So I mighta done a thing. :3 Just some good friends I've come to know over the course of tumblrponning, and a few from before, all mighty overdue for gift art! Specifically done in random order. ;P Took a few liberties here and there! Hope y'all don't mind.
Blogs featured are, in order of appearance:
ask-ickle-muse
ask-prof-smirk
askthenightguards
a-s-k-dolly
askpenwright
ask-opalescent-pearl
askmerriweather
askrustynail
shinyshaini
wordsmithreplies
thelordofaldheim
asksandyshores
askbritannia
askashapeshifter
askalton
ask-wiggles
askseaborn
mylittlechangeling
I had lots of fun with this! I'll probably post individuals on my modblog later today when I get around to... cutting and cropping all of these.
Also, for the sake of others not having this appear on their dash twenty times, try adding the tag "tech portraits reblog" so people can blacklist it for a little while, or something. Xkit has an extension for this too, I think. Just be courteous to your followers! Chances are a lot of them follow these same people too!
"I'm a lecturer in History and Philosophy at Equestria's most prestigious University. Why in Eris' name do I need a tumblr?"
Oi! Smirk! Your recent story updates were untagged. Just thought I'd point that out. Anyways ~
Art Quality:
I feel this section is going to be mostly tongue tied because I know something is wrong, but I'm not experienced or learned enough to express what it is.
Just to clarify, the art is good. If someone didn't think it was impressive, they'd be lying. However, I think that the fact that it's good creates it's own problem. "Wuht?" you might ask. Well, I mean this is in the most polite way possible, but the art ventures into "The Uncanny Valley."
Simply put, it's when some item, object, or even artificially person reaches a certain point of likeness to an actual person, but it's still not perfect. The result is something that's close to real, but its flaws become more noticeable. Much like the game L.A. Noir where the faces were extremely realistic but the bodies were less. This caused the characters to be more or less creepy due to the illusion of real heads on puppet bodies.
You see, your shading, hair, and eyes are top notch. However, perspective and outlines are... lacking. It seems like, if I can describe this well enough, the base of the face is a flat, full profile. However, the snout goes off as if it was a 1/2 profile as well as the ears. Another thing that adds to that uncanny valley is that more often than not, your ponies tend to have... long faces *snicker* Nononono, but seriously, the faces are too vertically long. Remember, ponies aren't human. That isn't to say add defination to the chin and brow - if anything I would encourage it as it makes for better expressioning. However, I wouldn't extend the head to make it more human. Ponies are made of rainbows, sugar, and more importantly circles. Keep the face as circular as possible. I would suggest
(I've been waiting to use this gif for a long time)
Overall: 7/10
Story Structure:
If anyone has the time to go through the bits of story on the blog, do it.
The blog has very clear progression and sets up for really good conflict. I think this has something to do with the simple yet clever premise. It might just be me, but I really do like the college professor stumbling across conspiracies. It sets itself up to be a smart story - something that challenges perceptions and makes sense of the otherwise silly nature of Equestria. However, setting and continuity could use some work. Just some.
For instance, most of the story takes place in the same, cramped, dark office. Up until recent updates, there weren't many intervals outside that office, and not much was happening within. But when we were out of there, we were in some other place with the same color scheme. Now, ignoring the fact that in recent updates we are in a completely new setting - which is good - the fix to being in the same setting is relatively simple. It goes to live action plays where transitioning settings was near impossible - something that I had to do when directing my own play in college. I had to put on a full hour play within a single apartment (The play was "Underpants" if anyone was curious - Yes, it's a real play). The trick was to make the setting interesting. We used all the space given to its fullest extent. Paintings, doors, a kitchen, and more importantly we shifted the focus of the audience by having the actors be in different parts of the stage. You have an office - use it. Put it cabinets, bookshelves, paintings. The great thing about it is that you only need to draw them once, right?
The other thing was continuity. Now, again, I don't mean the story saying one thing before and another thing now. It means that the story makes sense within the context of the setting: the setting being Equestria. It's important to remember that Equestria isn't related to the real world. Yes, I know that Hasbro likes to put in modern technology that's made for humans in the MLP franchise, but does that really make sense? It doesn't. Now, some tools, appliance, and toys are going to be similar or identical to stuff we have because it's simple and it wouldn't really work if made in any other way like pipes, ovens, pots, bowls, smoking pipes, cigars, toy blocks - stuff like that. Things like forks, knives, doorknobs, gloves, and shoes are questionable since they were made for human use. However, things that simply can't happen are trademarks, brands, and popular icons.
Like this. They're a bunch of conspiracy symbols which given the story makes sense at first. But thinking about it on a broader scale reveals that there is no way for these symbols to even exist. The groups that are represented can't be in Equestria since they only arose out of our specific history. There can't be Templars, Masons, Lodges, Christians, Muslims, Catholics - if it's a named, iconic group of any kind, they can't exist. Can you give subtle references to them? Sure, but it can't be direct. Enough to give a Har Har but not enough to state it being canon. And if there is some major iconic group in Equestria that's in some other "universe," it needs to be explained.
