Friday, December 28, 2012

Something New, and Long Overdue


Meheh, yes, arguably long overdue indeed, insofar as I'm sure most anyone who knows me can only wonder how it has possibly taken me so long to get some new season three shipping-inspired artwork up. ^_^; But at least I can assure you all it hasn't been for lack of inspiration or ideas! In fact, if anything I've probably had too many ideas for my own good that I haven't been able to settle on any one of them long enough to start on/complete a picture to my satisfaction, but in the end I happened to accidentally doodle this little image one day when working on something else entirely unrelated, and decided it would do at least as well as anything else for a start.

Honestly, this picture probably isn't much, and especially when you consider the fact I've mentioned more than once that I'll be getting it up soon for over a week, but for what it's worth I am happy enough with the way it turned out and can only hope that it's a decent enough way to round out 2012. If it's not entirely obvious, I took my inspiration in this case from Rarity's fainting scene in "Magic Duel" (sans ugly dress of course), since I personally thought it was quite cute that Applejack came to her "rescue" in such a way, and if nothing else proved herself to be a most excellent alternative to a chaise longue. I've made an alternate, blue sky version of the image as well (since so many of my artworks of these two together seem to be on pinkish backgrounds, for whatever reason), which I will post/link to as soon as I get the image uploaded to my deviantART (EDIT: And yes, over a week later here it is! I really must apologize to you all for my terrible short-term memory... ^_^;).

So yes, the last new blog post of 2012, no doubt... to all of my followers I wish you a most excellent and Happy New Year, and I hope to see you on the other side then! Cheers, friends.


WD

219 comments:

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PonydoraPrancypants said... Reply to comment

@WhiteDiamonds

Our series would be far, far too fabulous for Hasbro. If you ever figure out how we can make money opening an indie animation studio, comic book label, publishing house, art studio, lounge, or trendy cafe, please, please let me know. You can supply the talent, charm, and good looks, and I can fetch tea and scones.

PonydoraPrancypants said... Reply to comment

@WhiteDiamonds

P.S. I love Zesty's art. Yay Rarijack indeed! :)

PonydoraPrancypants said... Reply to comment

For all the fabulous former coffee artists in the house: link

AJ said... Reply to comment

I didn't even know this went to separate pages once you passed 200 comments. I kept thinking I must have been mistaken about how many comments there used to be when I'd check and see Di's last post at the bottom of the page.

In any event, we definitely need to figure out a good money-making scheme that utilizes all of our talents. I'm told by trustworthy sources that I can make an attractive sandwich, if that helps.

Coconutswallow said... Reply to comment

Don't mind me, just popping by to drop off this: (I'm a link!). Which I'm sure all of you probably know about already.

I'm just very excited about it! Excited to see this game actually come out in at least some incarnation, excited to see what Ms. Faust has in store, and excited that she has the time and love to help fan projects such as that. A simply fantastic woman.

Coconutswallow said... Reply to comment

@Harwick

That would explain my ever growing confusion at the ever growing number of posts but seeming lack of new comments. I have been just as clueless to this additional page until now.

Anyways, you are doing better than me. My sandwiches are most decidedly unattractive, but I'm afraid toasted bread, turkey meat, melted American cheese, and Durkee's sauce is the only way to eat a sandwich.

I'll offer my services as a dish washer.

@PonydoraPrancypants

I'm thinking all of those things should be combined. Then you two might really be onto something. I also find it validating that you and @WhiteDiamonds are appreciators of Zest. I discovered him months back and had no idea you had him on your radars. He runs the best Rarity tumblr around.

WhiteDiamonds said... Reply to comment

@PonydoraPrancypants

Oh, you... I was counting on half the talent at least being supplied by you of course, unless we get Harwick in on this venture as well, which seems like the natural intelligent course of action (provided he is willing). I thought I had a brilliant idea last night for how we could make our millions baking and evaporating seawater in the sun at almost no cost to us, so that we could bottle and sell the resultant sea salt at premium price (especially if we could sell it exclusively through Williams Sonoma! I love those stores~), but after discussing it with him it seems woefully impractical after all... oh well, I'm not giving up, I can tell you both that much.

Ohh, tea and scones, my favorite~

I'm happy to hear that you enjoy Zesty's artwork... he really is quite a dear, in addition to being a talented artist as well as an individual of most excellent taste, obviously. And as for that Rarity foam-art, that truly is too fabulous for words; I happily pass my barista-crown to that artist, as they definitely deserve the honors.

@Harwick

Honestly, I was a little confused by that myself, at first. Even though I think we passed 200 comments on at least one other thread before... it has been a while though.

