And great interview @The-Great-One
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Age 33
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Joined on 2/8/09
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Comments
Good read, legendary animator, i thought about him now and then over the years, good to see him back around with less of the bullshit.
I always found it amusing your HARD about-face on anime and other pop culture, specifically from your Sheezyart days to now. Wasn't aware it was a form of personal growth for you. Either way, I am glad you are happier now that you aren't intentionally going against the grain for kicks.
I do miss stopping by NG and seeing some epic new animation from you. The Lighthouse Girl I had seen before, but it was nice to see that on the front page this week.
Damn it was 10 years ago when I was in Seattle and you were texting me with cool stuff to do in the area. Time flies man.
I was a massive fan of rtil back in the day and spent a ton of time on the backalleys and sheezyart as an annoying middle/highschooler. Definitely a huge inspiration who really raised the bar for what animation could be like and I really appreciated his criticism in his animations and posts of other work that was floating around the flash-o-sphere at the time. Was really cool to read this, not sure where I'd be today without rtil!
@Cyberdevil well, it is just a guess - and I don't (or can't) post everything that I make, but it certainly feels that way to me. The 50/50 that is. As far as talking about art and animation and everything I love about it, I could go on all day. But i try to keep it concise.
@FrozenFire while i still enjoy myself a sarcastic quip and some biting parody, i guess it's just not in my blood anymore. too much energy focused in the wrong place i guess. truth is, i always had liked anime, but i tried to hide it because i thought it was embarrassing. i cared too much about what other people thought.
It's a little frustrating having so much animation I create these days being anyhwere from a few seconds to a few frames, as they are not really suitable for the portal. I remember it being such a big deal every time something was ready to submit. Was very strange doing it again after all these years - but not the same rush.
Time flies indeed. It's uncomfortable knowing how long and storied my internet footprint is.
Metal Gear Funnies can still be found on archive.org: https://web.archive.org/web/20081011070644/http://uploads.ungrounded.net/447000/447514_TBAMETALGEAR2_orig.swf
Wow back when I used to frequent NG, rtil was easily one of the most inspirational animators to me. I thought he was leagues ahead. When he would dunk on Newgrounds and the fans and the creators, I half thought it was justified, because I did want everyone to get better! He even seemed to know everything about animation on a level that other people here didn't.
On the other hand I was desperate for him to cut the gossip and the internet flame-war style antagonism. So much frustration and planting despondency among a bunch of teens who just loved the guy's output.
When I somehow found out he was working on SkullGirls I was really relieved that he was still in animation and didn't burn out from frustration. I'm so glad rtil got to work on some big projects that people care about, that fit his style so well, and I hope he got to cool off and just bask in being such a talented guy for a while. We commissioned Studio Yotta to do a couple animations in SpeedRunners, but I don't think he was there at that time.
I'm super surprised by all the anime porno stuff he did after leaving NG. I always assumed that's the kind of content he was so angry about!
I was hunting for some way to watch The Lighthouse Girl when it came out, but couldn't find it. So crazy that I can watch it now on NewGrounds 10 years older.
This interview is outdated:
Metal Gear Funnies was brought back in July 2023.
https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/447514
The TBA forums were restored in early October 2023.
https://rtil.newgrounds.com/news/post/1393115
That's a new development I didn't expect. Then again, quite a number of these interviews are probably outdated now.
Cyberdevil
Just half of your content is NSFW @rtil? :P You must have a huge backlog of other work in waiting...
Way back in the day when I first stumbled upon your stuff, most prominently in memory the one artwork of the tree with roots digging down to the depths of hell, I guess the NSFW phase hadn't started yet. Years later you return and that's pretty much all I've been seeing since, so The Lighthouse Girl recently really took me by surprise. Must admit I've been missing out on a lot of the maybe main-hustle animations mentioned above; focusing more on the easily appealing artistry, especially now, though it's often devised with a special kind of warmth and atmosphere I guess might also have some roots in those Katawa Shoujo days, often all very appreciable too...
Really interesting and in-depth interview here. Feels like it shows a side the artistry sometimes doesn't, versatile though it may be. Some words to match the visuals maybe. Such a seemingly easily defined but so resonating definition on the essence of animation too. Like you've figured out the essentials of the craft. Like some real secrets of mastery are embedded in these recollections and thoughts...
Great read. Hope you stick around this time rtil, and hell yeah Newgrounds has a relevant space!!!