followers, subscribers etc., but at the same time, if you spend months to years on a project and then only a handful of people are notified of what you had created, it's pretty discouraging. Especially when you've reached a point where you'd at least think a decent amount of people are watching, but the damn website doesn't let 95% of them know (talking about YouTube, not you, Newgrounds!!) Ah well, let's see how 2020 unfolds!

-Ben

Merry Christmas! Just released a little SSBU Christmas magic today, which you can watch on YouTube right here. Enjoy!

-T4k

It took me longer than anything I've ever worked on in my life, but Mick the Mercenary: The Rescue is done. I started production on it shortly after Mick the Mercenary: The Movie was released as a way to help raise awareness of its existence, but it ended up being a drastically huge project that took quite a while to animate. I am happy with how it turned out, but how many people will actually lay eyes on it? I think the answer to that is completely up in the air; it's an original animation with no references to anything, so I have no idea who will be able to find it online. We shall see.

So now what? I finished a script for the next video that won't take me two years to finish. From now on, uploads should be a lot more frequent. Stay tuned!

-T4k

I can't believe it's been 6 months since my last post here. Half a year. It's just been so busy. Working full time, moving to a new house, it's been nuts. But things are finally starting to settle. I spent so much of my free time on this Madness Combat fan game, Madness Gemini. I wanted to get it done in time for Madness Day, but the workload did not allow me to. Ah well, at least I'm fashionably late!

It's been so long since I've finally finished and published a game, and it's a nice feeling. There was so much more I wanted to add in and edit, but I really needed to just get that MVP; every time I thought I was done, something else just kept coming up in development. But if people play it and like it, I'll continue to update and patch it.

This actually worked out perfectly because this was a game system idea I had for a bit, and I wasn't sure if it was going to work or not. What a better way to test it then with Madness characters? I think it works, but I'll have to wait and see what the players have to say.

I'm also getting close to finishing a video I've been working on for over a year now. That is also exciting.

Download Madness Gemini right here, or play it on Newgrounds! Downloading it gives you the advantages of having a full-screen option as well as raw 44khz audio, versus the online version which is exported at MP3 160kbps (not as good, but smaller and can actually get uploaded to the site).

-T4k

Hello, peeps! Recently I've officially been garnishing near full-time work doing what I love to do: animating! It is now my day job, and for the time being it looks like it should stay pretty consistent. Looking forward, it might turn into something much more.

And when I'm done animating for the day, what do I do? You got it, animation! I'm gettin' pretty close with this video and I'm so excited to finally release it. I also want to publish more artwork, but most of it has really just been for practice... it's been a little rare, as you may have been witnessing, that I upload something I think's decent. I've really been trying to focus my efforts on this video, though, so... plbtlbplbltpl

Outside of sitting while pushing buttons and staring at a screen for almost the entire days' time, I've been hitting the gym, eating better, and going out of my way to relax at the end of it all. I learned from someone I really admire that it's important to relax deliberately. Work hard play hard, as they say. It's true. Life's been good. 2019 is turning out to be awesome, and what's odd is that it's not only for me, but for almost everyone else I know in my life; it's like we're all going through changes or something.

-Twisted

Happy Valentine's Day!

I haven't been posting much lately for two reasons, one, there isn't much news you haven't already read to report, and two, I've been busy. I practically have weekly animation commissions now, and though the animation is relatively simple, it still takes up time. Combining that with the fact that I'm working on a big cartoon that I've been on for nearly a year, and that I'm practicing drawing in general, it makes for a very tired Twisted.

These last few weeks have been a little heartbreaking, if you were to ask what's been going on in my little emotions. Keeping it brief, and since none of this has to be publicized to begin with, I've been having a few relationship issues. It's painful craving affection or communication from someone you want to spend time with, however deep your feelings may be, but they simply don't feel the same way, or, at least, aren't willing to share what's going on in their own heads with you. Although not always the case, it can sometimes feel like total rejection. We've all got our own little imps we deal with, but one that keeps coming back for me is this one, I realize. But perhaps it's just karma, I've done the same thing to others for my own reasons, feeling as if they're justified. Maybe there isn't anyone else to blame.

