Dunes

Blllgh I am not dead or anything, but I'm dealing with... stuff. Health insurancey stuff and health-insurance-being-utterly-unhelpful stuff all the while dealing with the stuff I'm even needing the insurance for and just. Blegh.

So I'm here, just feeling drained and frustrated and I may need a couple of days to get my head back into the RP game. I hope that is okay.

Not exaaactly a notice of inactivity, but -- I'm going out of town on Thursday for a wedding, and am spending my evenings this week prepping to head out on the 8-hour drive. I'm holding off on starting a brand new topic with Sapphire Shores until I get back, but I'll be posting in the Der Assistant thread with her tomorrow when it's started.

But I will be unavailable from Thursday until Monday, so I guess it is sort of a notice of inactivity.

Diomedes, you had me at "Irene Adler". I'll happily add her to the list!

Oh Phi-iiill! I have somethink for youuu!

I got... very excited about Russian-inspired architecture, apparently. And now we can play "Spot where Dunes didn't use a ruler!" >.>

Okay folks, it's Sunday evening and I have work all week, and I'm going out of town on Thursday for a wedding, so I probably won't be able to do any more of these for a couple of weeks! Once I get back, I'll move the top three waiting list spots up to the Actual List and get crackin'.

Sure thing, Rackenhammer!

Ohh you just wait, Phil. I've got yours inked. I think you will like it.

SO 'EYY, I GOT A DELIVERY HERE FOR ONE MR. SYDPHONY.

I got a, eh, drawrin' here for, ehh... Starbuster? Is there a Starbuster here?

Flying at night or pulling pranks with Pinkie? POR QUE NO LOS DOS?

Glitterbombs! Simultaneously sparkly AND devious.

I did a little messing around with some gradients on this one. The flat colored one looked a little, well, flat.

Think you could also add me to the waiting list, with my OC Moon River?

I reckon I could do that!

I'll add you to the waiting list, Tales. I'm working on these drawings as I type (well, figuratively speaking) so hopefully I shall get a couple of 'em done and up for folks to see tonight!

Qua-na added to the waiting list! Once I get done with this batch I'll open the slots up again.

I always love getting more art... Hmm.. but which pony..

I think I'll let you pick one of the following three; whichever one you think would be the most fun to draw. I already have at least one piece of art for all of them (which you can see on their app and use for reference if you like), so I don't really care which you want to do. Just draw what you think would be enjoyable.

Serendipity

Snowfall

Ardent Fate

Thanks!

Edit: oh, and you can go with whatever backgrounds you'd like for any of them. I'm not too particular there.

STALLIONGRAD PONY okay Snowfall wins. Awesome, adding her to the list!

Hey, perhaps you could do my character Sydphony. He is the one in the avatar on the left. He is a bit of a kind soul and is giving. Maybe him sitting under a tree playing his guitar would be kind of nice, or if you want, have him and his marefriend sitting together under a tree, I will leave it up to you

. I can link more pictures if you need.

A bigger picture would be helpful! I can't quite see his cutie mark in the avatar. I'll add him to the list!

I'd like it if my OC starbuster could get in on this. She's my current profile pic but i'll post a pic in here just in case i change it again. I'd love it if you could draw either a picture of her flying during the nighttime or with her hanging out and playing with one or more of the mane six. (Preferably pinkie, they could be doing pranks or something.)

Thanks a bunch if you do it

http://imgur.com/1J27M

Sounds dandy! I'll add her to the list and get a-drawin'.

I am stuck at home sick while my roommate is out having fun at a comic con. SO I WISH TO DRAW. FOR YOU.

I will start small, with three slots! HERE THEY ARE

1. Qua-na (Done!)

2. Coral (Mostly sketched!)

3. MoonRiver

--- WAITING LIST THINGY -- CLOSED TO NEW REQUESTS. I've got some big projects coming up, and I'd like to take care of them and finish pictures for folks already on the list before I add any more. Sorry y'all! Trying to keep my workload manageable.

-Gears "Sparks" Clockwise (solving puzzlebox)

-Wordsworth Psmith

-Anathema

Here are some things I have done for board peoples!

For Davroth!

This was a present for Manestream!

"BUT DUNES," you may say. "THAT IS JUST PONIES." That is okay! I will draw whatever you got! Ponies, gryphons, critters, dragons, assorted mythological creatures, etc. Your character has a pet? That is fine too!

