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TheInterviewer
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TheInterviewer's News

Posted by TheInterviewer - July 1st, 2020


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Interview No. 160

Interview By: @The-Great-One


Today's guest has been with Newgrounds for quite a long time. His series Adrellia Village has garnered him multiple awards, including three Daily Features. He has an amazing singing voice and is a talented underrated writer. I am most pleased and privileged to welcome, @MistyEntertainment.




Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?


A: As weird as it may sound, I actually found Newgrounds through Neopets. On Neopets, there would be this section called “The Neopian Times” where people submitted stories and comics. Although most of the comics were just images, there was an artist who went by neo_tomi who uploaded a few flash animations, which blew my mind as an 8-year-old. I think at some point he linked to an animation he did on Newgrounds from there, and that’s when I first found Newgrounds. I can’t link to the flash since it was one of the many that got removed within the past several years due to copyrighted music, but he’s @ReporterClock here. I always had a fascination with art and animation, and so finding a site like this where you could submit your own stuff and you’re guaranteed to have some sort of feedback (whether it’s through reviews, scores, etc.) - that was huge. I probably joined because I wanted in on the action. I submitted a whole lot of stuff here - and it was also just a fascinating place. Kind of surreal to think about just how rich the site was in content in 2009, and how it’s been more than a decade since then, and there’s only been more awesome stuff being uploaded.




Q: At what age did you become interested in music?


A: With regards to making music, I briefly got some guitar lessons while I was 6 or 7. I didn’t make it very far though, and I eventually just stopped because I got bored pretty fast. When I was 13, however, I found my old acoustic guitar and started to mess with it. At some point I became aware of what guitar tabs were, and I slowly started to work up my skills. I started songwriting with my editing software at the time Vegas Movie Studio 9 (not sure if that’s the exact title, but it works). I’d basically just take some percussion loops and samples, and I’d make some pretty dodgy-sounding music by pitch shifting stuff. Eventually, I started to learn more about chord progressions and whatnot, and I started writing songs with the guitar tab software TuxGuitar. This actually became a pretty important part of songwriting for me to this day - I’ve found that composing music in guitar tab software has really worked for me, and it gives me the ability to test different melodies.




Q: In the past we have been joined by a number of singers on Newgrounds. HaniaCaylerJazzaZachary Louis, and FolegAlmighty all shared their stories about their vocals. You are now part of that list. At what age did you start singing?


A: I think I started at around age 14. I still have recordings from that time and it was pretty bad! But as with all things, you have to be willing to ride it out at first before it gets better.




Q: When eddsworld and NCH were here we talked about their battles with cancer. When were you diagnosed with cancer and how are you now?


A: I was diagnosed with cancer shortly after my 17th birthday. These days, although I’m in remission, I’m still suffering from the aftermath of it. Lately I’ve been dealing with some health issues involving headaches and eye aches. They’ve been pretty debilitating. I also have been struggling to go back to eating solid foods, so I mostly get through the days by drinking a whole bunch of Ensures. Things have been pretty bad lately, since my pains have been preventing me from working. I’m still holding on and hoping that things will get better, though. The problems with my eyes have been a relatively new development, so hopefully I can get back to work soon.




Q: One of your earliest submissions is entitled The Bureaucrat. A simple rock song for sure, why the title? Where did the first note come down for this and when did you decide it was done?


A: Ah yeah, that one’s from the early days! At that point, I wasn’t writing lyrics, though I’d still have the vocal melodies for them. Many of the titles from that era didn’t mean anything, and this is no exception. I was still finding my style as a melodist here. The chord progression is somewhat derived from a wonderful Oasis B-side called Underneath the Sky. I didn’t really care too much back then, so songs were usually just done when I felt like it.




Q: My absolute favorite by you is entitled The Ballad of Joey Domino. How long did it take to write and compose this song? What can you tell me about your collaborations with MarkSilverMedia? Also who is Joey Domino?


A: It started because I had this verse with no chorus - at the time, I sent it to Mark. We were collaborators, and he sent back this great chorus. He’s a talented guy, and the song wouldn’t be the same without his role in writing it.




Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of music?


A: That’s an interesting question! Probably anything that involves some sort of instrument as the bare minimum, to separate it from spoken word.




Q: You have released your own albums over time. What advice can you give to those looking to make, release, and sell albums?


A: It’s hard to say because even now, my music has never really been that popular and I still don’t really know how to market it because a lot of the go-to places for that sort of thing (Reddit, Facebook groups, etc.) are usually just filled with people only looking to promote themselves (and I’m not gonna pretend I wasn’t part of that problem to an extent.) But with regards to making music, one of the best pieces of advice I can give is to write a lot of songs. I’ve only officially released 2 of the first 100 songs I documented, and I had to write a whole bunch of bad songs before I got to any good ones. Also, study the songs you’re really into - analyzing good works of art is always a good way to go.




Q: What is the Adrellia Village series?


A: Adrellia Village is a series I started when I was like 9. Stylistically the characters are basically Cyanide & Happiness ripoffs, but there are also “real” people and other beings that I drew for it. It helped give me my start in making things, and it was cool to have a whole universe of my own, even if it was heavily derivative of some things.




Q: What is Flash Library 4/20?


A: Many years ago, I started a series called “Flash Library.” The original idea was that they would be daily collabs with other animators and we’d all make something for it. Sometimes they’d have themes - eventually I did away with the schedule and just decided to do them whenever. At that point in 2016, it had been a little while since the last Flash Library we did, so I figured we should do one for 4/20!




Q: I am a fan of Steven Universe so when I saw Trash Library: Steven Universe I was excited. I thought this was hilarious even the rant at the end I found hilarious! I don't think I will ever get "I am king of the lesbians" out of head for as long as I live. Reading the description there seems to be more to this story, but it is a bit unclear. Could you perhaps elaborate the project details for us?


A: I remember it starting with me making a Flash shitpost which I often do, and at some point Artistunknown and I decided to do a Trash Library that was Steven Universe themed and combine our talents. After checking with him, Artistunknown said that it came to fruition because it was meant to be a final send-off for @thebreadandbutter’s channel, which earned part of its audience from Steven Universe related videos, but then it took some time for AU to finish his part and Bread’s channel got deleted by YouTube, and when AU finished, it was just within days of the Steven Universe movie airing. And as I said, I used to have a collab series called Flash Library, so we decided to flip that on its head and just shitpost. Someone even did an Italian dub of it.




Q: What can we expect from MistyEntertainment in the future?


A: I’m not entirely sure due to the health issues I’ve been having lately, but if I get better, I’ll definitely be making YouTube videos and working on my music. My second album has been in the works for quite a while! I’ve got tons and tons of songs written. There’s some great stuff waiting to see the light of day, I can assure you that much.




When I made the suggestions thread I was sent a PM suggesting I interview MistyEntertainment. I was told he had been on the site for years and that he had been constantly making stuff. Whether it was movies, art, music, or even a few games. He was constantly finding ways to contribute to Newgrounds. We are most fortunate to have him here. He serves as a reminder that we must be grateful for all of our content creators, for we all strive to better one another here.




The Interviewer is a part of Dohn's Desk Productions

SUPPORT ON PATREON | SUPPORT NEWGROUNDS ]


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Posted by TheInterviewer - June 24th, 2020


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Interview No. 159

Interview By: @The-Great-One


Today's guest you have either seen on the Forums or you have had your work reviewed by him. From his discussions to religion and philosophy with the other members of Newgrounds. To writing constructive and fun reviews for every Portal on Newgrounds. I am most pleased to welcome, @Ericho.




Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?


A: I was actually an early online friend of Kirbopher and he posted his TTA videos on this website. I had already gone on lesser known websites that had flash cartoons, but was amazed at how big this one was and I've been hooked ever since.




Q: What age did you become interested in psychology?


A: I have had a lot of mental health issues in my life and I thought I could use that knowledge to help other people.




Q: What was it like going to Arnold HIgh School? What were your favorite studies?


A: Pretty much like most high schools, I imagine. I especially liked history or social studies. I've always been fascinated by that. I was kind of the class clown.




Q: What is Shipwreck Island?


A: It's a water park I go to sometimes in Panama City.



Q: I ask about Shipwreck Island because you had one of the best days of your life there after graduation. Could you tell us about the day in whole?


A: You know, it was the satisfaction that I had completed an epic part of my life and I had earned it. You could just as much ice cream as you wanted. I may not have had many friends, but it was still great to celebrate.




Q: What can you tell us about working at Calypso? Any good stories to tell?


A: I didn't work there that long. I've worked at EncompassHealth for literally years. Probably the best story I can mention is how an employee was fired for smoking weed.




Q: You did work cleaning up an oil spill at one point. What was the oil spill and what can you tell us about the job overall?


A: I didn't exactly work. What happened is that I went to a seminar where they talked about how I might be able to. They would call me back if they needed me and they never did. I did manage to get paid $100 for attending the seminar, so it wasn't pointless.




Q: What brought you to attend Gulf Coast Community College?


A: My dad worked there! My degree was in communications actually.




Q: You received a Master's Degree while at Florida State University. What did you receive your degree for? Why did you want to pursue it? What were your experiences at FSU?


A: It was once again communications. It was certainly nicer than High School, because the students really were more mature and I felt they had fewer restrictions.




Q: What was it about the communications field that interested you?


A: Because I had poor social skills growing up and I wanted to learn how to communicate better.




Q: It is fair to say you're an avid reader, perhaps more than what I was able to uncover. You have studied religion and philosophy, spoken about them in great lengths. The effects on the world an the people within and without. What would you say is your base philosophy? Your personal view on the world and your moral code?


A: Wow, I never really thought of myself as a philosopher. I mean, I just do what's morally right. I was raised extremely religiously and yes, I consider that a big influence on my morals. I just try to look for the best role model and follow that person. I guess it would be too easy to say Jesus is the best, but in terms of modern ones, I'd have to say Mr. Rogers. Even Jesus has his own Wikipedia article criticizing him! Of course, so does Mother Teresa (no, that is not a typo). If mocking Mr. Rogers on 4chan is bannable, he MUST be good. I just always think of the time he approached gay men and said, "God loves you just the way you are".




Q: When XwaynecoltX was here we talked about his reviews and his reviewing process. He was what inspired me over time to improve my own reviews. He is in the range of over 30,000 reviews now. You are nearing the 20,000 mark in reviews. What motivates you to write reviews on such a daily basis?


A: Habit, I guess. It gives me something to do. I always try to find new things to do and am fascinated by the sheer number of things to review here, or really in general. I've also written over 1,000 reviews on the IMDb.




