Ayup! Welcome back to yet another news post. Sit down and get comfy, this is an important one. Lets get started.

Chapter One: The Future of Mind Over Machine

The original idea I had in mind for MOM was to make 10 or more, progressively longer episodes, telling a full and fleshed out narrative. Along with those planned episodes, 5 shorts were planned detailing important events/characters from BEFORE the pilot.

This idea has many flaws, and as I've progressed in both writing and animation prowess, I've realized that this is an unrealistic and silly concept. As such, I've made some alterations.

The NEW + SHINY idea for MOM is to create 5, equally long episodes that detail a shorter yet still complete narrative, over around an hour long runtime. This is a much more achievable goal for a still learning, solo animator. I've been working on rewriting and adapting the story to create a shorter experience without taking out too much as to take away from the viewer's enjoyment.

So that's Problem A solved, what about Problem B?

If you've read my previous news post regarding Mental Health, you'll know that my biggest worry about MOM is the weak animation. The way I animated the pilot was moronic, using iBis paint and some random gif maker app to do a lot of the animation, with the rest being heavily tweened. This was moronic, and as a new and wiser man, I have decided to branch away from this and find a better software to use.

Adobe Animate, Flipaclip, Toon Boom, something of the sort.

This may mean that with Episode One releasing, the show may undergo a rather vast style change, but hopefully this'll allow me to create a much more competent and aesthetically pleasing final product.

Great. Two big problems sorted. But I have one last news.

"Mind Over Machine: Heist of the Century", which was planned to be the next release in the story, has been delayed indefinetly. The focus will be moved on to Episode One, finishing the main narrative before returning to HOTC and the other shorts AFTER the main series is complete.

Those who won a cameo in the fundraiser will have their character in Episode One, instead. Speaking of fundraisers, another one is planned for some point later in year, this time supporting a different charity.

That about covers everything for the time being. As much as I would love to have Episode One out by the end of summer this year, but as time goes on that becomes less and less likely. The best estimate I can give somewhere between Q3-Q4 2023, or, in the worst case, Q1 2024.

Chapter Two: Bunny Solo Endeavours

I do, in fact, have a life outside of MOM. Some interesting things have happened in that field, let me run you through that.

I post semi-frequent gaming videos on YouTube, at least once a month. I play mostly shitty horror games, alotta Backrooms stuff. Sometimes I play good horror games however, like in my upcoming three-parter video where I finally beat "The Smile Room", with the help of @Ugasisvelta! YT link can be found on my carrd!

https://bluejayos.carrd.co/

I do also have 5 commission slots open, which can also be found on my carrd.

Now, the bigger news, some of you may have noticed the name change from "BlueJayNG" to "BlueJayOS". This change was made with the intention of branching out and standing n my own merit, making content without a permanent connection to one specific platform.

The OS stands for Operating System, have had people ask, figured I'd just establish that.

In a little bit of closing news here, I have been working on a new series called "Arcanine: Paranormal Solutions". This started as just a one-off short for my art class final, but I fell in love with the characters and world, and decided to carry it on as a series of unconnected short episodes. No narrative, just quick and simple little skits that I can make to practice animation and keep me distracted if I get burntout from MOM.

Closing Thoughts

Thank you all for reading! I hope to be able to start posting again soon, as my mental state improves.

Also, thank you for fucking 300 followers! A truly mental number, it really makes my heart sore knowing that there are so many people out there who enjoy and want to see more of some random guy's work on the internet.

Have a good day/evening or night, and as always, brush your teeth. xx

Hey everyrobot.

Didn't expect to be releasing another news post so soon, but there was news to share so here we are. 

It'll be my last for a bit I promise. Lets get into this shall we. Starting with the boring part, which does supply alot of context. 

Sorry for the overall unprofessionality of this post. It wasn't the easiest to write.

Mental Health:

Yeah. Its one of those news posts.

Its not something I like to talk about publicly, outside of the occassional joke here and there, but for the past few months I've been struggling with depression. Haven't been able to get any help as thanks to the comically long diagnosis process either, so thats fun.