Overall: 8/10
Characters
Prof Smirk isn't anything new, but he's definitely not bad in the slightest. In fact, he's quite lovable - or admirable. Anything that needs to be said about him, however, can be found in any other character type of his nature - the hardboiled detective. But again, it's not bad at all. They're relatable, snarky, and just all together fun to watch. Though, if you want, you could take a look at that page and say, "These characters typically do this, so let's NOT do it." Just make sure not to ruin the given character.
Now, given that you're doing a good job, I think it's time to do even a better job. You've got good, distinct characters. Now give them objectives. Have them want something - something specific if they're main characters. Once that's in place, have them work off each other. When Smirk is interacting with another character, have him make the other characters feel something in order to get what he wants. Trust me, when you have this in the back of the mind you'll be able to write more powerful scenes.
Overall: 9/10
Accountability:
For the actual updates, it takes about a week for them to come around. That's completely fine. The updates have plenty of content, and I would guess it takes time to come up with them. The blog has some clutter, but not too much to ruin the flow. However, the mod blog seems a bit quiet. I don't know if people don't go there often enough to strike conversation, but it's too quiet. There's only about one reblog everyday which is enough to show you're alive, but I don't know if you're communicating with your follower base enough. Follower base, as harsh as this may sound, aren't just your close friends or other blogs you like. Not accusing you - I don't even know if you are or not - just saying. Beeeeeee open.
Overall: 9/10
Overall Accomplishment:
I'm going to be changing the format of this a bit. What I'm going to do is ask this set of questions for people, copy paste their answers, and add a rebuttal. SO.
Why did you make the blog in the first place?
"Hmm… I made the blog because it seemed like a good way of actually teaching myself art and storytelling, while giving me a solid means of motivating myself and measuring progress. Up until July of last year I didn’t do any art or writing at all, and I’ve only been putting significant effort into it since starting the ask blog." Well that's good to hear! I really do like it when people practice something that keeps them motivated. So long as you keep yourself motivated, you're doing great.
What were your intentions with the blog?
"My intentions with the blog started quite simply; I wanted to basically put across my “counterpoint” to MLP:FiM, as I love the show, but didn’t see how an argumentative and opinionated sod like me would fit in to that world. From that… well it kind of spiraled out of control. I now have a story planned out from start to finish, and my main goal is to finish it (which looks like it will take me a couple of years) and actually develop my small cast of characters. I still like to occasionally use the blog to put across my own rather warped ideology though. :D" We're on the same plane with the counterpoint. I really like when it when people challenge a show's given perspective on the unknown or one dimensional stereotype. I'm looking forward to seeing it finished.
What keeps you motivated for the blog?
"My motivation is twofold: fun and progress. I have an obscene amount of fun working on updates, and I can compare posts separated by days and always see some area where I’ve improved. I know I’m not brilliant at this, but I’ve got a hell of a lot better, and I aim to continue doing so." That's good, but keep in mind of the audience. I believe having your audience as a motivator will help as well. They're the ones giving you feedback and basically giving your work meaning. But also keep things fun. Why do something that's not fun for free?
What are you plans for the blog?
"Plans for the blog…. hmmm… how to put this without giving out spoilers… Well, the story as a whole is going to be about Smirk breaking out of the rut he’s stuck in. I think I’ve made it clear that he’s not particularly happy with who he is and what he does, but he lacks the motivation to do anything about it. He’s going to find that motivation through various avenues, both from within and from without. I have no intention of making it easy for him; he will not succeed at everything, and there are a couple of points I have planned that will come damn close to breaking him. All in all, it’s a pretty small scale story, but I’m going to link it in with a lot of big stuff too, if that makes any sense.
I also plan on continuing to refine the standard of my work and the techniques used, and by the end of the story I plan on having gained the skills to produce a graphic novel. I also plan on finding the golden mean for cryptic foreshadowing. Right now it feels like every time I try to hint at something people either get it straight away or have no clue that I’m even trying :P" Hell yeah! But remember what I said about objectives. Give him something he wants to accomplish. Also challenge the perceptions of your audience with MLP. You've set yourself up for a really smart, Film Noir style story. Good luck!
Overall: 10/10
Final Score: 43/50
I really do like the blog, Smirk! You've got yourself a top notch blog! Really looking forward for some cool things! The only thing I would really concern myself over is the art. Keep the head circular more than anything and work on perspectives. It'll look so much better if you do!
So this was something that I started about two days ago at Saucy's stream, I said that I would draw a non silly/sexual smirk and then I suddenly wanted to draw him in a suit because he's such an oldtimer in the way he acts. So I started with it being a upper body picture and then I wanted it to be a fullbody. A simple sketch evolved and then I wanted to put in Haze as well, messing with his suit was a lot of work since it was a bit more complex than Smirk's. After finishing him, I didn't want to put lines nor colors on it because I like it this way~ So I just ended up with making them look like they're posing for some kind of project (Something I'm still playing with the idea to start) And put some colored shadows on them~