Q: You've been writing reviews since you signed up. How would you describe your style of reviews. Have you changed your style over time?


A: Yes! Originally, I was at a paragraph, but got a warrant saying I couldn't make that many without being more in depth. I have tried not to repeat things like "Keep up the good work!" though it is hard. I have just tried to see how this particular submission was unique.




Q: With all of these reviews I'm surprised to see that you're not a member of the Review Request Club here on Newgrounds. How come?


A: Honestly, I wasn't even aware of it! After they stopped submitting stuff to the most prolific reviewers list, I kind of lost interest in keeping statistics.




Q: What is your most favorite thing about Newgrounds and why?


A: Probably the sheer number of unique things here and how people express themselves.




Q: You can change two things about Newgrounds. What are they and why?


A: Probably going back to letting you control your favorites arrangement. Then again, I've written so many by now it would be hard to keep track. I also wish they'd keep records of all the awards winners like they used to.




Q: What can we expect from Ericho in the future?


A: More reviews! I haven't been writing as many though, not that it really affects my record much.




Ericho is certainly one of the best members of Newgrounds. He is open to reviewing anything from the Portals. He is a huge fan of the site and is always interested in what others are doing on the site. Those who call him friend on this site are lucky to have him. Those who are graced with his company, even if for a few minutes of messages through PM or posts on the Forums. They are certainly blessed.




The Interviewer is a part of Dohn's Desk Productions

SUPPORT ON PATREON | SUPPORT NEWGROUNDS ]


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Posted by TheInterviewer - June 17th, 2020


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Interview No. 158

Interview By: @The-Great-One


Today's guest is not an unknown name to the artists and members of Newgrounds. From his works on Pallid Fingers, which won him Daily Feature. To Metropolis Circuit, which won him a Daily Feature and Weekly 1st Place Awards. To his return to Newgrounds with The Lighthouse Girl, where he won a Daily Feature, Weekly 1st Place, and Review Crew Pick, hitting the Triple Crown. I am most honored to welcome @rtil.




Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?


A: When I started messing around with my first copy of Flash in 2004, I found Newgrounds while goofing around wasting time on the internet, which is how I spent most of my free time when I was young. I don't remember how or what I saw that led me there, but I do remember making an account and submitting my first proper cartoon a year later.




Q: At what age did you become interested in art?


A: I've been drawing as long as I can remember. It was always a favorite hobby of mine. But I didn't start taking it seriously until my final year of high school, when I had to start thinking about what I actually wanted to do with my life. It sounds strange, but never until then did I consider the fact that people were artists for a living. When I had that epiphany, I started taking the interest seriously, building a portfolio for applying to colleges and universities.




Q: What brought you to DigiPen Institute of Technology? What did you study there?


A: DigiPen was one of two art schools in my area, and their BFA program specialized in animation for games, something which was rare at the time. I applied there as my #1 choice, with Seattle Art Institute as a fallback - they accepted basically everyone who applied to their program. Fortunately, I was accepted by DigiPen. My major was a Bachelors in Fine Art & Animation, which covered everything from working with traditional mediums to a broad range of digital software in both 2D and 3D. Again, the goal of the school is to get people work in the games industry, so the program was built with that in mind, and we even collaborated with programmers in the school to make a game in our 3rd year.




Q: What is TheBackalleys?


A: At first it was a portfolio/personal site, but for the hell of it I slapped a forum on it. Because of that, it slowly morphed into an online community with people who liked my work - mostly from Newgrounds. Today, the website exists largely as an archive, but the community itself continues to live in the form of a Discord server. It's a healthy mix of people who are there for the community, and people who are there because of my work. But since its inception it has naturally always been very art and animation focused.




Q: Your first submission on Newgrounds is entitled The Rabbit Justice Ad. A funny movie for sure, yet we never got the conclusion to it. How come?


A: Originally, I never intended to even make a sequel to that. It's something that I spontaneously decided to pursue due to the reception of my first Flash animation on Newgrounds getting front paged. I barely knew how to use Flash at the time - I cobbled that cartoon together on strings and wires thinking nothing of it, hoping that maybe a small handful of people would get a chuckle out of it at best. But the result was much more than I bargained for, and when I woke up the next day, thousands of people had seen it. At the time I was quite star struck - I had never gotten that kind of attention on the internet before.


When you get stars in your eyes, it's easy to become overambitious. I made a sequel of sorts, and I bit off a lot more than I could chew. The sequel was messy, stunted, and tonally confused. Eventually, I realized I just didn't care all that much about making a cartoon series about cereal mascots - not enough to continue writing a story I was basically just making up as I went along, anyway - and decided to move on to other things. However, it did start an unintentional trend in my work that I continued for a long time after, and that was the majority of my work being parody.




Q: I love unexpected horror. Something that has build up and hits you with the shock value at the end. You would deliver this to us with GUM. You stated it was made during school for a Nicktoons thing and you would do some things differently. What Nicktoons thing? What would you have done differently about it?


A: At the time, Nicktoons was looking for original content, and I was equally as interested in seeing what I could create that was not parody. It just so happened that one of my classes that semester involved creating an independent animation project, and thus GUM was born. Ultimately, nothing happened with it at Nicktoons, but I still got to show it to my class, and of course Newgrounds, and I was happy that people seemed to enjoy my original work as much as my parody work.




Q: My absolute favorite by you that has quite the story behind it is you can't kill me. You elaborate the story in the movie itself so I won't draw attention to that. I will ask how it started and what was the straw that broke the camel's back? What advice do you have to give to those looking to join a creative community, what red flags should they look for?


A: The SheezyArt community was very tightly knit, so any drama that happened there was drama everyone knew about. I was pretty outspoken in those days, and I would often use my journals on SheezyArt to fan the flames of whatever was going on at the time, be it something everyone knew about, or something I thought deserved attention. But I was always incendiary about it, and often encouraged others to participate, which usually ended up giving the moderation staff more work to do. Their solution to this was banning me from writing journals, as they were my primary tool of stoking the flames of drama. I won't lie - I enjoyed doing this. It was a source of entertainment for me. As for how it started, I couldn't point to the first time I did it, but it was always something new every week. It was pretty much what I was known for there.  


I guess my advice for those joining a creative community would be to avoid that kind of behavior if possible, actually. If you feel something is important enough that you have to speak up, do it with tact. After I left places like Newgrounds and Sheezyart back then, whenever I started a new social media account I made a promise to myself that I would keep it about the art, no matter what. It's a personal thing for me, and I don't chastise anyone who mixes their personal lives, politics or opinions with their art - but I know why I follow artists and that is for their art. Sometimes, seeing how they behave, talk or treat other people tarnishes their image in my mind. I don't want other people to feel that way about me, and so I give them what they followed me for - art.




Q: Metropolis Circuit is quite the thrill ride from start to finish. Getting the details down to the absolute second of each movement must have been a lot of work. Where did the idea come from and how long did it take you to make it? Were there any mistakes you made that you can tell us so others don't fall into the same holes?


A: It was a mix of sci-fi/cyberpunk inspiration from things like Blade Runner and Akira, with the visual stylings of cel-shaded games and movement of Jet Set Radio. I smashed those two things together and wanted to introduce a world I was creating with a purely adrenaline-fueled animated short. There isn't much story there, and I intended it to be that way. But I think while it got people interested in the visual aesthetic, there wasn't much else for people to care about.


It reminds me of a lot of anime that try to hook you with intense battles and action right from the starting scene - but if there are no stakes, it can feel hollow. My only advice in this instance is that it does help to establish character and give something to the audience besides what you can offer visually, because a setting and characters people care about will amplify everything else around it.




Q: When Kirbopher was here we talked about a collaboration you would be a part of entitled Brawl Funnies [Dick 1]. How did you come to join this collab? What contributions did you make to it?


A: This massive parody collab was organized on TheBackAlleys. While I wasn't the person who organized it, as the person responsible for the community even existing I couldn't resist participating. My part in it was called "Rina-chan and the Brawl Boyz", a raunchy parody of a character meant to portray Rina-chan (a voice actress Kirbopher often used in his cartoons) going to a club and seducing characters that appear in Super Smash Brothers. It didn't really have much to do with anything besides the fact that I wanted to use the song "Move For Me" by Kaskade in an animation, and I basically created the entire parody around the use of that song. 


We also did another parody in the same style called "Metal Gear Funnies", but unfortunately it's harder to find these days because the person who organized it deleted it off of Newgrounds. My part can still be found here.




Q: When TheShadling and SenpaiLove were here we talked about their NSFW art. You too draw NSFW art. When and how did you start drawing NSFW art?


A: Back in 2013 I was introduced to a visual novel called Katawa Shoujo, a romance story about a high school student named Hisao Nakai who almost dies from a heart condition called arrhythmia. He ends up at a school for the disabled, where every girl he meets has a different disability. At the time, Katawa Shoujo was exploding in popularity as it was a volunteer project 5 years in the making from a group of writers, artists and programmers who met eachother on 4chan. The fact it was ever finished was astonishing, but it also surprised people with its tastefulness, heartfelt stories and meaningful relationships it builds. Many people became very closely attached to their favorite characters in the story.


But Katawa Shoujo also has adult content - and the community wanted more of it. I was commissioned that year to draw some Katawa Shoujo hentai after I had expressed interest in it with some fanart I posted. I had never done anything like that before, but I took the offer on a whim, and the rest is history. Nowadays I'd say a good half of my content is NSFW. If I wanted, I could probably become a full-time NSFW artist, but I don't want to burn out on it, and I enjoy having a healthy mix of both SFW and NSFW art.




Q: A favorite art form of mine and one I don't see too often on Newgrounds is charcoal drawing. What can you tell us about charcoal drawing and its appeal to you?


A: Charcoal is a very messy medium that requires a large canvas and broad strokes. It's easy to smudge and difficult to preserve. Most people use charcoal on newsprint, a very cheap and flimsy paper that is easy to tear and meant to be discarded. However, it's got a great texture to it and is ideal for gesture drawings. Charcoal is something I believe every artist should try at least once in their life, and in the ideal environment. It's good for teaching people to be bold and energetic with their strokes. It's not a medium that is intended to be used for small, minute details. It's for making broad, sweeping and powerful lines that fill the page. With our little digital tablets we get used to working in these confined spaces, charcoal can be freeing in that sense.




