October 1st 2023

Check these songs out while you read:

Read previous blogs via the FP Blog Directory:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E_Itge20LGn7v4FnX4ldW1sBl7rZgloLd4WVHN2WHHA/edit?usp=sharing

Da Intro

Howdy and hello, folks, and welcome to the seventh monthly blog post. We’re officially in Spooky Season™! OOGA BOOGA

September is always a pretty big month for NG, what with Madness Day and any other events (such as the Live Action Jam this year), so there’s a great deal of cool junk to cover!

Just as a disclaimer: I’ll only be showcasing submissions rated E or rated T. I have the M and A ratings turned off for my account, so if a user I showcase here has submissions with those ratings on their account, I may not know about it. Viewer discretion is advised and all that!

Da Recap

This segment is where I’ll be talking about cool stuff that happened in the past month here on Newgrounds!

At the beginning of the month, @MindChamber shared the winners for Robot Day ‘23!

https://mindchamber.newgrounds.com/news/post/1384728

@AhWham has started up the “Shrieks and Screams” collab, so go check that out! Only a few days left to join!

https://ahwham.newgrounds.com/news/post/1383845

@TheTankTribune is back in full swing, baby — if you want to see how a real newsletter does it, give this “anniversary” issue a read!

https://thetanktribune.newgrounds.com/news/post/1384926

Check out the event submissions for the Live Action Jam and Madness Day!

Live Action Jam: https://www.newgrounds.com/collection/liveactionjam

Madness Day: https://www.newgrounds.com/collection/madnessday2023

And check out the winners for the Live Action Jam (hosted by @BrandyBuizel) here:

https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1528518

@midgetsausage has shared the details for this year’s Sketch Collab!

https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1528381

@Dry is accepting applications for the Collaborative Autumn Album!

https://dry.newgrounds.com/news/post/1390950

Last but certainly not least, @TomFulp shared that the Art Portal got a much-needed, much-anticipated upgrade! Thank you @PsychoGoldfish and everyone at NG for all of your hard work! Peep the deets here:

https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1528343

Be sure to keep an eye on the Newgrounds Calendar for future events!

https://www.newgrounds.com/calendar/

Da Spotlight

“Da Spotlight” will be me going over three works and/or users from this month that especially stood out to me here on NG. It may be popular stuff that I want to celebrate even more, or it may be more lesser known things that I think need a bit more love. Who knows! Anyways, here’s da spotlights for this month.

Da first spotlight goes to “34” by @xkl-3! This piece is absolutely stunning - the shot composition, the realism and gorgeous rendering of the factory juxtaposed with the simplistic character and the mysterious yellow lines, and glitchiness of the image - everything works harmoniously to make this piece feel like a melancholic photograph, like a distorted image of a ghost captured in an abandoned building. This is a wonderful departure from xkl-3’s typical work and shows just how diverse of an artist they are.

Da second spotlight belongs to “NO!” by @Cayyrizius! This piece is incredibly evocative, and the way the lines of this piece ripple across the canvas feels so visceral. The emotions being displayed here are conveyed excellently, and the symbolism is just as rich. A very moving, gut-wrenching work of art.

Da third and final spotlight goes to “Under the umbrella” by @aleha84! This piece is so absolutely mesmerizing, and it absolutely demands your attention. The level of realism here is unparalleled, and the shading combined with the subject matter gives the animation such a peacefully melancholic mood. My words don’t do it justice!

Da N00bz

This segment is meant to celebrate the cool new users to the site who are just getting started on here. Whether they’re completely new to creative expression, or experts that are only new to NG, anyone who’s started their account in the past two months is fair game >:D

First up we have @momotowan, who has a rough, anime-inspired art style. Including both original characters and fan works in his gallery, his characters can be found with dynamic poses, great expressions, and solid shading. Welcome to Newgrounds, momotowan!

Next up is @Cryptidodo, who specializes in short but sweet animations! Their character designs are incredibly cute, and their animations have a great weight to them that feels very satisfying to watch. Welcome to Newgrounds, Cryptidodo!

Next up is @DeliriumArt, who joined up for Madness Day! Taking an increasingly popular realistic approach to the Madness cast, she poses the iconic characters dynamically and with a striking self-seriousness. I’m especially fond of her “Hank” piece for it’s harsh stylized shadows and moody atmosphere. Welcome to Newgrounds, DeliriumArt!

Da News

It’s time for da news! Here I’ll share some exciting or interesting news posts from around Newgrounds.

