DISCONTINUED all-ages comic following one pony's journeys across Middle Earth and beyond.
Like many on tumblr, I accidentally made this my primary account when it should have been a sideblog. This is not really fixable.
Hi, tumblr. I am no longer updating this comic. Stybba and friends discovered the library in 2022, and I must admit they won’t leave.
My main blog is an adult space. (behold-my-squees)
Unfortunately, Stybba's account was set up as my primary, and tumblr does not allow switching. So I can reblog with my main blog, but any comments, messages, or asks use Stybba’s face.
There’s also a chance that I will accidentally reblog posts to the wrong account. I try to fix it as soon as possible so Stybba’s page only has the comic and some all-ages posts about ponies, but there’s a chance adult content will show up here by accident.
I recommend that you not follow this account. In the unlikely event Stybba ever makes a return, if tumblr is still around, I will announce it on my main blog.
This was created in May of 2022. Our friends still encourage masking in public indoor spaces. We do our small part to limit the spread of Covid and kindergarten germs. HOO BOY are there kindergarten germs.
so. i was not happy with the 3D models of horses on offer in the CSP store or literally anywhere else i could find them, i needed one to use for my work, and i went ahead and made my own that is now available for the low low price of FREE in the CSP assets store.
textures included are greyscale basic shapes, multicolor basic shapes, and white with no shapes (but eyes, mouth, nostrils, and hooves emphasized for ease).
shape is ROUGHLY based off the silhouette of an Andalusian. size-wise, it by default stands at around 16 hands, but of course it can be resized to suit your needs. for that, I recommend sizing a human pose doll to the correct height (in centimeters), lining them up on the same plane, and resizing the horse to match the human doll's height. remember that a horse's height is measured at the shoulders!
it also comes with the following preset poses:
if you use CSP and wanna snag it, type 2204263 into the search bar in the CSP assets store. happy horsing!
Hey!!! You made a "how to draw wings" sheet, but— how on Earth do you draw horse!?!? The bane of every artists existence
Yeahhh horses are hard. They have lots of little nuances on top of complex anatomy and weird ass shapes (literally and figuratively). Drawing them requires lots and lots of practice. And this is like...entire art book levels of subject matter but here are a few tricks that I've picked up over time -
Key body shapes - shoulder, barrel, hip
I won't go too far into this one because Ken Hultgren does a much better job in his book The Art of Animal Drawing. But TL;DR - a horse's body has three main masses - the shoulder, the barrel, and the hip. Each one is tricky to draw on it's own since they're all weird shapes, but it's helpful to me to break a horse body down into simpler terms.
Key muscle masses
When I draw horses, I like to emphasis curves vs straights. Horses have that built in naturally as their body is often either "pure muscle" or "pure bone". There's some really nice details at the intersections of body parts, like at the front elbow and behind the ears along the neck (aka the "poll") where there's highly definable muscle groups that can help with visual clarity.
Fun fact, young horses grow hip-first. The horse in the photo above is 8 years old. That same horse at 4 years is below. Cracks me up how much taller his hip was at the time.
Ok so the muscles on the front legs combined with the shoulder mass is a fave combo of mine. The shoulder mass itself is something that I've found that is particularly horse-ish. For me, it's a pretty big visual signifier - almost more important than the neck. You can show a lot of tension/action in the body with the shoulder depending how you simplify it. Horses use their shoulders A LOT (too much if you ask any dressage rider or reiner), so emphasizing the shoulder can make a horse more expressive.
Legs. Oh heavens, the legs.
Yeah ok so again, Hultgren goes into fantastic detail on legs and hooves (I still follow how he simplifies hooves to this day my gosh that guy is a genius), but I often break them down like this for quick sketching. Are horse's legs realistically this emphasized? No, but I like the visual language; believable but expressive. This can apply to any size/shape from arabians to drafts.
And finally...
A few head details -
Overall horses have SO many variables. The fun part about that is that they're highly customizable and able to be endlessly stylized. The tough part is that they're hard to draw strictly because of all of the little things to keep track of to make sure the horse reads as "horse".
And so because third time's the charm, Ken Hultgren's Art of Animal Drawing really is one of the best I've seen for breaking down, simplifying, and applying horse anatomy to active drawings.
But most of all, the more you draw horses the easier they'll be.
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Stybba has gathered a heap of wild roses, mountain ash, and garlic to repel vampires. All the plants are life size, so they tower over Stybba and Dandi, who is surveying the collection. Stybba has a garlic bulb on his back that is almost bigger than he is.