Q: While I was researching for this interview I came across a short film you did as your senior project. You would grace Newgrounds with it entitled The Lighthouse Girl. You state that it got out of hand. What was the process from beginning to end? When did it get out of hand? Why now release it on Newgrounds?


A: It got out of hand because it ended up taking longer to complete than the entire school year we had to make it. While we submitted an incomplete version as our final, we kept working on it after the fact until it was finished. Most senior animation projects are around 2-3 minutes long, The Lighthouse Girl is closer to 5. With a team of 2 animators doing everything, creating 5 minutes of high framerate animation in 8 months, along with storyboards, animatics, backgrounds, sfx, post-processing and everything else is a lot to ask - especially when you consider it wasn't our only class that year. 


I released it on Newgrounds now because I want to flesh out my Newgrounds account with all the art and animation that I released since my hiatus. Work that I am still proud of, anyway. And I can't say I'm still proud of too many things I created in 2009, so The Lighthouse Girl is special to me in that regard, and I want to share it with as many more people as possible as I can.




Q: When RWappin was here we talked about Studio Yotta and his work on Sonic Mania. You too are part of Studio Yotta and have done work on Sonic Mania. How and when did you join Studio Yotta? What was your part in Sonic Mania?


A: I've been loosely associated with Yotta since their inception, and have worked on a couple of projects with them throughout the years. I've known its founder long since before Yotta was ever a thing, so when he started it I was there, watching it all happen. At the time, I didn't think it would work, but I was wrong, and I think that's a good thing. 


For Sonic Mania in particular, I did tie-down and clean-up frames for three sequences, the most notable near the beginning where Sonic dashes across the screen, creating a storm of dust and stars, and you see Tails fly in while Sonic does some loops and spins. It was one of the most difficult shots i've ever done, because it had to be absolutely perfect for SEGA's standards, and keeping those characters on-model is a lot harder than it looks.




Q: What can you tell us about your work on Rick & Morty?


A: For the "Run the Jewels" music video, I did shots that focused largely on special effects, like the tube of green liquid that bursts open, some blood flying off a slow-motion punch, or a grenade being thrown into a room of aliens. It's one of my specialties, so a lot of the animation work I do is for effects like that if it's not character animation. Which is also a shot I did in S4E1, where a bizarre type of ferrofluid wraps around the leg of Rick. The fluid behaved like nothing in the real world, so you had to think outside of the box for that. Despite it only being a 2-second-ish shot, it took well around a solid week of work to finish that shot because of the high detail of every frame. Each frame took hours to draw.




Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of animation?


A: Animation is the exaggeration of reality. The opportunity to romanticize the mundane, or create something that couldn't exist. This is inherent in how the medium works. For animation to be believed, our brains must be convinced that a sequence of drawings smashed together is actually persistent motion, and not just a collection of unrelated scribblings. Animation does not work like film, it's not a replica of what our eyes see.


This is why rotoscoping often looks awkward if done without understanding how animation works. When you boil it down, animation is an elaborate series of tricks we play on our brains, and it took animators a few decades to figure out a lot of those tricks when it was in its infancy. And while the animation industry has been around long enough to establish some basic principles of animation, we still tinker and toy with them all the time. Sometimes these experiments work, sometimes they don't. But the most important thing to remember is that to justify animation's existence, it needs to separate itself from film.


Why do we animate? Because animation gives us the opportunity to express ourselves from nothing, a blank canvas. There are things we can do in animation that we can't capture on a camera, or capture a feeling in a unique and specific way. So it's important to take advantage of that.




Q: When and why did you leave Newgrounds for so long?


A: Being wrapped up in so much internet drama back then, it was affecting me in a negative way. I decided to get away from it all and figured that returning would bring back bad memories. It wasn't until recently that I realized I can put all that behind me. But for many years inbetween, I just didn't think about Newgrounds. It was only until Tumblr banned adult content that Newgrounds entered back into the narrative in the online art community. At first I disregarded it, but now I believe Newgrounds has a relevant space.




Q: What can we expect from rtil in the future?


A: Hopefully some "bigger" things in terms of the scope of what I usually do. I create a lot of art these days, but most of them are sketches, short animation loops and paintings I don't spend longer than 2-3 days on. I'd like to get back into longer animation, comics, or games. And while I do participate in projects like that as an animator, it's been a while since I was the creator of any of those things. I'm not sure if and when I'll have any ideas for something, but my mind is constantly all over the place and I'm sure it's only a matter of time until I come across an idea I can't let go of.




Seeing rtil make his return to Newgrounds was an absolute joy for me and I'm sure many others. He has been a favorite of the site now for a long time and looking at his works, it is no secret as to why. He is a gift to this site. One none of us should take for granted. I hope The Lighthouse Girl will not be the last time we see him grace us with his presence here.


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Posted by TheInterviewer - May 27th, 2020


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Interview No. 157

Interview By: @The-Great-One



[ PART 1 | PART 2 ]




Q: Sunny Days is a cool General Rock song. Dedicated to the Summer you missed. What can you tell us about that Summer and the themes that went into this song?


A: Ah that summer... and every other summer. :) It's not so much a particular summer as summer overall. I've recorded similar homages later on, like Summer Stuff in 2014.


Sunny Days is an upbeat track, meant to convey the sensation I feel when the sun comes around after a time without. A small streak of euphoria and boundless optimism fueled by that great fiery orb in the sky that keeps feeding us life.


We have long winters here, and so we appreciate all the sunshine we can get. Not only that, but in our family we've been spending our summers at what I referred to as the family home above, an old house by a little farm-like patch of unkempt land in the middle of nowhere, for as long as we can each year since before I was born.


When I studied at a distance that meant three months, the pinnacle of all summers; now it's more like two, split up into two or three shorter trips. We savor the time. We farm our own food, fetch what we can from the forests, swim, get together and get closer to nature. When I had less responsibilities I wrote a lot during those summers.


It's really the highlight of the year. The snow melts in May and usually starts falling again in October, so it's a short-lived dream, vacation limits or no.





Q: Audizzity is an awesome rap song compiled of the pieces you made with Audacity only. Why did you take on this endeavor and what can you tell me about your rap influences?


A: Some time during 2014 I had the urge to make some music, but I didn't want to resort to the simple software I'd been using before. I had a Fruity Loops phase as well, but as I started working less and less with the instrumental aspect of music and more so just vocal recordings, I moved over to Audacity, and thought it'd be a fun experiment to see if I could actually mix together some real tracks there. As real as you might consider them considering the limited scope of the project.


The bits in Audizzity are all simple, the verses mostly short and repetitive, and the beats mostly based on instrumental samples: kick drums, hi hats and various bits of percussion that I repeated and chopped up as makeshift beats. Even with limited editing capabilities - if you've used Audacity you'll know it's not really meant for this type of work - I'm happy with how it turned out, as very much just a quick spur of the moment project. Glad you enjoyed it too!


My influences in regard to rap were maybe initially fueled by Limp Bizkit. I found out about them in middle school, and at the time the edginess in their music was one I both related to and loved just because it was just that. Edgy. It was a whole new world. Yes I'm part of that generation.


The first CDs I ever bought were Rammstein's 'Sehnsucht' and Kid Rock's 'Devil Without A Cause'. I guess the latter influenced me as well. Before this I'd been listening mostly to glam rock and pop, courtesy of my big bro/sister, but the world of metal, and nu metal in particular, was something else. After Limp Bizkit came Linkin Park as one of those perspective-altering musical revelations, with a style unheard of before. A true hybrid of genres.


Pure rap-related inspirations actually came a lot later. I'd listened to oldschool icons like LL Cool J and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (still underrated - props to Joyner on paying respects where due) via my brother before, but got into Eminem around the dawn of the millennium, and after that... I can't name just a few. Influences came from all places. Here in Sweden I went to school at a time when rap was just starting to get established in our culture, with artists like Petter, Timbuktu and Thomas Rusiak, so they probably played a role too.


I'm currently deep into Strange Music and all artists they collaborate with, but there's so much talent out there. Hard to name just a few individual inspirations.




Q: My favorite instrumental by you absolutely is Dream Flow. Ever since the days of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas I have loved this type of ambience. Not in your face, in the background, but not too much that it is distracting. Where did the inspiration for this come from? Could lyrics be put to this or are there melodies that do not need them?


A: Thanks. This is very much a type of music I like working with too, laid-back and ambient in appreciable ways. The inspiration at the time mostly came from the samples I worked with - I don't think there were any outside influences that made me go for this specific sound.


I do feel like instrumentals never inherently need a performance to go with them. Music's great as is, and lyricism is great as is too, but when you put them together... they do enforce each other. They become an experience. The instruments might evoke a feeling, but the lyrics add a meaning. A story or a message. Instrumental music has its time and place I feel, but a full-fledged composition, with focus on vocals, feels like a much more wholesome experience to me.


That said I wouldn't want vocals on everything. Sometimes you just want to appreciate the sound, and as you say it's easier to leave on in the background, the more ambient and subconscious the better for focus-requiring dues.


It'd be interesting to turn some of these old beats into full-fledged songs though... might pick up on that idea some day.


I also loved GTA San Andreas. It's probably the one game I've spent by far the most time on, and still one of my favorites of all time. Maybe it really was an influence for me too.




Q: Cyberdevil's Back and Cyberdevil's Back (2016) would come out in 2013 and 2016 respectively. They announced your return and are both fantastic rap songs. What made you want to make songs for both of your returns?


A: At the time I made a much bigger deal out of my summer vacations than I do now, treating them as almost a holy form of hiatus. I didn't go online at all for months at a time, and when I returned I liked the idea of coming back with a bang(er).


It was also an easy topic to write about, and a fun way to announce my arrival; set things in motion again.


When the first one came about I'd recently come into contact with Jabun, I believe I had the verse written and wondered if he could make some music for it, and he really went above and beyond, emulating a nu-metal style we both love with the instrumental. It wasn't part of my request at all. Turns out we had plenty of musical influences and tastes in common. And so much more too.


In 2016 I came back from summer with a similar verse, wondering if he could add some percussion to it. I had a very specific structure in mind, where the beats followed the annunciation in the raps, and it was apparently really difficult to make a beat that synced the way I imagined, as it wasn't made according to any definable BPM.


The first may sound more wholesome, but I'm sure the second one was a much greater challenge to make, with a rhythm so unorthodox the percussion had to be manually adjusted for each part. With that in mind it's a fun project to look back on. It really stands out among my other tracks.




Q: My favorite rap song by you is entitled From Ash To Alabaster. How and when did you meet Jabun and what can you tell us about your working together on your projects including this one?