It raises the question why we desire to be with those who don't even care to be with us. At times it feels like arbitrary emotions are hijacking my logical reasoning. All of this stuff really messes with your mind, which affects your body, your spirit, and progress and performance of projects. I try to just turn my brain off and work, just get this stuff done, because it's just what I love to do. I love finally publishing something I'm happy about and being able to share it with those who find it entertaining. Which brings me to another thing...

They say don't focus on numbers, how many people are looking at your stuff, how many people are clicking a like button, etc. All very true, confidence comes from within, and you shouldn't actively be looking for people's approval and praise. That being said, even if you feel something you created (in my instance, artwork) is good, and after publishing it and getting a very underwhelming response, and then comparing it to something you feel is similar which gets a much more positive, impacting reaction, it makes you question yourself. You start to wonder "is this actually good", "am I just attached because I made this", "am I just crazy", and so on. The world and websites are very biased, but when that bias seemingly is against you, it can truly kill your confidence if you're not grounded.

So basically if you got anything out of this post, just stop overthinking. Hope you and your sweetheart have a nice Valentine's Day, and if you don't have anyone right now, be your own sweetheart.

-T4k

Madness Day is just about 30 hours away, and I'll have a new animation uploaded then. In the meantime, I figured I'd make a post about, after being an aspiring writer, game developer, animator and artist as well as a hobbyist music composer and voice actor for a lot of my life, there's a lot I have learned. There's a lot of do's and don'ts that I have concluded thus far if you do not wish for your progress, productivity, and general spirit to be staggered, if not completely broken. And if you are any sort of ambitious media creator as well--no matter what medium it may be--you are free to read what I have to write, and I hope it does you well.

First and foremost, nearly everyone in the community of art and general creation, from what I've both experienced and observed, are a more sensitive people; we're a bit more perceptive, intuitive and emotional than many out there, and this is what normally leaves a heart in us that has this burning desire to create and express ourselves artistically, whatever form that may come in. Those who feel they are sensitive people in an insensitive world tend to have these symptoms. Due to this, it is in our earliest nature to take things more personally. Not to say that "other types of people" don't, but again, from a general perspective, this is what I believe is true.

Now, when we receive criticism for what we have may spent an immense amount of time and effort on, of course our initial reaction as humans is to become defensive; subconsciously, we see our creations as an extension of us, not something that we just made in the past. And it's funny to think that there's people out there that are so insanely insecure that they even get violently defensive over some of the pettiest things, such as products that they purchase, what food and drinks they like to consume, what they wear, what kind of car they drive, what games they play, so on and so forth. These things simply are not extensions of ourselves.

But the main point I want to bring up with this are these two facts that my little journey of life so far has taught me:

1) People who are confident do not care about what others think of them.
2) People always want others to feel the way that they feel.

It's incredible how true these two statements have proven to be based on what I witness every single day of my life, whether it be in the art/animation community here online, or at Walmart. These just seem to be two undeniable facts that I have yet to see be contradicted, and my belief in this is further solidified based on how I used to behave (and at times still struggle with) as well.

So what am I saying here and what does this have anything to do with being a media developer and taking criticism? First off, never take criticism personally. Yeah, you've heard that one many, many times by now, and you've probably figured out that that is a lot more easily said than done. But here's something you may not have heard much of: criticism is often times meant to be personal, not to help guide you to improving your skills and talents.