I start with pencil sketches, and then I either ink them on paper or just scan 'em straight and colour them on the computer-machine. I usually do inked with flat colors, and pencil with soft shading. You can pick which style or leave it to me; I'm fine doing either.

REFERENCE: Pictures are good! If you lack pictures, I need a really good description, maybe some pictures of characters your character is similar to (especially, like, hairstyle-wise). Backgrounds will probably be super simple nature-type stuff; if you want something more complex like a building, just gimme a picture reference!

Also maybe tell me a little tiny bit about your character's personality, maybe what they'd be doing, etc. Are they a happy camper, grumpy gus, smug susan (I just made that up), stuff like that.

First-come, first-served and all that.

Stuff I've finished for this thread:

Starbuster:

Sydphony:

Phil the Time Wizard:

QuickLime

Crystal was leaning in, fully prepared to do what it took to save Telki. But she stopped to look at Milky as the pegasus put her ear to the unconscious unicorn's chest, rightly thinking that Milky probably had some idea of what she was doing.

[colour=#ff8c00]

“She's just sleeping.”

Crystal squinted at Telki, still dizzy from being flung. “[colour=#800080]Are you sure?[/colour]” She leaned in again, just staring this time, looking for any signs of life. A flutter of an eyelid, a wisp of air – anything.

She wasn't particularly cognizant of the fact that Telki could be showing all of these signs and she wouldn't be able to focus on any of them. It had been a long day.

Then there was the scream. Crystal was a connoisseur of screams, being from the city. She gave this one a solid 8.5/10, with good reverb and an appropriately high pitch to convey panic, yet lacking that certain horror-movie spark that would knock it to a full ten.

She considered this in her surreal calm shock, as she waited for the world to stop ringing.

“[colour=#4b0082]Telki! You're awake![/colour]” She couldn't actually hear anything she was saying, but could feel it vibrating her head. “[colour=#4b0082]I am glad you're not dead! I hope you don't have rabies![/colour]”

“[colour=#4b0082]I think Milky said something about starting a fire. I wasn't too successful at starting a coyote-fire, so maybe we should stick with just wood.[/colour]”

She gathered some sticks in her mouth and dropped them on the still-smoldering wood. She stared at it, her dazed, chipper state fading fast. “[colour=#4b0082]Sweet Celestia, I am useless.[/colour]” She let out a defeated sigh. “[colour=#4b0082]I'm getting on the next train to Manehattan when we get back.[/colour]”

Sapphire's cheeks flushed as Timbre kissed her hoof. Sure, she'd get declarations of undying love, or have articles of clothing thrown at her, or asked to sign various body parts without eliciting more than her usual grin. But somehow, dignified politeness always surprised her.

“[colour=#000080]Why, Mister Timbre, I'd love some company on the walk back![/colour]” She beamed at him as best she could, trying to keep her eyes open. She could feel the bags under her eyes.

She pointed a hoof at an elegant structure a few blocks away, a middle note in the architectural crescendo that ended at Canterlot castle. “[colour=#000080]I'm stayin' over there, not too far.[/colour]”

Yawning, she leaned forward to ease herself into a stride. Her hoofbeats reverberated up to her hips and shoulders. Hard stone on tired hooves. Yes. Yes, it was time for bed.

As they neared the hotel entrance, a thought occurred to her. “[colour=#000080]Hey, I dunno if you're into my kinda music much, but if you happen to be around next time I have a show, you're more than welcome to pop backstage.[/colour]” She rested a hoof on the door, ready to push it open. “[colour=#000080]If nothin' else, there's usually free food![/colour]”

A swift breeze pushed past, ruffling her mane and making her shiver. Time to go inside. “[colour=#000080]I hope you had as much fun as I did! You have a sensational night, sugar.[/colour]” She pushed the door open and went in, waving as it shut behind her.

Sapphire leaned forward, squinting at where the coffee had hit Timbre. “[colour=#000080]You sure you’re alright? No burns or nothin’?[/colour]” She groaned, rubbing her eyes with a foreleg. Her leg muscles tremored occasionally. “[colour=#000080]Oh, sug, I have been up entirely too long.[/colour]”

Straightening up and nodding her head in a sort of salute, she smiled. “[colour=#000080]Well, Mr. Timbre, it has been a wonderful evening, but I think I oughta get some sleep before I manage to hurt anypony else.[/colour]” She offered a hoof to shake. “[colour=#000080]It was a surprise and a delight to meet a talent like yourself![/colour]”

The smell of the coffee wafted up to Sapphire’s nose, stirring her synapses. [colour=#000080]Coffee[/colour]. Her eyes opened to a sliver, reluctantly roused by the heavy scent of it.