A: We met via NG, though I'm not sure who took contact with who first. If he was looking for collaborations to boost his presence, or if the first call was me asking about that one verse on the first Cyberdevil's Back.


However it all started I'm glad it did, and it's since been somewhat of an unofficial goal to at least collaborate on one track per year, though we've missed a few now. I had a guest verse included on his Two Years On album (released under the band name Better Than The Book) a couple years back for example. Real honor.


From Ash To Alabaster came about in a similar way to Cyberdevil's Back, though the beat's actually based on a commercial one I'd written and recorded to already ( B.O.B.s 'Airplanes'), but didn't have the rights to use. I wondered if he could maybe make a new one that sounded similar and so he did! I believe he had some pointers on structure with this one, I adjusted my lyrics a bit, and you can hear him faintly on the hooks as well, and towards the end, as my voice didn't come through so well on any bits related to singing.


It turned out beyond expectation. It's usually the first track I link to if I want to introduce someone to my sound, even if I feel my vocal tone could be better.


Jabun's a humble dude. Very positive, forthcoming and easy to work with, not to mention incredibly talented with all that involves music. Hopefully these almost-yearly collabs are still far from over!


Fun fact: The first Cyberdevil's Back was actually recorded on a voice recorder, thus the lo-fi tone. I didn't have a real microphone at the time, but finally managed to get an upgrade with this one.




Q: Summer Stuff is a project you would work on with S3C. Which came first in this song the lyrics or the melody or did you both collaborate on them throughout the project?


A: First off big props to @S3C, probably my longest standing acquaintance/collaborateur/frequent commentator/dare-I-say-friend here on the grounds. I believe I stumbled upon his music in a similar way as with Jabun's, and asked if he wanted to work on something (correct me if I'm wrong @S3C). It's not our first collaboration, but maybe the first that's been uploaded. He had a few beats at the time and I wrote up some lyrics for one, which then turned into this.


The vibe felt just perfect. Sunny Days and soothing summer nostalgia come again. It's probably the most authentic depiction of how we (as in me and my folks/family) spend our summers yet.


I wrote an After Summer Stuff remix around the same time too. There are a few other verses for that same beat that never went past the writing stage. Really good beat. I could probably write a whole album with it.


I usually write lyrics in one sitting with the instrumental already made, depending on who I'm working with, but with rap in particular it feels like it's also the standard practice to have the beat ready from the start. Occasionally to start with a loop and build a structure around that as a track progresses.




Q: What is in your opinion the definition of music? How would you describe rap music?


A: I used to say that music is life. Or life is music.


I believe it's a reflection of how you feel and think. A way to get out a message to the world. A way to share your emotions and personal experiences. A way for people to relate and join in said journey. Communication you don't necessarily have to understand to bond with or immerse yourself in - therapeutic and transcendent of any boundaries between us.


A form of expression, in essence.


Rap, to me, feels like an amplification of the story-telling potential that music has, with or without the art of wordplay. Like a bridge between poetry and sound.


So maybe it's like this: Music's the art of expression. and rap's the art of words.




Q: As a musician, which do you feel you like more in a song, the melody or the lyrics?


A: The lyrics, hands down. It's probably why I also consider myself a lyricist first and foremost.


It feels like you don't need music at all to appreciate good lyrics, yet good music with bad lyrics can be painful to listen to.


I tend to shy away from mainstream music for this reason. I like something that says something, and unfortunately it seems rare in pop culture now. I'm also all the more impressed by artists who write their own songs, and feel like it heightens their performance. It always seems all the more authentic an expression when they can relate to what they're singing and performing too. And I can relate to them if they relate to their own music.


There are definitely exceptions, but that seems to be the rule of thumb, for me at least. I pride myself on not falling for the formula and getting stuck in everything that sounds the same. Anything that's more about monetary gain than expression and passion and soul.




Q: You are quite the busy individual with your hands in a lot of different pots. How would you describe your system for balancing all of these projects with your day-to-day life?


A: As very nonfunctional.


I still struggle to prioritize the right things, and to stay prolific and positive when the dues amount. I ride on waves of efficiency, then sometimes stall and come to a standstill entirely, moving on with only the most superficial and dopamine-inducing things (if you really want to get something done, then cut out all other rewarding tasks until the prospect of completing that one thing is the most rewarding thing you can imagine).


In theory I feel like I have a good idea of how such a system should work though. Don't wait. Start with the most important thing as soon as you wake up. Don't stall. Don't hesitate. Don't let yourself get stuck - move onto something else if you do, or take a break. Efficiency is something you hone as much as anything else, and even with creative work there's no room to work only when inspiration strikes. Work with the inspiration when you get it, but work around the barricades even when things don't seem to be going your way. Also calm down. Don't stress unnecessarily, just grind on. Relax when you can, but take pride in your work ethic, and fuel yourself with affirmations.


It also seems like the secret to achieving this may be to first find a balance in life that you're happy and healthy with, that lets you keep going without ever having or wanting to slow down with that which you choose to do. If you're not there yet though best just keep going.


As it is I simply spend a lot of time in front of the computer, both with work and hobby, and try to focus on whatever's most important at any particular point in time. Maybe some day I'll actually adapt all of the advice above. It's a work in progress.




Q: What can we expect from Cyberdevil in the future?


A: You can hopefully expect more frequent musical collaborations, and a wavering but never-waning presence on this here the greatest of creative oasis(es?).


I'd also like to get back to writing more spontaneously, and tackle a long-overdue update on some of my sites, not least the very little but hopefully soon to be expanded shortcut one NG Pot.




Cyberdevil is one of the best rappers on Newgrounds. He may not have the best flow, he may not even have the best beat. He does have an armory of words. He has a way of weaving his thoughts and opinions into a melodic form that we can all embrace and enjoy. From one writer to another, I am privileged to speak with him about his craft. And more to have his notes on my craft. Cyberdevil is a treasure to us that we should not neglect.


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Posted by TheInterviewer - May 27th, 2020


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Interview No. 157

Interview By: @The-Great-One


Today's guest is a writer and musician known through Newgrounds. From his works Dream Flow to From Ash To Alabaster. He has graced us and the world with his words and his music. I am most humbly honored and pleased to welcome, @Cyberdevil.




[ PART 1 | PART 2 ]




Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?


A: At this point I don't really remember how. The early 2000's were when I started discovering the Internet, and Newgrounds was one of many places I stumbled into at the time, along with contemporary communities like Retrogade and Smosh - when they were at their most inspired by and had a user-based content submission system just like ours. As far as I know this is the only one of all those parallel pioneers with their own portals that still exists.


As for why I joined it was probably for the stats. Without the gamification aspect there wouldn't have been as big an incentive to sign up, I'd just have enjoyed the content from afar. With official rankings even for things like Top Reviewers and Submitters, as well as a surplus of fun and fan-based ones, it really felt like a golden era for competition, and everyone had a fair shot at the top since all was relatively new. I actually planned to review every single submission when I signed up. Might've been possible back then too!


So I found the place because of the content, and signed up for the stats, but I've probably stayed because of the community. It might've been edgy but it had an inspiring creative resolve that permeated the whole website even back then, and has grown so much since. Hopefully I with it.





Q: Where did your inspiration for writing come from?


A: My earliest writing aspirations are a haze too, but Dr. Seuss probably had something to do with it. I've been told I loved his way of weaving words together.


I started writing early on and have been going since! Still mostly as a hobby.




Q: Do you recollect your first poem?


A: All these ancient memory-based questions are hard to answer. I don't think so, though hopefully it's still lying around in a pile of notebooks somewhere. I wrote a poetry collection for school early on that's easier to dig up, so here's a piece from that instead:


$ Money $

I'm going to make a bet
A big bet
It's true!
I'm going to make a bet
of one million fifty-two
The only problem is...
I don't know what bet to do!


It won a contest too.




Q: While at Stockholm University you studied Japanese and Japanese History. You stated the messiness and difficulties with it, including spending three hours on an eight page essay and failing your first examination. Could you elaborate more into your time and studies at Stockholm? Also what made you want to pursue Japanese?


A: For some mysterious reason, even though all I wanted to do when I graduated was to get out of school, I decided to pursue a higher level of learning.


The reason my first course was Japanese was probably because Japan was, at the time, the one thing I was most intrigued with. A friend introduced me to Naruto in high school, and since then I was hooked on anime. I binge-watched thousands of episodes. Entire series in a day. I was fascinated by both the medium and the culture it portrayed, with exotic and awesome things like melon bread, and of course their martial arts and honorable warring culture. After that it was movies - I'm still addicted to those.


I was unreasonably ambitious during that first year of university, so in addition to those full-time lingual studies I went for a course on Japanese History before 1868 too (the year their samurai era ended and Japan was forcefully pushed into the modern world).


It didn't go as well as I'd planned. It turned out university level education was waaaaay more demanding than I thought, and my passionately composed final eight page essay on Japanese History before 1868 wasn't received with the praise I'd expected. Don't remember as much about the examination, but getting the result was a shock at the time since I went well beyond the levels of effort I'd put into anything before it, and the lectures leading up to it dealt with learning in such a light and easily consumable way that it seemed expectations would be similar, yet the end result was apparently meant to be a culmination of work far exceeding that of the information attained via said classes. So that was that. My first step into the real world, where nothing is as it seems to be. Apparently normal school does all but prepare you for it.


Eventually I re-wrote the essay and passed, and later discovered that as far as university-level learning goes here, Stockholm University is probably the highest tier establishment you can start with. I chose it since it was the closest.


I also totally missed out on the language part of the Japanese course, thinking the weekly movie sessions with culturally significant titles like Yojimbo and Eros + Massacre were the first half of the semester, when both parts of the course actually progressed in parallel and I only had one half of the schedule. So I still don't speak fluent Japanese.


I studied elsewhere a few years after that, picking up bits of wisdom in varying areas of expertise, from paleontology to creative writing. Most probably postponing inevitable career choices as long as possible all the while adding to my previously meager list of educational merits.




Q: Who is CyborD?


A: CyborD is first of all my witty wordplay, combining the cybernetic organism abbreviation CyborG, with CyberD, the name of my main website which is consequently also an abbreviation of my alias, and an acronym for a bunch of other things like CyberDesign, a service I for a while planned to start a career in freelance work with.


Functionally CyborD is two things. It's in part a bot I made for my site, back when I actually coded my site from scratch (it's been migrated to WordPress since - if anyone's interested in this stuff), to manage things like cron jobs and backups. He was a simple but fun experiment, and lasted a short while between two iterations of the place, 2006-2008.