@ForgottenDawn shared a comprehensive list of everything he’s accomplished so far this year!

https://forgottendawn.newgrounds.com/news/post/1384984

@rickropes - programmer for the winning Robot Day submission - has shared some new updates for the winning game!

https://rickropes.newgrounds.com/news/post/1384989

The Funkin’ Crew gave me personally (parasocially) an early birthday present via a new Funkin’ Blog update!

Content warning: The Funkin’ Blog may contain content not suitable for all ages.

https://funkin.me/blog/2023-09-04/

@Silvertwilight has once again shared some amazing food photography!

https://silvertwilight.newgrounds.com/news/post/1385651

@MassiveMarioLuigi700 has shared a teaser for his upcoming game “Pico vs. Massive”!

https://massivemarioluigi700.newgrounds.com/news/post/1388891

@Durinde celebrated a month of personal victories!

https://durinde.newgrounds.com/news/post/1390528

Da Mail

This segment allows you to share your voice personally here on the Frontpage Blog. Whether it’s shower thoughts, self-promotion, questions for me, something you think I should feature, or literally anything else - as long as it’s SFW I might feature it here! Simply PM me with the subject line “FP Blog Mail” to send your message.

I reserve the right to refuse to feature any message. Messages with profanity will be censored. Abusive messages will be reported to site administration.

@olskoo writes in: “dang no love for clock day”

It’s true, last month I neglected to bring up Clock Day in Da Recap. My mistake! Be sure to check out what the Clock Crew had in store for this year:

https://www.newgrounds.com/search/summary?match=tags&tags=clockday2023

Da People

This is a segment where I send some interview questions to a cool NG user and showcase their answers!

This month, I interviewed @06, who is a fantastic artist of both the visual and audio varieties! Some of 06’s work has been featured in a blog past, so it’s an honor to have this interview!

Content warning: This interview is presented as it was answered, and as such contains uncensored profanity. Viewer discretion is advised.

What are the main inspirations you draw from in your work?

my main sound inspiration at the moment is brakence. his combination of pop structure with glitchy, experimental production is a godsend on my ears. his voice & inflections are also incredible. check out his album hypochondriac, it's the one that made me a fan. lol the first time i listened to it i'd just gotten out of the shower, and by the time the album was over my hair was completely dry from how much id banged my head. but yeah i aspire to have his production know-how and vocal mastery, they're where i draw my main inspiration from him. and also of course his glitches, just to a lesser extent.

another big source of inspo atm is glaive - less so in his soundscape and more in his reputation. like the guy is a only year older than me, like he's just become an adult, and yet he's made the waves that he has in his scenes. say what u will abt his actual musical content, like his switch from "hyperpop" to pop-punk, or the fact that he was barely ever hyperpop in the first place (lmfaoooo), but yeah i just find a lot of inspiration in his rep despite his age.

and then as for DIRECT inspiration for the content of my music, it's all really just in-the-moment miniscule emotions i feel that i home in on and expand upon. at least, it's been that way since the first version of on my mind. i was doing a lot of instrumental stuff before that, and a lot of that was, similarly, the result of feelings i had at the moment, but not to the extent of my recent lyrical stuff. i feel like i should also mention how much i like writing lyrical stuff. so much so that i'm currently revisiting tracks i've released in the past. the most recent one i'm finishing up on rn is a full vocal remake of LOHI (it's four minutes long cryingemoji), and i have reworks of starchild, g'old days, and once they're all gone in my recent projects as well. i also kinda wanna do something with <Thank you for being my friend3...

but anyways yeah i'm ofc still working on completely new stuff atm, (like this little instrumental i'll sneak in here for u and anybody reading...) and i can't wait to share it. just kinda occupied at the moment!

How did you discover Newgrounds?

you'll never believe this. Friday Night Funkin'. i know. what the fuck is that? check it out, its a neat little game. could use some support. [Editor’s note: rofl] but anyways while it introduced me to Newgrounds (cause i'd only really heard of it in passing) the reason i actually joined Newgrounds in the first place was cause id gotten suspended on Twitter and wanted another website i could socialise and post art on. Newgrounds was the first thing that came to mind and seemed interesting enough. i'm super glad i did, i've met and annoyed so many cool people since. ooh ok ok i'm kinda taking myself back here, the first time id genuinely started interacting with the locals here was when Levi Ramirez posted about boss icon submissions for his game Shoot Trip Die, back when it was still called Sleezy Teeth Descent. man thats nostalgic for me atp. i remember how nervous i was shooting him my first ever PM asking him if i could draw smth for the game. ykw lemme pull it up rn

