After a surprisingly short conversation, I came to the conclusion that I should no longer be providing voices with the reckless abandon of the past. There's a fair number of reasons for this decision, including my work, my family, and my desire to push myself as an animator. There's only so much free time, and I need to be more selective with how I use the time that I have.
But the biggest reason for this decision comes from the realization that I've been working under a false notion. I prided myself on being supportive (and that will certainly not change), and so I justified providing voice work for everyone and anyone who asked for it, with little to no concern for the quality of the work or the seriousness of the creator. In my mind, I was trying to help start-up animators better fulfill their vision of their projects. I have come to realize that this is clearly a mistake.
Where many starting animators need the most help is in their concepts and writing: the core (hell, I'm in the same boat). Providing voices for a poorly plotted piece only serves to fortify bad habits, and guarantees stunted growth, by dishing out instant credibility without holding the artist to any bar of standards. It's like handing out an A+ without even reading the essay. This doesn't inspire growth, it enables complacency.
I've heard, on a number of occasions, that just by having me be co-authored, chances of a daily award or even being featured on the front page are higher. This is the most destructive end of the spectrum. If people are coming to me with a false notion that by having my name on their work, they'll garner instant success ... then I've clearly dug a hole not only for myself, but for the people who come to me. The award should be the work, not playing the system to get a pixel trophy.
This doesn't mean I'm not providing voices anymore. It just means that I'll be providing voices for the projects that excite me. For the start-ups, I'm happy to offer my opinions and help how I can, and even point them in the direction of VAs who I think could help them out. There are a ton of talented VAs on Newgrounds eager to voice!
If you ever respected me in the past, I'm sure you understand, and I appreciate it. If you don't respect me, that's fine, too.
TomFulp
* rips up talking cat script *
RicePirate
Yeah, sorry, this was my passive way of turning down the cat script. Sorry, boss ;)