Additionally CyborD is also a little chatbot, a simple Flash interface tied to an XML file with responses filled in according to questions people might ask. I programmed him to answer all the generic ones with a basic answer, and as many more specific alternations as possible, with plenty of Easter eggs and tidbits of wordplay along the way. It worked pretty well! You could ask him "why*" and he'd give a standard response, and "why specific thing*" and he'd give one to match that specific string. The wildcard denoting he'd ignore anything you typed after that point. I think I catered to pretty much any generic one-word question you could think of, and many more...


It's possible he's still floating around somewhere, within the unexplored alcoves of my by now overgrown and outdated playground I also call CYBERD.ORG.




Q: You stated at one point to skip university and get a job. What is your stance behind this advice to now from then? If you had taken that road what job would you have taken?


A: Looking back... I'm still happy I chose to keep studying. Even if I didn't choose the topics that might've advanced me the most career-wise, I did explore a large amount of different interests, and in the end learn more about what I really wanted to do with my life.


That said there are way too many things I want to do with my life, and I don't feel like I have time to spend on all of them but still do on a multitude of them regardless. So maybe branching out into a myriad of different fields isn't the wisest way if you want to find a purpose and motivation, but you learn, you grow and experience and explore new pathways. I might just not have explored the one path that feels most obvious to embark on myself... yet.


I envy those who seem to have a calling right from the start, and know exactly what they want to do in life, but at the same time I wonder if they aren't missing out. There's so much out there. You might not know what really fascinates you the most if you haven't been exposed to it yet.


If you have the time or resources to pursue studies then I'd say go for it, but if you live in a country where studies are costly, and would have to take loans to learn something you might not even want to learn, then I see no reason not to just jump straight to a job instead.


From what I've experienced you don't gain a notable advantage from studying, unless there's a specific field you want to get into that requires it (medical studies come to mind). If you just want to get a job right away it'll just be a more practical form of learning instead. Exploring different career paths seems just as useful as getting an education first, if not even more so depending on the job, if it really is a more hands-on thing.


I received an offer for a telemarketing job right after I'd graduated, so I'd probably have started with that if I didn't keep studying. I stumbled into work as a personal assistant instead, and as webshop admin/lead IT guy at a small car parts company thanks to that, which is where I'm at right now. It might not be the dream job, but I believe in taking the opportunities you get, and exploring as many paths as you can. Eventually I feel it'll all fall into place.


Just don't get stuck doing something you really don't like doing. Keep pursuing your passions if you have some, and try to find some if you don't.




Q: You brought us a collection of poetry in a nice even number entitled A 100 Beforehand. I'm going to touch on some of those works here in a second. You stated in the intro...


I tend to write what I think, then think about what I write, and label it relentlessly like I like, then I suddenly collided with the creativity that flows in form of prose unlessened like the stream from a hose through my veins tween my head and my toes. AND, I thought, why not undergo a temporary change of flow and write titles without vital liable idols to label and see if a hundred or so will still be able to convey my message through by this lake view to you wherever you make do with a book and waste two or more hours highly devoured in this riddelistic twiddles that reside within. And remember, you can do, anything. That you crave. Be free, be brave.


This was when you were on vacation at the lake in 2009. Do you still believe this quote holds up to this collection? What are your impressions of the collection looking back after ten years?


A: I was about to say I do believe the quote holds up to the collection, but I'm not sure the collection holds up as well. Since it was a quick and spontaneous project - the way I wish all things could be, but reading through it again I don't feel like that quote gives a good first impression after all. It's a bit much. The poems don't take themselves seriously, but they're on point; sometimes there's still depth. I remembered this as one of my more rushed collections, but am enjoying it more than I thought I would now.




Q: A few that resonate with me on a deep level are Man of SteelIn My Mirror, and The Oracle. With the last one being my favorite out of this collection. How do these resonate with you? Do you believe that poetry is subjective to each individual or is there an intent behind them with each poet?


A: The last one seems reflective of both the questions and answers written here thus far. :) I get stuck on the structure a bit on that one, some lines feel stuffed, but the first part of it gave me goosebumps. In The Mirror felt familiar, like seeing yourself through the eyes of someone else. As for The Man Of Steel that might be my favorite here, so concise yet so strong. I like simple things that reach beyond their scope of words like that.


Great picks. Would also like to mention 'I'm Openminded', which almost feels like a homage to my earliest work (like the one from school). I'd like to write more like that. Quick but fun.


I believe poetry is always subjective, but not always intentional. You don't write poetry so much to convey a message as to to convey a reflection, or it wouldn't be poetry. A realization. A memory. Something fleeting that only this form of writing can truly capture; something abstract enough that not everyone will respond to it the same way. So you should know when you write that it's more about feeling than about intent. Trying to convey a particular message via poetry would be like writing that message in code. Though writing in riddles can be fun too sometimes.


Yet unlike stories, where it's hard to write everything so it's perceived by others the same way as you imagine it with your inner eye, poetry feels like a form where nothing's lost. You convey a feeling or an idea, and it's all there. How readers will interpret it is of course up to them and how they feel, what circumstances they've grown up in; their perspective on life, but it's not a part of a bigger picture that needs to be perceived as such. It's the moment.


Apparently I had a much more stubborn mind as to the discourse of meanings when I wrote this collection. I do still believe that you define and relate to the poem based on personal experience and knowledge, but sharing impressions can take it so much further than that.


It's inspiring how much others can draw from something that might not have meant as much to you too, but even more so appreciative when people do draw things from something you feel strongly about. It's frustrating to write longer work where details or nuances get lost in the process, and readers don't really go into the words with as open and susceptive a mind.


I've tried writing a few books so far but lose the red thread all too easily. Poetry however: love this format.




Q: Beat For The Stranger and High Up In My Castle I'm surprised you haven't turned into songs yet. The imagery for both of these is just incredible. How did you come up with these? Were they on a whim or were you in a specific location? Will they be turned into songs one day?


A: And Dream Sweet, which could be molded after and was probably inspired by the same melody as Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This). :) And thank you.


I'd love to turn some of these into real songs too. I might have lyrics that were inspired by High Up In My Castle ready already - hopefully they'll make it to song eventually - though it's so much quicker and easier to just write. That's the simple reason most of my material never makes it further than this.


If I was in a specific location when I wrote these it was probably at our family home up North, sitting in my upstairs room with a slanted wooden ceiling, looking out at the nearby lake. Or sitting outside, maybe by said lake, listening to the leaves rustle and falling twigs make rings on the water surface. Maybe lying on the grass and looking at the freeform clouds...


I mostly write at night, when all dues of the day are done, and so the mood is often reflective this way. But I don't remember the specific time or place I wrote these, or my specific state of mind at the time. I'm a dreamer though. Fascinated by the rise and fall of all civilizations. I imagine High Up In My Castle might be a combination thereof. Of the dreamscapes I chase, the ambience of nature, and these fleeting moments in the ebb and flow of our time.





Q: To end A 100 Beforehand, the last poem is entitled The Sentence. It is a wonderful bookend to this collection. Was this the last one written or was it written earlier and made to be the ending?


A: If only I'd documented the process ten years back! I do believe it's the final piece though, and that the rest were all written in order too. That's how I used to write these back then, page by page, number by number, but I can't say it with absolute certainty.




Q: Your first song on the Audio Portal is entitled Difference. You labelled it under Miscellaneous, but it sounds more Drum N' Bass. How did this piece come into existence?


A: Audio, as well as Flash, are both formats I started with in large part thanks to this place. I'd recorded things before, and played a little piano and guitar, but digital music creation was something I'm not sure I ever thought about doing before I came here. I started with eJay, the simplest software possible that I by chance had been given a special edition copy of at the time, started uploading some tracks and there you go! Step one of my ongoing musical journey begins.


I'm still proud of some of these early compositions, stitched together of pre-made loops though they made be (royalty free, I should mention), though as I was at the time very interested in stats I did have a knack for putting out as much as possible rather than pouring my all into each individual piece. As bandwidth was limited back then it was popular with short audio loops, to keep the file size of Flash submissions as small as possible, so I focused a lot on those, making a few series with either six or a hundred loops each.


Difference was different, though. It's one I still remember fondly. Maybe the first I was really proud of. I didn't upload all of my early work, nor is all of the work from that time still online, but I'm happy that one remains number one.


At the time I didn't know much about musical genres, and submitted pretty much everything as 'miscellaneous' just so it wouldn't happen to be in the wrong category.




[ PART 1 | PART 2 ]


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Posted by TheInterviewer - May 20th, 2020


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Interview No. 156

Interview By: @GoryBlizzard


Today's guest is going to be The Interviewer himself, whose main account is The-Great-One, and who has another account indicated later in this interview. Now, it doesn't take a genius to realize that The Interviewer cannot interview himself, so he has called for some some outside help, which he found in me, GoryBlizzard. For those of you that are not aware, The Interviewer is undergoing a trial run in which on occasion, previous guests may switch sides and do the interviewing themselves. This has the potential to yield some very interesting questions and answers going forward. Those of you curious to read my own interview, it was on September 12, 2012 during when I was a chat moderator on here, and you can read it here. Let's all welcome, @TheInterviewer/@The-Great-One/@Dohn--whatever you want to call him.




Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?


A: In 2004 I frequented a site called Video Game Directors Cut. It made sprite movies and was ran by Randy Solem. I watched his Rise of the Mushroom Kingdom series. Part 4 could only be seen on a site called Newgrounds. So I came over here to watch it. I started to see what else was on this site and in 2006 when I signed up for Newgrounds I wanted to leave a review on the first movie I saw on here entitled EVA5 The Rei Puppet Show. I've been here ever since.




Q: You started The Interviewer on February 8, 2009. What were some of the strongest factors that compelled you to create a collection of interviews of well-known Newgrounds members? In retrospect, was it a good idea? Is there anything you would have done differently?


A: I used to read the NG Mag. Another site where you could play demos of upcoming flash games and other cool stuff. My favorite though were the interviews done with other creators. I am kicking myself for not archiving those while I had the chance. Once the NG Mag was no more, I was thinking back to those interviews and thought, they were done by regular Newgrounds members. If they can do it, then why can't I? I started the project in 2008 on my own profile and hated it. I picked it back up in 2009, made Tom Fulp the first guest and went from there. I thought it was a good idea back then and I still think it is a good idea now to have this collection of knowledge and information about the different creators and their craft here on Newgrounds. What draws them to this site.