And I don't know, dear... I'm afraid none of my ideas thus far have served us very well, but I suppose worst-case scenario is that we can all retire happily on that stretch of land in Baja which I mentioned to you that my father owns (it's within a mile of the ocean too, if I left that part out originally). It's true that my Spanish is still abysmal and I'm sure always will be, but that doesn't mean I'd enjoy quaffing down a round of PiƱa Coladas any less.

@Coconutswallow

Ahh yes, I did see that on Equestria Daily, as well as the new information that has come out regarding the "Equestria Girls" IP (... I'm still not sure what to think about that). I'm afraid that I personally don't have much interest in ever playing the game if it's no longer going to be based on ponies, but all the same I am very, very happy for the Mane 6 team that their fortunes have turned around in such a way, and I will agree with you that Lauren Faust is truly an amazing woman. I have nothing but immense respect for her and the fact that she would extend herself to those young men in such a way.

Oh you silly dear, with your excellent skills in communicating I'm sure we could find something much more worthy of your talents (though I have to say, with all of this talk about sandwiches and such you all are beginning to make me very hungry). And yes, I've been following ZestyOranges' artwork for many months now... with our shared love of Rarijack shipping, I suppose it was only a matter of time before we found each other!

Anonymous said... Reply to comment

@whitediamond
Nice to see you back!

I totally get your busy schedule necessitating clearing out your inbox, but out of sheer "like a kid again" excitement, I feel the need to harass you about a little Rarijack I drew (and redrew, and redrew...).

http://fav.me/d5v7oln
http://fav.me/d5vw433
http://fav.me/d5wg7qq

Sorry to hear you so disillusioned with the season ender, but I'm even more sorry to see that you seem reluctant to vent here. I have had a blast in the last year rediscovering my artistic side, and the little Sugarcube Corner Algonquin you've built here is no small part of that. That our delightful hostess feels she can't enjoy speaking her mind in her own parlour is a shame.


Anon said... Reply to comment
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anon said... Reply to comment

(Edit: I knew I'd miss something...)

@WhiteDiamonds

Certainly I'd never hold it against you for making newer conversions a priority to keep things moving around here. I have also managed to fall so far behind that I might just do the same. This doesn't mean you've been beaten in any way, and in fact, I would say it's just the opposite. You have shown the personal commitment of focusing your time on the most important matters and never succumbing to procrastination, even as this fine group of friends lays at your fingertips. There are many more difficult and stressful things in your life that you have dealt with; you've made sure those would never beat you. That strong sense of responsibility is indicative of your personality, I think. If you must take your attention away from anything, let it be a simple blog like this. Life never waits, but we will always be here for you when you return. Ganbarimasu, right?

Oh, and since I never got to say so, your sketches remain some of the most expressive and charming artwork I've ever seen in the fandom, color or no. It's always a great treat to enjoy a bit more from one of our favorite artists, and one of our favorite people in general.

@Harwick

Yes, this is my finale review.

In all seriousness, it wasn't that bad... I was glad to see they gave a good effort to form a substantial adventure story to lead up to the transformation scene, even if it meant that everything had to be a bit rushed. In most episodes, there is an exact moment where the question of the story is answered and the rest is streamlined to the end, or a "big reveal". Since the coronation scene took up about one third of the episode, that only left 14 minutes for the plot to run its course. When most reveals happen at about 19 minutes and thiry seconds, the cut in time brought this one back to 9 minutes and thirty seconds. The effect of this was noticeable, but not detrimental, and I will say again that I'm glad they managed to work a complete plot into two-thirds the time of most television shows. While I appreciated the intimacy of "alicorn heaven"'s vastness and isolation, I found its animation (or lack thereof) to be a bit underwhelming. It seemed like Celestia had built the place with a default screensaver and floating screen effects from Windows Movie Maker. I mean, I know she's a busy monarch, but couldn't she have at least thrown in some more nebulae for Twilight's graduation day?

I have heard the writers assure us all that Twilight will remain the pony we know, and the Six will stay in Ponyville for the foreseeable future. Personally, I am willing to accept whatever happens and make the most most of it. Sure, it will be a shame to watch the show go down an unfavorable path, and I wish Hasbro and DHX had found a way around that route, but they don't really owe us anything and it's still better than letting the show end in this season. As MicTheMicrophone said on his Twitter page, "Remember that it's just a cartoon. Enjoy it instead of nit-picking it to death and ruining it for yourself." That philosophy is eminent in his livestreams, wherein he often plays horror games with friends, collecting random coffee thermoses and running from giant deer floats, laughing and joking about them all the way. I think we can all learn something from that sensibility.

