March 1st 2024

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 tenth monthly blog post. Double digits, baby!!!

February was a pretty cool month for NG, I think! That’s all I have to say, really lol. Let’s get into the stuff and things!

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!

ICYMI: The NG team has rolled out a new password system! Please keep your online safety in mind <3

https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1532201

A+B (@Anonymous-Frog and @BeepBoxClock) are hosting the “Sine of Relief” audio collab - open ‘til May 1st!

https://anonymous-frog.newgrounds.com/news/post/1420398

The Pixel Day winners were announced!

https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1532495

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

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

Da Works

“Da Works” will be me going over three works 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 works for this month.

Da first work from last month is “3 years since the accident” by @NateAnim8, which serves as not only a great art piece (excellent usage of colors, fantastic composition, and great use of thematic/symbolic elements), but an excellent retrospective on a character that exploded (lol) in popularity - for better and for worse. Please give that retrospective a read (and check out that sweet artwork) if you haven’t already.

Da second is “please dont listen to this song” by @AZALI00013 - sorry for disobeying the title but this track is way too catchy not to share! I originally heard this through an Instagram ad of all things, and then learning that AZALI has a Newgrounds meant I needed all of y’all to hear it as well. Using “memeish” samples to create something genuinely catchy is always a treat, IMO, and this track is a prime example of this.

Da third and final work is “Rise Above!” by @MattMoney, recommended to me by @xanxoepico! This track is a heavy anthem about rising up against all odds. Fantastic guitar work combined with a very fun vibe overall make this track a great listen. The nearly five minute track felt like it flew by thanks to its powerful energy.

…and breaking format this month, the fourth and truly final featured work is “heart hands” by @SamaadBae5, recommended to me by @Tritnew! The floaty feeling the track gives you has all the same energy of that floaty feeling you get when you’re with someone you care about, and that feeling being captured here is genuinely impressive. The mixing on this track is phenomenal, and the “I luv u :3” makes me smile real wide lol.

Da Spotlight

This segment is meant to celebrate the cool users on the site who I just think are plain awesome.

Da first spotlight goes to @Astrawitch, a pixel artist with a breathtaking style. They way they render effects and backgrounds is like eye candy, and it compliments the characters wonderfully. Be sure to check out their website for some fun prints and stickers!

Da second spotlight belongs to @TeffyD, organizer of last month’s uber popular NG Mall Music Collab! TeffyD is a highly capable musician capable of composing in multiple genres, and has a knack for great mixing and energetic tunes. Check out their website for more info!

Da News

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

@DaShahRach00 designed a game alongside three other users! Be sure to check it out and leave some feedback!

https://dashahrach00.newgrounds.com/news/post/1420504

@LoneConstruct has released a sample pack of 1300 foley samples - check it out!

https://loneconstruct.newgrounds.com/news/post/1421107

@SarahRBC hit 100 fans (congrats btw!) and gave each of those 100 fans some kind words!

https://sarahrbc.newgrounds.com/news/post/1423800

@mihar34 hit 600 fans! Huge congrats!

https://mihar34.newgrounds.com/news/post/1422979

@wamyremy shared some awesome pics of some awesome flowers!

https://wamyremy.newgrounds.com/news/post/1425421

@EliteMasterEric shared an update regarding the FNF base game’s chart editor via the Funkin’ Blog!

https://funkin.me/blog/2024-02-23/

For more comprehensive, weekly news on what’s going on in the NG community, please follow @TheTankTribune!

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.

Seems like the mailbox is empty this month…

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 @Sony-Shock, an artist whose work you might have seen on the frontpage before! With a captivating style I can only describe as “flowing like a river” similar to watercolor paintings, Sony-Shock’s work is best experienced firsthand. I hope you enjoy this interview!

Interviews are presented as-received with no edits unless otherwise specified. Some links have been added to mentions of media.

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

Inspiration is a pretty abstract thing to talk about! Usually people brings other artist's work first so for me some that come to mind are Demizu Posuka, Inu Curry and Kaneoya Sachiko as artists that really inspire me. Oh, and Kawayoo, too, who is my favorite Pokemon TCG artist.

Aside from that, I remember taking one of these tests you find around on the internet to find about 'what emotion inspires you' and I got nostalgia, which resonated with me.

When I'm working for myself, I often draw things that align with the ache I feel in my heart when I remember Spain (my home country), as well as my childhood. For me nostalgia is a feeling that fills me with uncertainty and dread, but in a comfortable way. Have you ever seen liminal spaces and your body fills with 'emptiness you've grown used to'? That is the best way I have to describe [it]

And lastly, at times I just draw things with the intention of creating 'not a better version, just a version I'd like' of something. I'm very self-serving in that sense.

How did you discover Newgrounds?

I can't say I remember! I feel Newgrounds has been a site I've known in the back of my mind for forever. One of these many sites I could not afford to browse freely because I was either not internet-savvy enough, or because my method of accessing the internet was the friggin DSi internet browser (this is true!).

I do remember when I decided to join, however! I had just moved to USA. I felt disconnected from my usual internet activities, as well as the world. For a few weeks, I kept it secret to others that I was here and that gave me back a sense of control.

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

I post almost the exact same things I post to any other website so this is almost like asking me what is the favorite thing I've created!

Now, there's some stuff I only feel comfortable posting here... Would that be it? Nah... I think it'd be my Papercut webcomic. I spent a lot of time organizing it before newgrounds got it's multi-image update so there's this special investment on it.

Also my animation 'Croma's magical transformation'. I don't animate very often, so posting it here felt like a bit of a test. I feel the fact it has a lower score than my usual art postings is humbling

What’s your favorite color?

BROWN! I love brown with a passion since Professor Layton rearranged my brain.

It used to be yellow, but I guess, like my soul, it darkened with time.

What’s your LEAST favorite color?

Orange. It's like brown, but actually the worst and I'm objectively right about this.

I think learning it is used to incite people to buy in corporate environments influenced my opinion too. This might be wrong, however, I read it many years ago. My reasons to hate orange really are 99% bias.

Give a shoutout to one Newgrounds user!

I'm going to be a bit cheeky and say @DIGIMIN! Despite being a big professional artist I could have found out in many other ways, I vividly remember finding them through Newgrounds first, completely unaware of their other work, which is a bit funny.

What’s your message to the NG community?

You're all very cool!! I love checking Newgrounds more than any other site, and I hope the site becomes the main place for artists once Twitter burns to flame because it's so much easier to follow people here 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Da Rest

February treated me well! This was my first Valentine’s Day to be with someone and I won’t bore you with what all I bought her (I made sure to do good lol), but @confetticuddles got me the LEGO rose bouquet set and it’s been very fun putting them together when I have the time to.

I also did two submissions for upcoming (at the time of writing) collabs, so I hope you’ll look forward to those. One is a song, the other was me writing, and the writing was a fun challenge because I hadn’t seriously written a story in a while…I hope y’all enjoy that!

That’s it for this month’s frontpage blog! Thank you very much for reading. Shoutout again to xanxoepico and Tritnew for recommending me stuff to feature for Da Works; I seriously appreciated the help. If anyone has any recommendations for stuff they want me to cover in future blogs, hit my PMs!! “FP Blog Mail!!”

Also - for any interested musicians (as well as a few artists and voice actors), please remember to sign up for the Christmas in July Collab Album ‘24! Applications are open until June 27th but are first come, first serve - sign up today!

https://masterhand4444.newgrounds.com/news/post/1416075