As any performer knows, there is no replacement for plenty of rest and a good meal to recover from a show. An as any performer on the road knows, there’s no way that’s ever going to happen and caffeine is your friend. Blearily, she grabbed the lip of the cup with her teeth, and tilted it back, a little faster and a little higher than she meant to.

[colour=#000080]Too fast, too fast!! [/colour]Her mouth was full of hot coffee, rather than the tiny sip she’d intended. She winced, dropping the cup, which splashed in an impressive arc for such a small container… on to Timbre.

Sapphire’s ears flattened against her head, her eyes widened as far as they could go. “[colour=#000080]Oh. My. I am tho thorry![/colour]” She sucked in a stream of cold air, trying to cool off her stinging tongue. It did nothing for her tongue, nor did it do anything for the hot, caffeinated embarrassment that was currently soaking her musical companion.

Sapphire nodded, fighting harder than she ought to have needed to keep her head upright. “[colour=#000080]Energy...[/colour]” she yawned. “[colour=#000080]Energy's important. Without energy, the audience'll...[/colour]” She felt herself squinting against her will, and every time she blinked, the lights around her seemed to flicker. “[colour=#000080]Audience'll just... fall...[/colour]” Her eyes started to close and her head started to sink, as she felt a soft, falling sensation in her chest.

Catching herself, she bolted upright. She shook her head. “Fwuh! Um.” She shook her head again. “[colour=#000080]Long day. Think I need some coffee.[/colour]” She yawned again, leaning against the fountain. “[colour=#000080]You wanna...[/colour]” she yawned again, resting her head on the stone wall for just a moment, “[colour=#000080]get some coffee?[/colour]”

“[colour=#000080]I like the onesh with mocha[/colour].”

And she was asleep, mouth hanging open and snoring like something between an angry bear and a lumberjack with a hacksaw.

Sapphire and as-yet-unnamed diva NPC will be in attendance!

Sapphire sighed with relief when she felt solid ground beneath her hooves. The crowd closed in around them, cheering and clapping their hooves. She beamed.

“Thank you kindly, Mr. Timbre,” she said, bowing and tipping her tiny hat at him.

"Per'aps climbing to zee top of zee, uh...flagpole, was not zee smartest of ideas.”

“Ahah, well, maybe not when I’ve been up so late, no.” She turned for a moment upon hearing the familiar clamor for autographs. “Just a sec!” She pulled a pen out of an inner jacket pocket, and started feeling around on the other side for the tiny pad she kept in case of autograph emergencies. “Alright, honeys, I can sign…” she pulled out her notebook, which was already missing half of its pages from similar encounters, “this, or anything else you got!”

She signed several pages in her little journal, a couple of articles of clothing, and one cutie mark (which was an awkward thing to do when you had to sign autographs with your mouth). She grinned, waving at her fans as they wandered off.

"Zat was very...impressive. Somes'ing used in your shows?

“Yeah! Haven’t done it since last tour, though. I might be a little rusty.” She yawned, feeling her legs quiver. “Or just tired. But I think I’m gonna be diplomatic and blame the flag pole for me getting stuck up there,” she laughed, sticking her tongue out at it.

She stretched, hoping to prevent some of the soreness she knew would be coming later. “Some ponies accuse me of being more about the show than the music. But the real secret is, all music’s a show. From a fancy orchestra to, well, me. My music’d sound about as right coming from a dressed-down pony in a bow-tie as a symphony would sound coming from an orchestra wearing sombreros and glitter.” She winked. “Which, coincidentally, was my outfit on the second leg of the Southern Strand tour last year.”

“I gotta say, though, you’d a pretty good hoof at keeping the crowd entertained. You do this kinda thing much?”

Crystal wasn’t entirely sure what happened. There was a yell, then something grabbed her leg, and she was lifted off the ground. There had been a moment of panic. Then the world started spinning and things got hazy.

Had her brain been used to being flung around like a rag doll, it might have occurred to her that she was being used as a bludgeon. As it was, however, all she could process was that the ground looked like a blur and she smelled of burnt fur.

When the grip on her leg released, she fell a couple of feet to the ground and staggered. She dropped the burning stick and blinked hard. The ground appeared to be perpetually lifting up from the right, yet somehow staying at the same level.