I'd gladly mow your acres of meadow paths and garden mazes, at least until I take up residence on the street outside the bar.

RenaTurnip said... Reply to comment

I should... probably feel bad that the very first thing I saw here was the very last sentence of Anon's, quite out of context. I should not attempt to read things at 6AM in the morning.

I suppose I haven't left many thoughts on current news lately D: I'm honestly completely neutral as far as Equestria Girls is concerned... I'm really not openly interested, least of all by how it looks, but I'm not disinterested either. To me, it's just more Pony (well, technically Pony) content and I can't really object to that, but really, even if I may not feel very enthused toward it, I'm always looking forward to new stuff about those characters. It's just sort of how I am.

On Fighting is Magic, the news (and really, it was more the tweet from several weeks ago) about Lauren Faust offering to help and subsequently joining the team is what finally tipped me over the edge to more or less falling in love with that lady. I've had friends tell me time and time again how awesome she is, and how she's such a great and fun person, and over the past year and a half I've gotten to see snip-its of her words, her activities, things she's said that have had a deep meaning, and so on and so forth, and with this it's finally clear to me what kind of person she is. I can really understand where the rest of the world is coming from now when people give her the highest sort of praise, and now I feel I must include myself in the ranks of those who appreciate what she does.

tl;dr Lauren Faust is awesome :(

On less relevant news! I found this little art piece last week, and although obviously Rainbow Dash plays no such part, I was reminded passingly of Flight of the Alicorn and the general feel of that sort of theming/genre, and for some reason the art just struck home with me. I thought it was really, really cool, so I thought I'd share it with the rest of you all :o

That's all from me for now! ... And glad to know there are comment pages that turn at 200-comment intervals D: I suppose this is perfectly handy information to keep in mind.

WhiteDiamonds said... Reply to comment

@Obsequiosity

Yay, Rarijack! Silly dear, there is never such a thing as harassing me with Rarijack, since it's always guaranteed to cheer me up at least a little bit (if not a lot), no matter what sort of mood I may be in to begin with. I'm sorry that I have missed seeing this on deviantART, since I haven't been active there at all for at least two weeks now I think, but I will be sure to leave you some nice comments there when I make my grand return (which shall be soon, I think). As it is though, I can tell you that I love the picture(s)... Rarity's expression in particular is just perfect and manages to convey so much in all its subtlety; I can only wonder about what must be going through her head there. Thank you so much for sharing that with me!

In regards to my feeling reluctant to share my thoughts on the finale and all the resultant changes in their entirety, well... I just know that I don't feel very enthused or optimistic about anything that I've heard so far, and I really would hate to subject all of you to my negativity unnecessarily. And especially when so many of you have no problems whatsoever with the direction the show seems to be taking at this point in time. I also really just think it's best for me to not dwell on what I can't change anyway, so again I prefer simply to focus on aspects of the show and fandom that I've continued to enjoy. Thank you very much for the courteousness and kind words, though, I sincerely appreciate them.

Speaking of Rarijack by the way, I found this image on Tumblr the other day, from the latest episode. It's completely out of context in this instance of course, but that doesn't mean it isn't still hilarious.

@Anon

Anon-dear, there you are! I really have missed your presence here so terribly much... it's nice to see you back!

And hai, ganbarimasu; arigatou gozaimashita, Anon-kun... anata wa itsumo yasashii desu ne. <3 You really are such a dear, you know... thank you so much for your very kind post. I don't know how much of a pillar I really am, but yes, I do my best to finish what I start always, and even when it does sometimes take me a while to do so (like so many art projects that I say I will finish and which often end up taking me months, for example).. Maybe it's not being "beaten", but I have tasked myself with keeping up with all of my correspondences always, digital and otherwise, and to finally reach a point where I have to let go of something the way that I did is hard for me, especially because I would never want anyone to think that I value them or their words so little I can't be bothered to take even a moment to respond to them. Anyways I do appreciate the understanding, very much, and I'm also so glad that you enjoyed even those silly sketches of mine... thank you so much as always!