As you can imagine, this has been a damper to my work. I've not been able to get much art done or make any new animations. The work I used to enjoy doing has become more and more of a chore to complete. I'm not going to get in to the heavy details of what I've been facing, this isn't a vent post in any sort of way. There is no need to worry about me, I'll be fine.

Things have been getting better. Some truly great things have happened for me recently and there are truly great people in my life. I'll thank those people later in the post. But my mental health isn't what it used to be, and thats something I have to deal with, which comes with some news I'm not too pleased to announce.

Delays/Hiatus:

This applies mainly to Mind Over Machine, but a few other side projects I've been working on are affected too.

The Mind Over Machine pilot released to much more attention than I expected. To this day, it's my most popular work that isn't a collab part. This is a dream come true for me, MOM has been in the works for years, originally starting as an entirely different show I produced at 12 years old. 

With the pilot receiving genuine praise, I now feel the need to make future episodes better and better. A goal I do wish to acheive, but one that scares me.

I'm a very amateur animator. I'm sure those who have seen the pilot will agree that the animation is the worst aspect, being rather choppy and stiff. I am working on that, I swear. But there is a lot of pressure now to get better, something that my depression loves to insist that I'm unable to do. 

With this, I'm announcing a hiatus. I'm going to be taking some time away from these large projects. Working on a few silly things in my own time. This may last anywhere between a few weeks to a few months.

This means that the reveals of Sam and Dean, aswell as "Mind Over Machine: Heist of the Century" will be delayed. I still aim to get these out this year, but not as soon as I'd hoped.

I'll still be semi-active in places, and you can expect some YT uploads, since they take little to no effort and are usually quite fun to record. You can find all my socials n stuff on my carrd.

I hope you all understand. Now let me thank some people, shall I.

I'd like to thank @Ugasisvelta for putting up with me whenever I'm particularly sappy. You've been a therapist than money could buy, aha.

Would also like to thank some other friends, whether they knew or not, these people being in my life is something I appreciate greatly. @sereneFalconer @NooblesNG @Taka and @braeburner

Thats just a few. I have many other great friends, you all know who you are. Thank you for being here.

As well as this, I'd like to thank the entire cast and crew of MOM. A collection of truly talented people who helped me get the pilot out there, as well as future episodes. Something I'm eternally grateful for.

The Voice Actors, @VoicesByCorey @CarveyShow @LuckyDee @Emizip

The BG artists, @CheddarExuberant @Icy64 

And the musician, @LeyOLantern

Thank you to the fans of MOM aswell. There has been some great fanart over the past few months, some of which I'll link below.

I'd also like to specifically thank @julxz, who is undeniably the #1 fan, they also rule the discord server. I'm rather intimidated.

If you'd like to create your own fanart, be sure to add the "mindovermachine" tag to it, or @ the official twitter account @mindmachineng!

You can find the link to join the discord in my links page on my NG profile.

Thank you all, and thank you to my 289 followers. 

Stay awesome Newgrounds. This is Blue Jay, logging out.

Hey Everyrobot!

Been a while, huh. Sorry about that!

My last news post like this, aswell as the fundraiser announcement post, were quite a while ago.

I have a variety of excuses, schoolwork and the (ongoing) depression diagnosis come to my mind. But thats not what this news post is about!

Lets get into the good stuff, shall we. I'll start with the big one.

✨ MIND OVER MACHINE FUNDRAISER ✨

YES! Here we are!

For those who are behind, throughout the month of February we (The cast and crew of "Mind Over Machine") had a fundraiser for Trans Lifeline!

In the end, we raised $300 for the charity! Thank you all for your donations, you've helped raise money for a really good cause.

Watch a screen recording of the donation here!

(Donated amount is less than 300 due to conversion rate from dollars to pounds)

If you want to find out more about Trans Lifeline, check out their website here!

Anyway, onto the rewards.

Due to the amount of people who donated, there is enough slots for each person to get the promised top prize of a cameo in "Heist of the Century"!

• $75 - @crummylion

• $50 - @TomFulp

• $50 - @Bleak-Creep

• $35 - @BasalSpider

• $20 - @AhWham

• $20 - @BusanBlack

• $10 - @GraceAndGlory

• $10 - @Ant

• $10 - @HeyPixel

Please send me the desired character you want for the cameo via NG DMs! Thank you all again!