She felt the dried fruit from earlier shift uneasily in her stomach.

The world stopped moving quite so much, and she turned to see an unconscious Telki. Frantically, she looked around for coyotes. There were none. She felt safe to panic about the passed-out unicorn in front of her now.

“Hey. Hey! Are you okay?” She shook Telki’s shoulders. “Did they get you? Guys, did they get her? Does she have rabies?” She leaned in to listen for breathing, but the pounding in her hears was too loud to hear any. “I don’t know if she’s breathing! Should I give her mouth-to-mouth?! Wait, if I do that will I get rabies? Oh Celestia, but that's selfish. There's shots for that, right? Better than a dead unicorn!" She scrunched up her face, fully no idea of what she was doing, and leaned in.

Ahahaha. $130 later and my computer is a beast once more. I'm back!

Posting from my phone. My computer's video card is in its death throes and won't let me get much past boot. I'm aiming to either get it fixed or, more likely, fork out for a newer one in the next day or two, but in the meanwhile the only computer I have access to is my work computer. >.> As busy as work's been I doubt I'll have time for posting, so I'll probably be gone a couple days while I fix things.

((AAa okay, managed to get some internet connectivity, posting this while it lasts!))

Sapphire clung to the banner pole, still breathing rapidly. The warm fuzziness of the cider had been replaced with the tingling burn of adrenaline, but they both seemed to be wearing off. The ground wavered as she looked down, and she blinked hard to put it right. She was starting to ache.

Timbre was certainly a showpony, through and through. He knew what to say to get the crowd going, and that wasn't always an easy thing to do. She grinned at the crowd, hoping the layers of powder she was wearing were hiding the bags under her eyes.

“Are you stuck, Madame Shores? You 'ave waiting fans 'ere.”

“Nah, I've done this a thousand times --” she started, but realized her limbs were beginning to shake with the effort of holding on. Man, after a few minutes? I am tired.

The foreleg bearing the brunt of her weight slipped a little. She clung on, feeling a fresh sting of adrenaline.

She flattened her ears against her head, and tried to keep the worry out of her voice. She smiled. “Uh, actually, sweets, I wouldn't mind some help down...” She felt her back legs starting to slide down the banner. The smile disappeared as she grimaced. “Since you're so kind as to offer,” she added, quickly.

Ooh, so he was getting ponies to dance with him, too. Four of them, no less. How was she going to top that without her crew backing her up? She'd been spoiled by the likes of fireworks on stage and sparklers in her dress. There were times she wished she'd had unicorn magic; it'd make personal pyrotechnics a snap.

She had to make a decision; his verse was coming to an end, then she'd have to pick up the chorus without skipping a beat.

Then she saw the banner. It was hanging from a metal pole, and was almost short enough to be a flag -- shorter than she was used to, but it was long enough. It would be a risk; she hadn't done this since her last show, she wasn't familiar with the banner itself, and there was no safety net, but... Let it never be said Sapphire Shores shied away from something sensational simply because it was a little risky.

As Timbre finished the final strains of his verse, Sapphire leapt up the pole. Wrapping her legs around it, she only needed to push herself up a couple of times to reach the top. She stuck out a hind leg, wrapped the banner around it, and waited. It was only a few moments until her turn came.

As she took a deep breath for the first notes of the phrase, she swung herself out, supported only by the strength of her hind legs and the banner wrapped between them. “Tutti frutti, oh rutti, tutti frutti, hey! Oh rutti!” She arched her back so that she was still facing the crowd, crossed her front hooves in front of her chest, and closed her eyes as she sang. She tensed her stomach muscles and back muscles in turn to control the tempo of her swinging.

It was a good thing the chorus was easy to remember; concentrating on the movement was almost enough to make her forget the nonsense words.

“Tutti frutti, oohoh ruuutti!” She scrunched her nose; how the heck did the next bit go? There was no time to think; she tensed up as she prepared for her finish. “A-wop bop uh-bop bop,” she started a quick spin, doing a crunch to get her upper body back above her legs, “a-what? BAM BOOM" She grabbed the top of the pole to support herself, throwing out her other hoof with a flourish, and winked.

Unicorns may have had magic, but Sapphire had 30 hours of dance rehearsals every week.

((I figure, if P!nk can do it and still sound good on a trapeze... XD I wish that video still worked!))