What would I do differently though? I can't say for sure. I think I would have paced myself better. A lot of the older interviews were posted when I was done with them. I probably should have put myself on a schedule earlier and taken more time with each one.




Q: You seem to fancy yourself as a writer. One thing that isn't completely clear to me is this: do you write professionally? If not, what's your day job? If you went to college, did you major in English, journalism or anything related?


A: I do not write professionally. I hope to change that within the next couple of months though. I did not go to college, I have no degrees. Creative writing is more my strong suit. I only got interested in journalism when I started to do The Interviewer and take it more seriously over the years. As for my day job, I am a manager at a deli. A less than successful Jew am I, but my day job helped me get my own house so that's nice.




Q: You have made it clear that you are not a big fan of interviewing people multiple times. You have expressed this sentiment in a recent thread where you solicited suggestions for this project. Direct quote from you: "Check the list first. If I interviewed them already, chances are I won't again." Yet, for anyone who goes through that list, it is apparent that there have been some repeat interviews, most notably Tom (4 times), JAZZAMurray/BahamutOneyBosaSardonicSamuraiscriptwelderSexual-LobsterZekeySpaceyLizardMasterAardvark (all 2 times each) and two separate editions of BBS regs. What goes on in your head when you decide that a previous interviewee is worthy of another interview?


A: I normally don't like to do repeat interviews, because as someone pointed out and as you have here as well, I have interviewed Tom more times that I probably should have. If I keep having the same guest multiple times over and over and over again, then it becomes redundant. Some of these people I interviewed once and then they won a Tank Trophy, and Tom asked me to interview the winners. Others like Oney, Bosa, and SardonicSamurai, were older interviews. I didn't like my style back then and I wanted to speak with them again as I improved my craft. Then there is Sexual-Lobster and scriptwelder who released newer works and I wanted to talk to them again about their newer projects. One person was interviewed as part of two different groups. SpiffyMasta was interviewed for and The Newgrounds Police Department and The Elite Guard Barracks. That one blew my mind when I was making the Guest Index.




Q: Before eddsworld's passing, you conducted an interview with him. After a previous interviewee passes away, gets their name changed or their account deleted, do you just put an addendum on top followed by the original interview? In Edd's case, I note you added some comments on the bottom as well. How does it feel like looking back at an interview that you conducted with someone that is no longer with us?


A: When Tom made the announcement it hit me pretty hard. I didn't know edd that well. He was on my list and I knew that he was beloved. It was why I chose him to be the 60th Interview. He died eight months after I posted that interview, it was less than a year. I was thankful that he able to share his words on his work, and I hope that he inspires future generations. I would have been more thankful for him to still be with us though.


If a person changes their username (a.k.a. Bahamut) then I will go to the interview and update it. I've been cleaning up The Interviewer recently and have had to make some changes as I went. With one notorious user named Travis no longer being part of the site, unless he's still lurking under his old username.




Q: If you scroll through the In Memoriam page, there is a list of some known Newgrounds users that are no longer with us. (Note: Cerealbox Clock/Zach Finley, who has been dead since May 2004 and whose username was thecerealkiller, also belongs on that page. Original announcement.) If you had the chance, who would you interview and why?


A: Randy Solem. The man who brought me to Newgrounds. That was a missed opportunity that I wish I jumped at when I had the chance. There is a saying that I like which I would like others to take with them and it is "You are never promised tomorrow".




Q: On top of your main account and The Interviewer, you also have Dohn. You have had it for a long time but haven't done much, yet there is some recent activity. What do you want the public to know about some of your goals for it, going forward, on top of what's publicly stated?


A: It is in the works. I wanted to do some different kinds of interviews on there where I interview a Newgrounds member who has touched the site in one way or another, or just have a conversation with them. It is where some of my stories and other articles will be posted. If people were fans of my threads in the Video Game Forum, then they will continue and be expanded on through this page.




Q: You have amassed an impressive collection of interviews. In your experience, quantity notwithstanding, are you happy with the quality? Do you think the interviewees and general public are generally happy with them? Do you often hear back from interviewees for second chances after you've already posted the interview?


A: The general public are definitely happy, my only big critic is TurkeyOnAStick. He still reads whenever I highlight an artist from the Art Portal though. I take his criticism to heart and try to improve. Once I put the interview out I am not one to go back years later and change the wording. Once it is there it is there. My quality has improved over the years and I hope to improve it more. My older interviews were quite cringe, but I am still pretty happy with them... we all start somewhere and if you don't take the first step you will make no progress.


The only one who has wanted a second chance so far has been Ryanson. I'm not entirely sure why though.




Q: Do you have any aspects of your interviewing style that you like or dislike? Would you say that you are your own harshest critic and that you constantly fine-tune it?


A: My style is pretty dry. I've been trying to be a bit more humorous though. At this point though, guests are really happy to get that letter in their inbox and afterwards they end up having fun with it. What I dislike and what I've been trying to fix over time and have been doing so is that I don't know how to use a thesaurus. Seriously, my style in the older interviews was just the same question just slightly worded differently yet somehow using the same words. It was elegantly written bullshit. The interviewees still liked it and the readers still liked it. Jesus tap dancing Christ though I did not.




Q: Which interview was your most favorite and why?


A: AlmightyHans. It took the most work to do. Each interview has its own research paper and sadly I used to throw away the research paper when I was done. A lot of it was shorthand notes on something I wanted to remember to write the actual question. Everyone usually was contained to one, maybe two pages. Hans interview took up five pages. I don't write front and back.


Putting the interview together took an hour to do. It was all worth it in the end though. Hans story is a beautiful and even tragic tale. Any creative person out there who doesn't feel they're up to scratch and might even want to give up should read his story.




Q: Which interview was your least favorite and why?


A: TheShadling. He was one of my most requested interviews. I worked my ass off on that interview and I was trolled. The readers got a great laugh out of it, so in the end I was happy about that. TheShadling though was such an enigma though that I was hoping to learn more from him. That was not the case though. Can't say I didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't... that. Everyone liked it, so that's all that matters in the end.




Q: Would you say you have changed your interviewing style much, if at all, over the years?


A: My overall style is pretty dry. Yes I have though changed my style. I put a lot more dedication into it. The only way to get better is to build up more and more.




Q: Outside of writing, what do you get the most pleasure out of in life?


A: Every writer reads. I am no exception. Ultimately though music is my driving force and caffeine is my fuel.




Q: What can we expect from The-Great-One/The Interviewer/Dohn in the future?


A: The Interviewer is back in full force, so new interviews will be up every Wednesday. With Dohn, more interviews and conversations with the members of Newgrounds. As for me personally, I am hoping to start a podcast with Ben Tibbetts. That's still way WAY in pre-development (in other words we talked about it and that's it). I am also looking to make a web show that's been in developmental hell for over ten years now.




Throughout my lifetime, I have interviewed only a small handful of people. After all these years on Newgrounds, to interview The Interviewer was definitely a big assignment, but one I was willing and knowledgeable enough to take on. My journalism teacher in high school definitely taught me a few things I'll never forget. Journalists don't only exist to hold people with fame and power accountable or to answer questions that might be of public interest, but they themselves must be willing to be exposed from time to time. Exposure doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, as this interview shows. It's fair to say that we all look forward to many more interviews going forward. Maybe another previous guest will also soon have the same opportunity that I did: to do a reverse interview. I waited 7 years, but it was well worth it.


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Posted by TheInterviewer - May 13th, 2020


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Interview No. 155

Interview By: @The-Great-One


Today's guest is an underrated artist who many will probably know more from his NSFW art. Dig deeper though and you will find an artist whose works range from video game, to creativity, and nostalgic. He has perfected his craft throughout the years on Newgrounds. I am pleased to welcome, @SenpaiLove.




Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join? Also your username used to be Plazmix. What made you want to change your username?


A: I found Newgrounds mainly through old animators and flash games back at around 2009 and I didn't make an account till around 2011. Plazmix was my gamertag at the time and I didn't really establish a proper pen name till senior year of high school. I have gone through a few names but SenpaiLove stuck after one of my friends gave me the idea.




Q: You've been drawing since the age of 4. Could tell us what it was you first drew and how would you say you developed as an artist over time?


A: The first thing I drew was legit a little yellow duck with some flowers. Ever since that time I just kept growing more and more accustomed to drawing letting my inspiration flow as a child. It was when I started watching more animated movies that my passion grew more and I wanted to become an animator.




Q: Did you study art while at Corona High School and Lee V Pollard High School?


A: I was mainly self taught when it came to drawing traditionally just trying to freehand drawing Mega man X, sonic, and Naruto characters. I had taken graphic design in both my junior and senior years and I didn't get into an art class until my senior year of high school. Art books were never an option for me either since libraries though it was too vulgar since characters start off without clothes even though no genitalia is shown.




Q: What brought you to study at Norco College?


A: My mother had me take a 3D Design course to get a degree within something but after my 4 class I could no longer finish the course due it running out of funds and it was cancelled.




Q: How does Monty Oum inspire your artwork?


A: Monty had a huge inspiration on me with the animations he had created. I've watched his Master Chief vs Samus waay before knowing it was even him. Some of the inspiration went into me taking the 3D Course to create character models just to make fight scenes. It just sucks I couldn't get to finish my course even after having past experience with using blender. 




Q: What is ArtCorner?


A: ArtCorner was made to show my artwork in video form with using sped up videos. I did plan on making tutorials but I was too nervous and still felt inexperienced enough to teach properly. Once day it may become the main hub for some practice animations.




Q: What is David the Panda?


A: So before I started anything nsfw related I wanted to make an enjoyable comic for kids to read just like Gamercat. So I created a bunch of cute animal characters with simple designs. I had lost interest after a while since I had burnt out on ideas from posting almost every week for about 2 years. I do plan on remaking them in the future and making it into a book like the Garfield comics were made. 




Q: One thing to note about you is that you draw commissions and suggestions of characters and thus make NSFW material. You are not the only one to make NSFW art and others have their reasons. Why do you do it though?


A: So at first I actually hated anything nsfw related for a very long time until a friend of mine convinced me that I should try it out. After doing it I had actually gotten addicted to drawing nsfw since it helped me to build better anatomy within my work. It also became nice change of pace after doing sfw all the time so she's pretty much the one to blame about me doing nsfw altogether.




Q: Your first piece posted on Newgrounds is entitled A. Looking back on this piece and where you are now you seem to always be interested in the design of a character first and foremost. Does this hold true today? Also looking back on that first piece and how your art has grown what all can you attribute to that growth?