Aswell as the raffle, there were also donation goals. At this time, the two of the goals (The OST Release and The Reveal of Sam/Dean) aren't quite ready yet, and will be released soon!

Here is the rest, however.

Teaser One, A Script Segment:

Marley (Voiceover): Then What?

Lilith (Voiceover): Once we’re in, we just need to get into Commander Dean Amery's office.

Lilith (Voiceover): That means one of us will have to create a diversion.

Lilith walks up to the door, whistling non-suspiciously. They stop at the door and trips the fire alarm before walking off the other way.

Teaser Two, Finalised Marley Assets:

Teaser Three, Segment of Music:

Click here!

Heist of the Century Poster:

Wow! Thats quite alot.

Thank you all for your support on MOM! Stay Tuned!

✨ General News ✨

Whilst I'm mainly known for Mind Over Machine, I do of course do other things too. Here is some news related to that.

YouTube Channel:

I have a YT Channel, suprisingly! I mostly play horror games over there, so if you enjoy that type of content, check it out here!

Future Animations:

My main focus Animation-Wise is on MOM, but I do also have some original content I plan to release too! One of which should be out pretty soon..!!

COMMISSIONS!!

But not mine..

My dearest furboy has opened commissions and hot DAMN are they worth it. Check out this shit.

Yeah!!

If you're interested then look no further!

Their Instagram :0

Buy them a coffee!!

Saved the best for last clearly.

Thanks for reading everyrobot!! See you all soon!!

MWAH HAH HAH

*lightning strike*

@sereneFalconer >:]

At last, Operation: Serene is unveiled. The truth behind its mysteries released.

Shall we get straight into it?

The Song:

Crafted by @FactzMachine

Listen to this while reading ;]

[Click here for a banger]

The Art:

We had several talented artists create some art for our Operation. Here they are.

Drawn by @hdydisbdu

Drawn by @Thetageist

Drawn by @Caboleo64

Drawn by @NooblesNG

Drawn by @Tberger

Drawn by @yurikadry

Drawn by myself.

What fantastic art for a fantastic being.

Lets move on to some messages now.

The Messages:

Due to the quick release of this Operation, some messages may be added here in future. Keep an eye out!

From @NooblesNG:

Hey Serene, I just want you to know you're not alone and you've got many people that admire you; the art is a testament to that fact. Keep doing you, because you are awesome 😎

From @Thetageist:

You're really cool and creative, and I admire how unafraid you are to put your "cringey" ideas out there. Cringe culture is dead! Love yourself and stay unapologetically you!

From Dear Friend One Nerd:

Hey there friendo, our pal BlueJay says that you need cheered up, so here I am doing my job! BE LESS SAD or something equally stupid. But seriously, I hope you’re doing well, and if you’re not, I hope it gets better. You know that I’m always here if you just need someone to talk at, even if it’s just to get your mind off of things. You’re the best and I wouldn’t be where I am without you. Take care and see you soon.

For whatever it is that you're doing for Piper.

From @FactzMachine

hey serene, we might not talk too much but i want you to know how much you matter to me. to me you're happiness, sadness, love, hate, war, peace, etc. you mean a lot to me and im happy for all the times we talked, laughed, argued, all of it. i cherish every second talking to my friends and you are no acceptation. to speak with you again would be more than a blessing to me. Love you man (in a friendly way, of course).

From Myself:

Hey Jestie!! You pesky bugger, uncovering my evil plans before I can go through with them. Anyway! I love yah man, plain and simple! You deserve all the love and support in the world and then some, you are the most creative motherfucker I know and I know alot of motherfuckers. Stay awesome dude/dudette :]

There is more to come! More art, More messages! This operation is far from over. >:]

Hey Everyrobot!

I have some exciting news for you today! I am excited to present:

Yeah! We're doing a fundraiser for the charity Trans Lifeline from now til the end of Feburary! 

There will be rewards for certain goals and each person that donates will be entered for prizes! More on that below.

Its simple! First, make a donation via The Newgrounds Supporter Page, and ping me a message comfirming that you've made a donation for the fundraiser.