There are loads and loads of envious, jealous, bitter people out there of all ages and backgrounds that are deliberately on a mission to tear down what they see has the potential to be successful. Why? Because they lack confidence, have low--if not any--self-esteem, and they want others to feel the way that they feel. They feel like crap, so what do they do? Give people compliments and try to help them with their endeavors? Usually not. Instead, they want others to feel like crap, too. Why is this? It's because so they can feel better by comparison; these people do not like who they are, they do not like their life, they are completely miserable, and instead of trying to better themselves because of it, they take the path that just feels easier to them: hatred. They choose to hate what is around them, seeing every negative aspect they can pick out of everything everybody does, creates, and is. Because they hate themselves. But again, I firmly believe that people want others to feel the way that they feel. So if they hate themselves, guess who else they hate? You got it: everyone else.

And these are the types of people I classify as "arrogant"; arrogance essentially boils down to artificial confidence. If someone is not confident, they try to bring others down, rather than to help them to rise up. If someone feels as if they are worthless and never succeeding, why in the world would they want to see others get what they want but do not have?

Now this brings me to part two of my little post here: people who are happy do not want to screw anybody over; they're confident, and over time and through what life has taught them, they chose to be receptive and learn the very basic laws of the way the world works, instead of choosing to be arrogant and take "their own path". If you're happy, content, and confident with your life, you won't have a desire to mess with anybody. You won't have a desire to make others feel bad.

The trouble with criticism is that it is in this murky blend of people who genuinely just want to help and want to see you improve, and people who just hate themselves and want you to feel bad because of it. But 100% of the time, these people loaded with self-hatred will never, ever admit it.

Ever.

They will always disguise their "constructive criticism" as existing because of reasons such as, "I'm just pointing it out so you know", "if something can be better, it should be better," and "what you did 'wasn't correct.'"

Again, if someone hates themselves, why in the world would they care about watching somebody else improve? It's simply a psychological paradox and their argument fails, every single time.  Arrogant people do not want to admit that they are arrogant, so they lie about it. Don't believe me? Call someone out on it and immediately watch them get aggressive and hostile towards you. It will happen literally every single time.

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

"You suck," "you'll never become a good artist," and general childish name-calling are not constructive pieces of criticism; they are in fact what I like to call destructive pieces of criticism. They don't offer anything for the creator to build off of, they're just negative words, and nothing more. If someone sees a project you are working on, digs it up and makes a post about it on one of their social media accounts stating that "this person doesn't know what they're doing," how is that constructive criticism? It isn't, it's just a symptom of self-hatred; they just want to show their followers someone that they want to believe is "not as good as them" exists.

Let me just conclude this quickly because I could just go on and on about symptoms of negativity in people who claim to be "critiquing" your work; here is my personal advice from one human being to another:

1) Never take criticism personally, even if it actually is designed to be personal and not constructive. Even if you're still a bit new and tend to take things more harshly than they're intended to be, frame what you were told about your work positively. Instead of thinking "oh, this person's right, I suck," flip it around and tell yourself "hey, my new drawing/animation/whatever will now be even better than this!" And trust me, later in time as you improve, you will not care about how "bad" your previous work is. And again, if the person is just trying to attack you for making something they couldn't, ignore them. Listen to what allows you to improve, and ignore what is just an attempt in tearing you apart.

2) You are awesome. Don't forget it and don't let negative, bitter, envious people bring you down because they see that in you. The only people that want to bring you down are the ones that feel down themselves. People who are happy do not want to mess with others.

3) What you focus on expands, and what you ignore, dies. If you angrily reply to hateful comments on your work, you are feeding them. However, if you ignore them and realize that whoever said/wrote that about your work is miserable and they want you to feel just as awful as they do, laugh at how much time they're wasting and how they're only making things worse for themselves, and begin focusing on what makes you feel happy and what actually makes you improve.

None of this is easy to learn, but nothing that doesn't cause any initial pain is not worth doing. Nobody became amazingly talented at what they do and had no times of hardship. The storm may last a while, but it will never last forever. Be kind to one another, practice, practice, practice, indulge in every good feeling that you are blessed with, and frame even the most harsh of criticisms you receive as positively as you can; bad people exist, and the world will not change for us, but we can change ourselves. No matter what.

-T4k