A: I absolutely love well designed characters it's one of the reasons I do so much fanart of other characters I see on social media or in anime. It helped me to work on different styles and aspects of art, anatomy, clothing, characterization, etc. I do thank from all the feedback that I used to get, it really helped me to improve whether the feedback had good or bad intentions.




Q: Another thing I notice is you place importance on eyes. When CosmicDeath was here we talked about her fascination with eyes. She stated...


I think realistic emotion or feeling is one of the hardest things to depict and replicate in drawn characters, and a lot of that is in the eyes. The behavioural aspect of oculesics gives more insight into why and how this is so important. But for now let's just say that eyes create an emotional link to the viewer, even when they aren't attempting eye contact..


How do you feel about eyes in your art and eyes overall?


A: This is something you'll get to know of me very quickly while getting to know me. I Love Eyes! Eyes can capture you very quickly at just how captivation they can be from their colorization to the raw emotion. You can learn how a persons personality can be just by looking deep into them. There are so many vast styles that I would love to get into using and improve more upon my style of them!




Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of art?


A: Art is the form of expression you draw what's from the mind and soul creating what we as humans can't always have. It's such a vast form of emotion and it's very sad that a lot of people really don't get that. So many are ignorant to see what art has even created for us in our everyday lives from the designs of our phones, clothing, apps, animation, games, architecture, furniture, etc.




Q: What can we expect from SenpaiLove in the future?


A: I plan on working on animations, creating more prints for conventions, and making more designs for shirts. I also have some comics that are in the works as well as a novel. It will take some time to get these all done but I will be getting them done nonetheless!




SenpaiLove, much like TheShadling, was a person I was fascinated with. I do find it intriguing why someone would draw NSFW material. We know it exists. However there is an art to it. Much like the statues during the time of the Greeks, a la David. SenpaiLove has a lot to offer us. In terms of his art and craft. He is slowly, but surely coming to master the human figure and re-imagining of a lot of our favorite characters.


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Posted by TheInterviewer - May 6th, 2020


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Interview No. 154

Interview By: @The-Great-One


Today's guest is one of the best developers here on Newgrounds. His works have enlightened and amused many on Newgrounds. From The Company of Myself, which he won a Daily Feature for. He has also worked with Edmund McMillen on Spewer. He has also been working on things in the background of Newgrounds with his  Pico-8 Scoreboard. I am most honored to welcome, @FreeAsANerd.




Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?


A: I'm not totally sure, I think a childhood friend of mine who lived around the corner told me about it. I probably didn't join until I started wanting to upload stuff?




Q: How and when did you become interested in game development?


A: I wanted to make stick figure animations, like Xiao Xiao. I found a copy of Flash MX (I think the "student edition?") and practiced animating for a little while, but eventually found that I didn't have the patience for it. Since I had this fancy software, I figured I should try to do SOMETHING with it, so I started learning about the ActionScript feature. I had previously used one of the graphing calculators that they loaned out in school, and my oldschool-programmer-dad had gotten me curious about messing with TI-BASIC (the "entry level programming language" that it included). Since animation had proven too hard for me, and since I felt like I had a headstart on the programming front from doing calculator doodles, it felt like a good alternative. Turns out that I enjoy programming and game design more than animation, so I've ended up sticking to it since then!




Q: One of your earliest games and one I am quite fond of is entitled The Company of Myself. It tells an enriching story from beginning to end and has a unique design which although I've seen in some other games I love the implementation here more. Where did the idea for this story and this type of gameplay come from?


A: The initial thing was watching a friend play Braid (which probably comes as no surprise) - I liked the setup where it's part puzzle game and part character study, and those two sides of the game support each other. I picked the "repeat" mechanic because I had played a different Flash game which was based around it, but I'm not gonna call out the title because I felt that its puzzle design missed a bunch of opportunities, and didn't really use the mechanic in surprising ways. Easily outraged at the tender age of 17 or 18 or whatever, I wanted to try to do the mechanic justice. From there, the next question was what type of character would be appropriate - and a hermit seemed like the right kind of fit, somebody who has to take care of a bunch of things on their own. Beyond that I tried to keep everything pretty vague - not everyone is a hermit, but everybody feels guilty about something that happened a long time ago.




Q: Edmund McMillen, better known on as Bluebaby, is no stranger to Newgrounds being the mind behind Super Meat Boy. You two would work together on a game entitled Spewer. How did you two meet and what was it like working on this game together?


A: It's a chain of unexpected connections! Luka Marcetic (he's the guy who made the stealth series "The Classroom," which I remember as a classic) eventually did the character art for Company of Myself, but somewhere along the way he connected me with the Kongregate staff while they were still starting out. I forget how, maybe just from the chatroom style of the site, but Emily Greer (who co-founded Kongregate, and was the CEO for a while!) heard that I had tried to work on a (never-finished) realtime multiplayer game in Flash. When Edmund eventually asked her for help finding someone who had attempted realtime networking with ActionScript, she pointed him to me - this was an extreme left-field surprise, because his game Gish was the biggest "indie inspiration" game that I had played. We didn't end up making the online game, but we settled on Spewer instead by combining a "paint-spraying game" prototype of mine with a cutesy-gross character idea from his sketchbook. Once it was clear that it was gonna be a game about puking, I cut out my existing "spray walls with paint" mechanic and replaced it with fluid simulation stuff, for maximum cutesy-grossness. It was an extremely fun and rewarding project for me - Edmund is a great dude who has really Put-In-The-Time to learn his craft.




Q: I absolutely love dry and dark humor. So when I came across YouFindYourselfInARoom, I was absolutely delighted by this experience. What made you want to take the text based game and give it this sinister twist?


A: I had a four-game sponsorship contract with ArmorGames, and I tried to get away with making a really small text-based project as one of them (turns out, they declined it because they had recently tried a different text-based game which hadn't gotten the results they wanted). I had this sense that they were weirdly prone to having a certain animosity toward the player, like "You forgot to do this obscure thing at the very beginning of the game? You fool. You absolute moron. The game has been unwinnable for four hours, but I'm only telling you this now." I thought it'd be funny if the game was basically just a bunch of jokes about that cruel attitude, without actually making the gameplay punishing. You end up with this powerless entity (the game), which you could switch off at any time, but it's trying to present itself as super grandiose and intimidating. After it came out, my very-religious cousin sent me an email asking if I was okay, which I interpreted as some kind of weird trophy.




Q: What is The Fall of Society?


A: Oy. That's an old website I made when I was a kid - I'm not gonna torture myself by reading it now, but it's probably some terrible edgy/angsty business. As far as I remember, one of the articles was about how it's stupid to type "lol" instead of "haha," because it's only saving you one character, lol. Or maybe that was somebody else's article. Regardless, it's probably all really dumb.




Q: Tom in a recent post stated you were working on a library for the Newgrounds API. It is called Pico-8 Scoreboard. Could you go into more detail about this project?


A: Pico-8 is a delightful little game engine which intends to make game development enjoyable and comfy, above all else. Newgrounds has a toolkit for adding unlockable medals and leaderboards to your browser games, and I got commissioned to write the Pico-8 version of it! The goal is to help other Pico-8 developers to add these fancy online features to their games, without forcing them to figure out all the required nitty-gritty details.




Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of video games?


A: I dunno lol, something really broad. Maybe "a digital system that's intended (or otherwise used) to make someone feel a certain way." It doesn't seem like a formal definition is particularly important to anyone.




Q: What can we expect from FreeAsANerd in the future?


A: WELL, as of last week, I'm the Lead Programmer at messhof (the studio that made "Nidhogg")! We're working on a really cool project and I'm excited to tell everyone more about it...eventually, but I'm not allowed to quite yet. Oooh look at the big douchebag who's speaking under NDA, gotta announce yer NDAs to everyone, otherwise how will they know that you have big dumb secrets, so mysterious. Ugh. Sorry for not having details here. I hate when people brag about not being allowed to talk about some business thing. They're always just trying to make it sound cooler than it really is. But uh, yeah, the game's gonna be sweet.




FreeAsANerd is one of the most brilliant game developers here on Newgrounds. The only other one that reminds me of him is scriptwelder. I can't wait to see what more he has for Newgrounds and as we have found out, what he has in store for beyond!


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Posted by TheInterviewer - April 29th, 2020


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https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/431504


Interview No. 153

Interview By: @The-Great-One


To try and categorize today's guest would be nearly impossible. I'll give it my best though. He has brought us many classics on Newgrounds such as Albuquerque: THE MOVIE, Avada Kedavra, and We Love This Place. He was also part of the collaborations Shorts To Wear Pants To and Tire Pressure Project. It gives me great pleasure, to welcome Newgrounds beloved... RWappin.




Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join? Also your original username was Mr_Finkleburg. Why was this your original username and what made you want to change it?


A: Wow, you knew about that? In any case, yes, that was my username at one point - I think it was from a Fairly OddParents episode. I later changed it to R Wappin which is a shortened version of an OC of mine. It was Rocco Wappin, is now Ray Wappin. I think it was my younger brother that actually came up with the name.




Q: At what age did you become interested in drawing and animation and why?


A: Like many 90s kids I was raised in large part by Disney movies and cartoons on TV. I was always creating shows in my head inspired by what I was seeing. I kind of thought my life what a cartoon show. I tried to make comics for a while but I started discovering flash around the time I was 15-16. That's when I realized that making cartoons didn't just have to be something I fantasized about. 




Q: You would graduate with a Bachelor of Arts Degree at Columbia College Chicago in 2010. What brought you to this college in 2007? What can you tell us about your time there?


A: That was a crazy time. After being kind of an outcast in high school it was the first time I was around people that in some ways has similar aspirations to me. It was also the same time I started getting positive feedback for the things I was posting online. I don't recommend art college to most people just because cost/benefit financially isn't there, and you don't really learn much that you can't learn on your own. I still don't regret it for myself because it was such a transformative period of my life. Experiences from that time will certainly show up in my work later on.




Q: TmsT, ZekeySpaceyLizard, and Dave Bruno have all shared their experiences and time over on Albino Blacksheep. What can you tell us about your experiences over there?


A: I love AlbinoBlackSheep and was actually just recently catching up with the owner, Steve Lerner. That was also the where the original TOFA (Tournament of Flash Artists, later NATA on Newgrounds) was born, which I was the winner of. It was just another community that was bit smaller than Newgrounds which had it's advantages. There were a lot of fun rivalries between animators especially during the TOFA competitions. I remember two of the years where TmsT and Zeurel just crushed everybody.