I will check with Tom that you did, and then your donation will be gathered into the pool, which will then be sent to Trans Lifeline!

After you donate, you are entered into a raffle for some MOM themed prizes! They are:

• Cameo (OC or IRL self) as an NIRA guard/Mobster in "Mind Over Machine: Heist Of The Century". [10 Available]
• Ask a character from the show a question (any character). [5 Available] 
• One Month NG Supporter. [5 Available]
• 
  

Depending on interest, the number of prizes may go up. That will be updated here accordingly.

Along with this, there will he prizes for certain amounts raised! These will be progressively revealing teasers for "Mind Over Machine: Heist Of The Century", until the last goal (at the highest amount), the reveals of the last of the 8 main characters, one of which just so happens to be trans herself!

These goals are as follows:

GOALS REACHED:

• $10: HOTC Poster Release 
• $30: First Teaser 
• $50: Reveal of Dean Amery
• $70: Second Teaser 
• $90: MOM OST One Release
• $110: Third Teaser 
• $200: Reveal of Sam Marwood

Update: That was... Quick. In "retaliation" I've put Sam's reveal up to $200 >:3

Further Update: Drat.

These rewards will all drop at the end of The Fundraiser!

Trans Lifeline is a grassroots hotline and microgrants 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis – for the trans community, by the trans community.

Check out their site here for more info!

Those who donate will be added here along with their amount! Let people know how based they are!

• $75 - @crummylion

• $50 - @TomFulp

• $50 - @Bleak-Creep

• $35 - @BasalSpider

• $20 - @AhWham

• $20 - @BusanBlack

• $10 - @GraceAndGlory

• $10 - @Ant

• $10 - @HeyPixel

TOTAL RAISED: $280

If you have any questions about the fundraiser, feel free to shoot me a message and ask away! 

Aswell, if there are any issues whilst donating, please do not fret to message Tom or another member of the NG staff, who can help solve any issues.

Make sure to join the Mind Over Machine Discord or follow the NIRA Twitter for future updates and teasers!

Thank you for donating, or even just taking the time to read this, and thank you Tom for allowing me the oppurtunity to raise some money for a good cause!

Hey everyrobot!

2022 was my first full year on Newgrounds since I begun posting last year in October for Madness Day.

It's been a great year for my artistic career, and from January to December I have made some genuinely good progress!

So without further ado, lets get into it.

ART

After Secret Santa 2021 I decided to start posting alot more on Newgrounds.

The first art I posted this year was the "The King of Chaos" on January 3rd - some fanart of The Spades King from Deltarune.

I have alot of problems with this one, but most notably are the general rushed-ness of it, the awful shading that just makes it look dirty and the weird smoke effect that I used to be obsessed with, for whatever reason.

Later in the year, on May 8th, I got my first proper commission from @BasalSpider! It's still in my old style and still has alot of issues, but it is definetly an improvement from earlier's King drawing!

Around this time, I was already experimenting with a new style, that utilises cel-shading and more exagerated proportions. This style made it's debut on August 5th with my entry for the UCU anniversary contest, "Best Pumpkin Dad".

This one is (in my eyes) a huge improvement from the other two. Looks clean and soft as compared to the dirty and rough art from earlier in the year.

I continue to use this style today with my most recent art being "Corey Squared" which I posted on December 9th.

ANIMATION

At the start of this year I was still producing the [now deleted + cancelled] "Blue Jay Studios" webseries. This would later be KIND OF rebooted into "Mind Over Machine" ("MOM"), but more on that later - Heck I'm going to make a video on the history of MOM at some point, there is ALOT to discuss.

The animation on the show left alot to be desired and the audio was INSUFFERABLE. I never had voice actors so it has text on screen and used text box noises similar to those in Undertale, albeit at a drastically lower quality.

The show is where the original versions of Ren, Mint, Gabriel, Alexander and Mark Four come from! They were VERY different however, Mark Four wasn't even a robot.

Over the year I produced a couple of cartoons. Most notable of these (other than MOM) is "Batmanimation", released on March 23rd not too long after the release of "The Batman" in cinema.

