Interview No. 87

Interview By: @Sketchy

Today's guest is one of the most beloved animators on Newgrounds, that I'm sure puts a smile on everyone's face. James Bowman is mostly known for his popular online flash series 'Gone too far' and another rising success 'Villainy'. He is @DonkeysBazooka.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds, and what encouraged you to join?

A: I was led to Newgrounds by Madness Combat. A friend showed me Madness Combat 3 on some other website (probably a site it wasn't supposed to be on, probably eBaum's World or something), and I liked it enough to go looking for the other episodes. At that point Krinkels was up to episode 5. I guess I must have liked other stuff I found on Newgrounds after that? I don't really remember what finally encouraged me to join, probably just wanted to be able to post reviews or something.

Q: You have 13 classic flash animations to your name on your profile, are you proud of your works?

A: Ha. I hate to be one of those guys that doesn't like any of his own creations. But I'm usually one of those guys. I'm really not proud of anything I did before 2010. The first cartoon I made that I'm actually proud of was "Snowfall." It's entertaining, and I'm proud of the animation. I'm mostly embarrassed by all the flashes I submitted before that, whether it's because of the lousy animation, or because they're just embarrassingly not funny at all. Since "Snowfall," though, I've been pretty happy with how things have turned out.... mostly. I'm probably my harshest critic. I can't look at anything I've done without thinking, "Man, I wish I could go back and do that better."

Q: What made you think of your NG username "DonkeysBazooka"?

A: I have no idea where that came from. I just took two words and stuck them together... I really wish I had a more interesting story than that.

Q: How long have you been practicing in flash for?

A: I started using Flash about 5 years ago. But I've been doing animation in one form or another since I was 11. I started by making flipbooks out of post-it note pads, then I made GIF animations with this crappy old program I forget the name of. I didn't pick up flash until I got to college. I tried using it, and I just didn't get it. I had no idea what I was doing. So I gave up on it for about a year before I finally took another spin at it, and for some reason I got it the second time. It's been my software of choice ever since... (only because I'm too stubborn to move on to something else, like ToonBoom, which is clearly better. Seriously, I hate Flash. Adobe sucks. Photoshop is the only program they've consistently gotten right.)

Q: Who is your favourite artist on Newgrounds?

A: Harry Partridge (HappyHarry). No one else really compares. Don't get me wrong, I look up to LOTS of artists and animators on this site (the list of whom I won't mention, for fear of accidentally leaving someone out) but Harry is a constant source of inspiration to me. His animation is some of the best on the site, he's a tremendous voice actor, he makes wonderful music, he's hilarious... he does it all! A true auteur. Creatively, he's everything I wish I was. And by now in his career, he's making a living just making the cartoons he wants to make. Will my jealousy of him never cease?

Q: Well James, what can we expect from you in the near future?

A: In the near future, you can count on seeing a lot of my new series, Villainy. My friend Jeff and I have 7 full episodes planned for what we're calling the first season. Each episode will have its own stand-alone plot, but there's also a continuing storyline that runs across all the episodes, so they're going to get more interesting with each episode. Between the full episodes, I'll be doing individual little short cartoons based on the characters, like I did for Halloween (The Tape) and Christmas (The New Toys). Villainy's going to be my main focus for 2012.

The question I get asked most often is, "When is Gone Too Far 3 coming out?" And I don't have an answer to that. I have only the vaguest notion of where I'm going with the story, and I don't want to make a third one unless it's going to be better than Gone Too Far Too. So it could be a while. You're better off just assuming I'm never going to make it. That way you won't be disappointed if it never comes, and you'll be pleasantly surprised if/when Gone Too Far 3 finally materializes.

Q: So, you said that you're focusing on your series "Villainy" this year, is there anything you can tell us about upcoming episodes?

A: I could tell you everything about Villainy! We've got all 7 episodes written. But what am I willing to tell you? I dunno. Probably little that's not already on the website: www.donkeysbazooka.com/villainy.

There's a lot more depth to the show than what was revealed in the first episode. Jeff and I are really into telling multiple stories at once, and that's kind of hard to do when an episode is only 6-8 minutes long. But as I said before, the big picture will start to take shape as the episodes progress. I think it's safe for me to say that Episode 1 is my least favourite episode, by far. So if there was anything you liked about the first episode, I can guarantee you'll like the rest of the series.

Q: Thank you for taking the time in answering these questions. On behalf of all of Newgrounds, we wish you the best in projects to come... and in life too I suppose.

A: Hey, my pleasure. I wish I could contribute more to the site than I do. It's literally changed my life, and I'd like to think the stuff I make is at least somewhat inspiring to aspiring animators, or at least somewhat entertaining to the talentless hacks.