WhiteDiamonds said... Reply to comment

@RenaTurnip

Rena-dearest! It's very nice to hear from you as well... I feel like many of our regulars have been quite absent from this place recently (and on that note, has anyone seen or heard from Jody at all recently? I really have missed his presence quite a lot). My feelings on "Equestria Girls" are basically the same as yours at this point, or at least until I receive more information on it, and as far as Lauren Faust goes yes, if anyone needed any reason to believe that she is an amazing human being (beyond the simple fact that she created a surprisingly rich and complex world and characters based on a Hasbro toy line, and launched such an unprecedented sort of fan community as a result), I think this would have to be it. I felt so, so incredibly bad for the Mane 6 team after I'd heard about what had happened to them, just as an artist myself, and to know how much time and passion and energy they'd put into that project, that I'm very grateful she was willing to extend herself to them and ensure that all of that effort and talent did not go to waste... that was an act of generosity which Rarity herself would doubtless be touched by. Indeed, all of my respect to her, and happiness for them.



So, my friends. Though I've gotten back into the habit of posting and checking on my blog again, happily, I have been neglecting my deviantART account to a terrible degree as some of you might have noticed... I don't think I've even logged in there in almost two weeks at this point, actually, and can only imagine what my message box looks like. Now that I've gotten a better handle on things here though, and with my health also (or at least with the terrible anxiety that came along with all of my ongoing problems, which is/was a big part of things) I think I'm finally ready to head back into the fray again... maybe even tomorrow (or later today I suppose, even in my own time zone right now). Please do wish me luck, everyone, because I think I'm going to need it! Aha~

WhiteDiamonds said... Reply to comment

Oh mercy, Sibsy herself just added me to her watch on deviantART. She has favorited/commented on a couple of my artworks before (both of my PinkieDash pictures, actually), but knowing that a staff artist from FiM is going to be seeing ALL of my submissions from now on makes me more than just a little self-conscious, ahaha...

Ah well! It is a nice compliment, all the same!

RenaTurnip said... Reply to comment

@WhiteDiamonds

Oh miss, ahaha. Sibsy watched you :3 That's wonderful and awesome news. And now you know how I felt when you watched me! (Oops, did I say that out loud? xD Ssh. It's a secret.)

More randomly, because it made me giggle like crazy, this image came to my attention this week, with one very particular translation for one young filly... I suspect there may be Crusading problems for a while... maybe.

RenaTurnip said... Reply to comment

@WhiteDiamonds

Oh, and good luck with the social activities! I swear I looked around for over five minutes to make sure I hadn't forgotten to say anything :1 I am reaching new levels of scatterbrainedness with each passing day, I'm afraid. Too many turnips on the mind.

Anonymous said... Reply to comment

@WhiteDiamonds

Yay! She saw it!

I have been trying and retrying to get back the expression that appeared in that original pencil sketch. Stupid irreproducible happy accidents...

(That screencap is great. I keep meaning to draw something around that suit that Applejack designed with the saggy hat.)

Anon said... Reply to comment

@WhiteDiamonds

It's great to see you again too, Diamonds, hello! Separation from this blog may be the worst part of work, and I really have dearly missed you as well. I wish I could catch up with long phone calls and email conversations, but sadly, I'm not that interesting. Nevertheless, I did want to make a quick reappearance to encourage you not to be so hard on yourself, even though you are probably hard at work clearing the depths of your inbox as I type this now. I did happen to send a note to Jody a short while ago to let him know that we miss him, and he wrote back to tell me that life has been busier than he was expecting (and not for any particularly bad reason), but assured me he would be back soon. (I would also like to clarify in case there was confusion that though my response to the recent finale was generally positive, all of my past objections still stand. It's unfortunate to see something so big happen in the show which is more likely to be a negative thing, but we may as well see if there is any extra enjoyment to be found in the fourth season. The third could have been the last, and maybe it may as well be, but we have to make do with what we are given and take from it what we can. I think that's the best attitude we can have going into it.)

As far as generosity and kindness is concerned, you put me (along with most everyone else) to shame. Any praise I direct to you is more than deserved, I assure you. Of course, with your inbox so full of notes and comment notifications, you won't need to take my word for it.

By the way, since I've been trying to catch up with EQD and it's still technically Rarijack, I wanted to show you this exchange, which greatly amused me when I saw it. Rarity comes out on top yet again.

Anon said... Reply to comment

@Anon

Oh, and while I was using the programming help forum "StackOverflow", I was pondering the prevalence of the word "Toast" in the Pony fandom. With names like "ToastBeard", "ToastWaffle" and "WoodenToaster", common breakfast food has never felt more relevant to miniature pastel equines. In the midst of this, I realized that the vowel in "toast" is the same as the one used twice in "overflow". "I wouldn't mind anything overflowing with toast", I thought to myself. It was then that I made the second realization that I should reserve it as a name on deviantART. The account can be found here, in case you ever wonder who is stalking your page and sending you strange notes that seem to test the length limit of dA's messaging system.

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