What’s your favorite thing you’ve submitted to Newgrounds?

this art piece back from January 2022. despite the quality not really being representative of my current art, im still proud of how it turned out. but the actual reason its my favourite is cause the support and attention on it was like nothing id experienced at the time. the influx of cool Newgrounders id looked up to checking out my page cause of the piece was probably a transformative experience of some kind for the younger me. its a super nice memory that sits lovingly in the earlier months of my time on Newgrounds. and also its kinda not that bad of a piece shrugemoji

and although that piece is my favourite submission overall i do have a seperate fav audio submission, which would be ONMYMIND. the support on this one has also been similarly and relatively awesome. a local radio station picked it up and i didn't even directly submit it to them! on top of that u urself were the first person to ever support my music on Bandcamp, thru this track (which i still appreciate!). im just super proud of this track

What’s your favorite color?

for a whiiile it was hot pink. and i do think hot pink will always hold a special place in my hard. it's still my safest, base "fav" colour. but i've realised i've kinda boxed myself in by, in a way, forcing myself to like / use it so much? i just let myself experiment with colour alot more nowadays, and colours have become much more situational to me. what i mean is i don't think i really have a general, all-encompassing favourite colour anymore. don't want to risk limiting myself by labelling one colour as my colour, i guess. i just want to illustrate with whatever my favourite colour for the piece would be in the moment and for the artwork. dude. haha. what the FUCK am i talking about

What’s your LEAST favorite color?

much easier for me to pinpoint. dark mouldy browny green. Springtrap green if u will. it works in places and for certain vibes but i would never use that shit in an artwork like its so unappealing to me idk. its like, literally EVERY single colour on the colour wheel works good with black right, except for that. im shivering just thinking abt it.

but as for an actually colourful colour thats hard cause i think every single colour on the tertiary wheel has a time and place, and all look amazing paired with the right colours themselves. but if i forced myself to answer id say ...... orange? not cause i dislike it yknow just cause i personally use it the least, i guess.

Give a shoutout to one Newgrounds user!

@analworm18. this guy back in 2021 jumped into my inbox asking me what animation program i used to make this thing (i didn't use an animation program at all! i drew on different layers on CSP har har har har ! ! ! ! ) and we've been friends since. hes an awesome awesome dude and makes awesome awesome art. one of the first things he asked me was to help work with him on concept art for a game he was developing at the time, and similar to the Shoot Trip Die thing, that was also a thing where i stepped out of my comfort zone to try out something new with new people. thinking back to those times first talking with him over Discord and working on the game is also a nice nostalgic mem

and if i'm allowed another user then u urself @masterhand4444 . uve been a consistent supporter for my stuff and it doesnt go on unappreciated like seriously. thank u. and also thanks for putting up with nearly a whole months worth of wait time just for me to finish writing my answers for this interview. (ur questions arent stupid!)

What’s your message to the NG community?

don't say slurs! please please please don't kill bugs! stream Wallsocket by underscores!

Da Rest

September has been an absolutely wonderful month for me. I turned 21 (thank you for the FP on the birthday song cover, btw heehee), and arguably more importantly I started DATING!!! A GIRL!!! AND SHE’S AWESOME!!! (if you’re reading this hi juju you’re the best :3) I’m most likely not going to talk all that much about it publicly since I want to keep that a mostly private thing, but I just had to let y’all know that because irl I refuse to shut up about it. God has blessed me so much and I’ve been filled with so much joy.

Here’s your friendly reminder to help me celebrate FNF’s 3rd (not 4th) anniversary with the NEWGROUNDS VS. BOYFRIEND COLLAB!! Everyone is welcome to join by lending their voice and I seriously encourage you (yes, you) to join, but we also seriously need musicians to make tracks to go with those voices. We also have a handful of exciting developments for the collab, so be sure to hop on (and maybe pitch an exciting development of your own…?)! Full details and guidelines are in the BBS post! The submission period is ending soon, so hurry up!!!

Last but not least, remember that October 6th - this upcoming Friday - is Bandcamp Friday! If you’re able, be sure to directly support your favorite NG musicians this Friday by purchasing their music on Bandcamp. Check out my recommendations here.

That’s it for this month’s frontpage blog! Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful Spooky Month! And remember to join NG VS BF!!!