Q: You regretted not making something for Pico Day 2007 because something came up in your life. Would you mind sharing with us what that was?


A: Pico Day 2007... it's hard for me to remember. That's probably the case because there were big cash prizes for Pico Day back then, and I don't remember making anything. That would have been around the time I was working on Everything You Know Is Wrong and getting ready to go to Columbia College. I was still going to a Community College though so I was probably just busy with school.




Q: During your time on Newgrounds you have been vocal about the works posted on the site and the winners and placements of prizes. Stating once...


There are so many creative and awesome animators here, and that's what makes this website so great, but the problem is the middle-school-age ignoramuses who go to this site vastly outnumber the people who actually care or know anything about animation... yet are still get to control and vote on what wins stuff. Imagine an art show where the judges are a bunch of horny 13 year olds. That's what this site is actually like.

... only of course... a lot of the people who enter the art show actually ARE horny 13 year olds... or have the mentality OF a horny 13 year old....

Teen Titans Hentai winning money? C'mon guys... JohnnyUtah you really get your butt kissed too. Everyone just votes for the same people and the same kind of stuff over and over and over. I doubt a lot of the voters even WATCH 90% of the eligible monthly flashes.

But that's Newground's biggest flaw. Sorry for going into kind of a mini rant there.


With the passage of time what is your stance now on how the site and content are?


A: Oh man, you're going through my old posts. XD I definitely have a different opinion now than I did on a lot of things back then, probably said a lot of other immature, dumb things. At this point I just accept that people like what they like. I think there's a tendency when we're younger to somehow see people that have different opinions as an enemy and that we just have "superior taste." Basically I was just being a hipster. If there's a kind of art anyone wants to see more of, that's just what they should make.


I do think porn should be in a separate category to other art just because they are watched for... different reasons, lol.


Also I've met JohnnyUtah at this point and he is an amazing artist working on a great game.




Q: One of your first movies submitted to Newgrounds is the 11-Minute epic known as Albuquerque: THE MOVIE. You would also later give us Everything You Know Is Wrong. Both of these are music videos based off of songs by Weird Al Yankovic. When and how were you introduced to Weird Al's music and why did you want to bring them to life through animation?


A: I was on a roadtrip once and someone played Albuquerque and it was the best thing I ever heard. When I first started learning flash I was trying to think of something epic to animate, and Albuquerque immediately came to mind. While I was working on it I think I got Weird Al's whole discography off Limewire or something (I own a lot of his CDs legitimately now, haha.) I listened to all of his songs over and over and had pretty detailed videos in my head for a lot of them. Everything You Know Is Wrong was the one I wanted to do the most. Others that I never got to were I Remember Larry, Hardware Store, Germs, Frank's 2000 inch TV, and Slime Creatures from Outer Space. I later met Weird Al at a booksigning and he knew about my videos and even asked for my business card! I'm still holding out hope that he'll hire me for something someday.




Q: Bowling Alley is a weird dream. Is it your dream or someone else's? Can you divulge more into bringing this dream to life?


A: It's Neil Cicierega's song so you'd have to ask him. That song was almost like a mini-Albuquerque, I had a lot of fun animating it. I had ideas for a lot of his songs (Lemon Demon) in the same way that I did for Weird Al.




Q: When Andrew Huang and AlmightyHans were here we talked about Shorts To Wear Pants To. What was it like getting to work with the other collaborators? You were also noted in the special thanks as the "Nag" -- could you please tell us why?


A: Probably because I kept annoying Squeakytoad about when it would come out. That was one of my first collabs if I remember correctly. It was really fun!




Q: Two Perspectives II was a movie I quite enjoyed from beginning to end. Where did the idea for this come from and what was it like working with Zeurel?


A: The original Two Perspectives was one of my TOFA entries from 2007, the original TOFA. Zeurel completely blew that cartoon out of the water with his "sequel." He really is an incredibly talented dude who is able to pump out high quality animation faster than anyone I've ever met. I did the voices of the two germs in that cartoon, which is one of the only times I did voice acting for something but didn't animate in it.




Q: When TmsT was here we talked about a lot of his works and time on Newgrounds. However he would upload a project seven days after that interview was posted that you two worked on entitled Avada Kedavra. Since I missed the chance with him what can you tell us about turning a song from The Lion King into a parody song for Harry Potter? Also how long have you known and worked with TmsT?


A: : I first met TmsT on AlbinoBlackSheep. Andrew Kepple, or TmsT as he is often called, is more than anyone the guy who made AlbinoBlackSheep as fun of a place as it was. He always inspired me and many others to be competitive during TOFA, and even outside of TOFA to always push themselves to be their best. Later on he even made full fledged, army themed videos for one of the TOFA years, just to introduce the topics of each of the rounds. He wasn't paid for any of that either, he just loved making things fun. Needless to say I loved working with him on Avada Kedavra.


The song itself was from Jace Mclain of Nuclear Bubble Wrap who I also animated a music video for called Sharktopus




Q: We now come to what I personally believe to be your best work and that is a music video entitled We Love This Place. The song itself is incredible, but the life you brought into it is just amazing. What was the process in bringing this to song into this beautiful vision?


A: There was a couple I met through another client who have this band called Curious Grace. They commissioned me to make videos of two of their songs, The Universe Is Always Right and We Love This Place. Music videos are probably the things I enjoy animating the most so I was happy for the opportunity. I used the same process I use for all my music videos, which is listen to the song over and over and over, visualize the end result, make a super rough storyboard of it, and spend a solid couple months grinding the animation out. 




Q: My favorite by you which makes me laugh my ass off every time I watch it is T. The windows start up sound, each frame on the gentleman's expressions, to even the end when he breaks down into a southerner is where I just lose my shit. I don't know why this puts me into hysterics, but it does. I remember reading that when writing you instead of asking yourself "what would be funny dialogue" you ask "what would I like to see that is funny". That seems to me to be a perfect example of that. Does that hold true or is there something I'm missing?


A: I have a folder on my computer of really old recordings, I'm talking like before Albuqueruque old. One of them was called A Spot of T, and it's basically the script of that cartoon but I tweaked it a bit when I re-recorded it. Essentially yes, I just do things that are amusing to me and hope that others are entertained as well.




Q: Alright I'll bite. What in name of all that is holy and sacred is the story behind the Tire Pressure Project?


A: Two of my pals, Lepy and KeeganMcFly, asked me to be part of the most incredible and timeline altering project ever made, of which it was my honor to accept.




Q: In 2013 you would become an animator for Studio Yotta. How did you end up working there? What can you tell us about your work on Sonic Mania and your experiences with the studio overall?


A: The first Yotta project I think I worked on was a Harry Partridge cartoon called Back to Tamriel. Jake reached out to me originally because he knew my work from Newgrounds and also from the rebel faction of Newgrounds: rtil's forum TheBackalleys. Studio Yotta has been a wonderful thing and given me the opportunity to not only work on a lot of cool projects also form new friendships with a lot of animators. I'm currently living with the founder Jake Ganz, and fellow Yotta animator, Javier Ulloa. Who knows what the future holds but here's hoping the best for Yotta is yet to come. 


I only did a small bit of the Sonic Mania opening, where they come out of the elevator, but that was a really cool project to be involved in for sure.




Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of animation?


A: The act of bringing imagination into reality.




Q: What can we expect from RWappin in the future?


A: Something far better than anything I've created so far. I am working on a pilot to a series concept I have called End Times. This is something I'm really putting my soul into, and my whole life's experience so far has led up to it's creation. So, I will be posting more related to that! Also hopefully more music videos whenever anyone else hires me.




We have a lot of different creators here on Newgrounds. Those who make parodies. Those who tell stories of horror and drama. Then we have RWappin, who basically makes cartoons. We have one of the best cartoonists here, one who could've rivaled Edd Gould. Or even better collaborate with him. RWappin has been a name and a face I've seen on Newgrounds for a long time and his works never cease to make me laugh and laugh hard. He brings so much joy to the site and his dedication to his craft and his love for his fellow peers is a something we should all emulate. I'm not sure what his series will be about, but I do know it will be brilliant.


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Posted by TheInterviewer - April 21st, 2020


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https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/431504


Interview No. 152

Interview By: @The-Great-One


Today's guest is known far and wide to the Internet with his vast archive of songs open for anyone to use for their projects. Over 2,000 and still going to this day his works have been used in submissions ranging from video games, to YouTube, and even here on Newgrounds. I am pleased to welcome Kevin MacLeod.




Q: At what age did you become interested in music?


A: Well, that's fuzzy. I don't remember the first time, but I become interested in music pretty regularly. Just last week, in fact!




Q: You have created over 2,000 pieces of music. Giving away most of your music for use in projects and asking for nothing more than credit. What drives you to constantly put out tune after tune? Also why not ask for money on them?


A: Oh, I do ask for money! You can support me on Patreon. The reason I make things, is I've become convinced that they are needed. This usually takes the form of me watching something with terrible music, and saying "you know what they should have used? THIS!".




Q: You've been making music for over two decades now. What was your initial set-up and how has it grown over time?


A: I started with a MIDI controller, a couple of speakers, a single computer, comfy chair, and good lighting. Many, many iterations later, nothing has changed. I do have 2 monitors now.




Q: What would you recommend to musicians just getting started? What would you recommend to veterans to change their lives?


A: Have fun. It should be fun the whole way. If you're just playing scales, make sure that's fun. Fun all around!




Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of music?


A: The deliberate alteration of emotions through a measured audio medium.




Q: You and I have a fascination with documents. You have available for download, graph paper, calendars, ledgers, etc. Why make a graph paper maker and why do you have a fascination with documents?


A: This was just something that was needed. One day, I needed graph paper. I wrote some software so I could get graph paper. I figured that if I needed it, other people might also need it. I got pretty good at making software to put lines and dots on documents. I've never printed one of my calendars or ledger papers. I think the last time I printed graph paper was the first time I needed it. 20 years ago.




Q: What can we expect from Kevin MacLeod in the future?


A: Got a bigtime podcast that is just starting up! "Compoerish" talks about a lot of composing stuff. I hope it'll even be a useful and fun podcast after the computers take over and do most of the composing for us. You can get the early episodes on Patreon and Composerish will be available everywhere in the next couple months!




I must admit that this was a pretty short interview. However Kevin was happy with it overall so I'm happy in the end. He is a pretty simple guy with a lot to offer to those in need. From the right song for just the right project, to the mundane of paper for school, work, or anything really.


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