This cartoon is the origin of the MOM art style, and my style for toons in general.

A bit later I joined onto The Toonami Collab, which then released on August 5th.

My part on this was miniscule but it was fun to work on and was my first animation collab on Newgrounds (and in general)!

Skipping over MOM, which will have it's own section.

Earlier in the year I joined onto this year's Sketch Collab.

I was busy with MOM and suffering from some burnout around the time I joined on but I did get my bit done, even if it's very simple. The collab then released on December 21st!

GAMES + AUDIO

Sections combined as there isn't much to discuss here.

I was invited by my friend @UnevenPrankster to work on his game "Fighter.Net", a fast paced version of Mancala with that sweet y2k aesthetic! I was invited on to do the art for the game's protagonist Roland! The game released on August 14th, play it here!

On July 3rd, I got to be on an episode of The Ugasi Show! @Ugasisvelta is a great friend of mine and the episode (which unfortnately is unavailable to watch) was really fun to be on!

Later, on November 29th I was hired on to The UCU as a Co-Host for The Ugasi Show! A huge honour, thank you Sky!

MIND OVER MACHINE

This is the biggest thing I accomplished this year BY FAR.

Work began in August, whilst I was on holiday in England. I continued working on it until November when Robot Day was announced - I went into WORK OVERDRIVE to get it out in time!

The show went through many rewrites throughout the year until only recently when the story was finalised. I can't wait for you all to be able to see what the show has to offer!

I'd like to extend my most sincere thanks to the cast and crew of the show.

@sereneFalconer

@Ugasisvelta

@LuckyDee

@VoicesByCorey

@CarveyShow

@NooblesNG

@Emizip

@CheddarExuberant

@Icy64

@LeyOLantern

This is going to sound super corny, and it is. This show is my dream come true and being able to work on it with such a talented and lovely crew was an amazing experience.

You all helped my dream come true and thats awesome. I can't wait to work with you on the rest of the show and I can't wait for you, the fans, to be able to see the rest of the show!

Next part of the MOM story comes early 2023. It is the first part in a series of split episodes that take place before episode one and help establish the story. The first of these being "Heist of the Century". Standby for more updates!

Speaking of updates, in the meantime, how about you join the Official MOM discord or even support us on Patreon! Links below!

https://discord.gg/h9mXkATwkP

https://www.patreon.com/user/membership?u=83989506

Thank you all for your support over the year! Here's to 2023, maybe it won't go by nearly that fast.

This recap was for my Newgrounds stuff only, however I exist elsewhere! Just for fun here is my Carrd.

https://bluejayng.carrd.co

Keep being Big Shots! Love you all!

Hey Everyrobot!

Thought I'd make a news post discussing Mind Over Machine and its future!

Firstly, I'd like to thank you all so much for The Front Page and 2.1k views on Episode One!! That was truly unexpected and made my whole year!!

Hope you all enjoyed that episode, it gets better from here!

So here are some general updates!

• There is a Discord Server now!! The server is a general NG-centric hangout server, but ofc has servers for Mind Over Machine! Including Teasers and Exclusive Channels for Supporters! Which leads me into...

• Mind Over Machine is on Patreon!! Money raised goes straight into paying the Cast and Crew! Call me ambitious but there are some pretty great benefits, check it out!

• Mind Over Machine Episode Two: "Second Chances" is already in the works and should (hopefully) be out early next year! We hope you'll enjoy this as much as the last one, if not more!

• There are also some Shorts underway! They will serve to expand on the canon of the show by showing you events that happened before Episode One! The first of which will show how Lilith and Mint got their hands on The Program.

Thank you all again for your continued love and support of this little passion project of mine. I know the animation may not be the most spectacular, but I'm working to get better at every chance! Love you all, and Merry Early Christmas!! :3

This is getting ridiculous...

Super shameless plug here but my

art commissions are open on kofi!

I'll draw a character of your choosing [OC or Not], for prices ranging from £3 - £6!

Trying to raise some quick money before Sunday, is all.

Ko-Fi:

[Hyperlink Blocked]

I'm doing Art Streams on Twitch now! I plan on going live later today, you should come along sometime!