Dandi says, “Oh, you don’t need those just yet. There isn’t a copy of DRACULA on our bookshelf. We’ll have to go to a branch of the city library!”
Everyone is excited to make the trip. Stybba bounces with glee.
The Urchin of Secrecy says, “Oh gosh! I LOVE the library!”
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Stybba and Dandi relax on the bookshelf. “Oh hey,” Dandi says, looking at their phone. “DRACULA has a big following right now. The classic 1897 novel by Bram Stoker.” Stybba makes a questioning face.
Spoiler Fish appears to listen while Dandi explains: “A human named Matt Kirkland started ‘Dracula Daily’ as a way to read the story as it unfolds in real time, from May 3rd to November 6th. Maybe we should try it!”
Spoiler Fish swims to the far end of the bookcase. On this side of the bookshelf, a large wood sculpture of a left hand cradles Ursula K. Le Guin’s book “The Left Hand of Darkness.” Spoiler Fish updates the Urchin of Secrecy and then says, “But at the rate we’re posting, our first comic won’t go up until JULY!”
“Well, then we can worry less about spoilers,” the Urchin says with a grin.
Back to Dandi and Stybba. “What do you think, Stybba?” Dandi asks. “It’s a scary book, but we won’t be in any danger.” Stybba gets to his feet and nods excitedly.
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Two panel comic. Stybba, Dandi, the Urchin of Secrecy, and Spoiler Fish all exit the book. On the way out there is sign saying “Thank You for Visiting A Journey to The Center of The Earth!.” There is also a themed gift shop with colorful toys and crystals and even a manometer for sale. In the first panel, Stybba looks pleadingly at the gift shop and at Dandi.
In the second panel, the friends all happily exit the gift shop holding their souvenirs. Dandi has a crystal rock candy. Stybba is wearing a shirt that says “This pony climbed Mt. Sneffels.” Spoiler Fish is holding a plushie toy that looks like a shark head stitched onto a crocodile body. The Urchin of Secrecy is wearing a straw hat with an Italian flag ribbon. Sea urchins love to wear little pebbles like hats in the wild, and the Urchin is very pleased with the dapper accessory.
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Stybba and Dandi examine a living fossil- a quillwort (Pleuromeia sternbergii) towering over them at 2 meters tall. The plant flourished in the Early Triassic period and then died out, but here it is happily growing by the shores of the underground sea. This is the first of many incredible discoveries. But the Urchin of Secrecy appears to urge some discretion.
“From here on, it could spoil the book if we share our adventures,” the Urchin says.
“Aww, but we’ve just gotten to the really exciting parts!” Spoiler Fish replies.
“The chapter titles are a given, so you can talk about those!” Urchin suggests.
“OK!” says Spoiler Fish, and gestures to a depiction of an erupting volcano. “So, ‘The Volcanic Shaft’ may be the best-known part of the adventure… but listen to this chapter title: ’Terrific Saurian Combat.’” The Fish wiggles with glee.
Author’s note: It’s true; we’re going to finish wrapping up on A Journey To The Center of The Earth in the next comic, without giving away the end of the book. I hope these pages have given you a fun taste of the story, and added some sparkle to the dryer parts of the plot. Stybba will move on to a new book soon!
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Hans (the eider-duck hunter) and the Professor discover an underground ocean, lit by lightning and auroras. Spoiler Fish bursts into song: “Under the sea, there is a sea! Underground weather, underground lightning, so we can see!”
The two men start to construct a raft; an eider-duck appears and follows Hans aboard. Spoiler Fish keeps singing: “Upon the shore the mosses sway; despite no sun it’s bright as day! Soon we’ll be floating, underground boating, under the sea!”
Then Henry arrives falling through the ceiling. The hole in the roof is labelled a “plot hole.” Henry lands in the water with a big splash, still screaming from the previous comic. “Oh good, there’s Henry,” the Urchin of Secrecy says mildly.
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Henry becomes separated from everyone else. The comic narration advises what to do if you become lost. Henry is too panicked and does the opposite of all the right things.
“If you become lost,” the caption says, “call loudly for help; your friends may nearby.” Henry squeaks out the words “Oh, Uncle!” and then does not say anything else for a long time.
“Don’t panic,” the caption continues. “Keep hold of all the assets you have.” Henry has started climbing back the way he came, but his hands are sweaty and he drops the safety lamp. “Uh-oh,” he says as it slips from his hand.
“If you can’t find any landmarks, stay put and make yourself as easy to find as possible,” the caption says. Henry has dramatically thrown himself on the ground and is watching as his safety lamp slowly dies from a broken connection that he cannot fix. “Nooo,” he moans faintly as the shadows take over.
The final panel is in pitch blackness. “DO NOT run for miles, crashing into rocks in the dark,” the caption begs. But Henry does just that. All we can see is a long scream with a Doppler effect and an “ouch” in the middle, as he goes careening through the tunnel, crashing into rocks and trying to outrun the darkness. Henry is not really cut out for this lifestyle.
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The adventurers descend through a tunnel marbled with minerals. Hans (the eider-duck hunter) is completing his first pillow full of eider-down. “Isn’t it going to become hot as we descend?” Henry asks.
“Aha, but this is science fiction!” the Professor replies.
In the next panel, the Urchin Of Secrecy explains the science that Verne used to justify a cool Earth interior. “Sir Humphry Davy said the Earth couldn’t have a molten core, because the moon would cause constant earthquakes,” the Urchin says. The Urchin wears a mortarboard and uses a ruler to point to a diagram of this theory, where Earth acts like a lava lamp, constantly straining as the liquid core inside it is pulled out of shape by the moon’s gravity.
“This has since been disproved,” Spoiler Fish adds with a laugh.
In the third panel, the Urchin of Secrecy teaches the current known model of the Earth’s interior. “In fact, the mantle is mostly solid, there’s a liquid outer core, and then a solid iron core,” the Urchin explains.
Spoiler Fish adds, “And even though we’re still in the crust, it should be about 500 degrees Fahrenheit!”
In the final panel, we are back in the tunnel with the adventuring party. “Hrm,” Henry says. “I’ll just watch the temperature and keep drinking water.”
“I didn’t pack any water,” the Professor says. “I’m sure we’ll find some.”
“Uncle, I am literally dying here,” Henry replies.
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Two wide panels with a lot of labeled objects.
In the first panel, the adventurers are walking by slate and shale walls embedded with fossils. The Urchin of Secrecy, Dandi, and Stybba have lined up underneath fossils of their far-distant ancestors; as they walk along behind Henry, their pose resembles the “Ascent of Man” artwork.
The fossils are labeled Kainops invius (an early trilobite), Prodryas persephone (an early butterfly), and Morganucodon oehleri (an early mammal ancestor.) And our characters have their scientific names given as well. The Urchin is Arbacia punctulata (an Atlantic Ocean native); Dandi is Dryocampa rubicunda (the rosy-maple moth); Stybba is Equus ferus caballus (the category of tamed horses); and Henry is Homo sapiens.
The second panel shows our adventurers coming to a crossroads of sorts, where the tunnel branches in three new directions. In the book, there is nothing to distinguish the tunnels, but I have taken the opportunity to throw in loads of references to games and books that feature cave exploration. In clockwise order, they run as follows:
A faintly glowing vision urges us to “Seek the Crown of Horns”: this is from Bone by Jeff Smith.
A label marked with a wombat paw print points off down the western tunnel, indicating that it is Tunnel 17: this is from Digger by Ursula Vernon.
A large purple gelatinous cube lurks with a sword sticking out of its side: this is from Dungeons and Dragons, by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
A strange fire burns, but instead of light, it casts shadow; this is a reference to the Caves of Fire and Night from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede.
The wall becomes blocky, and each cube-shaped block has a repeating texture: this is a nod to Minecraft by Mojang Studios.
Finally, some distinctive rocks and a downwards ladder on the ground refer to Stardew Valley by ConcernedApe. There is also a pickaxe on the ground that could belong to either Stardew Valley or Minecraft.
(I considered adding a blue and purple bat as well, but I don’t want to be sued by the Pokémon franchise.)
The adventurers come to an abrupt halt as they take in all this new excitement. All except for Hans (the eider-duck hunter), who has noticed an eider-duck sitting in the exact center of the crossroads, waiting for him to come and collect its eider-down.
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The trio of adventurers reach a gently sloping tunnel after their perilous vertical descent. They stop to light their safety lamps. Hans (the eider-duck hunter) finds an eider-duck nesting on an outcropping of rock.
In the next panel, we see that Stybba and Dandi have been eating shredded wheat while they read from the book. Dandi, noting that the book seems traversable again, says, “I’m ready to hop back in when you are!”
In the last panel, Dandi and Stybba are back inside the world of the story. The tunnel becomes low and crowded with stalactites. A hanging street sign says “You must be THIS SHORT to pass” and has a four foot, eight inch height limit bar. Stybba and Dandi prance happily underneath the bar, delighted to find their height is an advantage.
The Professor is very tall. He regards the sign with a scowl, and mutters, “That sign won’t stop me because I can’t read all of a sudden.”
