Accellerant

I'm curious of your past experience with animating and the arts but I'm assuming that you have some experience since you're painting/crafting.

Moving along, I myself am not an animator but an enthusiast whom is looking into animation after I've tortured myself with redrawing a bunch of things a million times over. I can point you in the right direction and share what I do know but I can't help you any further from there. Now keep in mind that all these programs I'm about to suggest cost dosh so don't put down any cash unless you SERIOUSLY want to animate for a living.

There's currently three industry standards for animation, Toonboom, Adobe Flash, and Adobe After Effects. Toonboom is more towards traditional animation, it's strength is that it's oriented towards hand drawn frames in comparison to Flash and AE. Adobe Flash is more towards simplistic tweens, reusing goodies with ease via its library, and is great if you want viewers to interact with your flash. I view Flash as the middle ground between ToonBoom and AE, you can do traditional animation and rigging while having the option to add in interactive elements via Actionscript. Finally there's After Effects, I'm a bit hazy on this one but this is primarily specialized towards special effects and rigging models. If you know 2snacks he animates the "Two Best Sisters Play..." series with this as well as Two Best Friends animated content.

Because you want to have a 'true to show' style, you'll want to use Flash and/or After Effects. There's a million tutorials on the net for both programs so really all your resources are just a google search away. While After Effects isn't something I've really dabbled in I have toyed around with Flash. The two best resources I found is via Kirupa and Adam Philips Tutorials @ Bitey. Kirupa has a collection of tutorials which go in depth for most of Flash and how to properly utilize every bit you can. Adam Philips is an Ex-Disney animator so his recommendations in books and his tutorials should not be taken lightly! If you really want to animate look into finding the Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams.

There's my five cents, I bid you adieu.

P.S. If you seriously want to animate you need to at least know how to make a convincing bouncing ball. You'll see the "Bouncing Ball" tutorial over and over in your search I'm sure, it's VITAL that you do it and understand what it's trying to teach you. Learning what Key Frames, Timing, Pacing, etc. is and how to properly utilize them is quite important, don't skimp out on this tut!

Uff.. here is my new work.This time I've made some quality undersketch. Also video about measuring with pencil turned out helpful. (Also more dynamic pose of Applejack on this picture seems easier for me I guess).

Plus I have technical question - how do you, Accellerant make virtual copies of your works? Scanner, digital camera?

Sorry for the late response/update, life's being life ya know?

I use a digital camera but a scanner would be the best choice if I had one. For what we're doing I say use whatever you have on hand

A little tidbit on cameras and scanners.

At the end of the day I'd personally go straight for a scanner. The reason why is because images produced by a digital camera can be influenced by the environment in which the picture is taken. Subtle hints such as values and even detail work can be lost due to the camera not picking it up or the image may appear discolored or darker/lighter than what it actually is. It's also to be noted that most camera phones and digital cameras don't have great lenses which attributes to poor images. While a scanner is indeed the best way to bring your image to the digital medium it's best to hold off on purchasing a scanner until you KNOW it's something you want to do. I myself would have a scanner but I haven't had a real need or urge to use one because I use my tablet for digital works. There was a digital camera I used to snap images of my traditional works in the past but I still can't find the bloody thing! It's quite agitating because I want to share some of the previous sketches!

Anyway, here's an example I found via google to give you a good idea as to why a scanner is best for traditional works.

A world of difference if I do say so myself!

If you wish to read more on what's best I'd suggest visiting this article. Do note that it's a bit old but this is where I went when I first questioned "Camera VS Scanner."

Your proportions are definitely better than your first image, that I can tell you. While there are sections that are off such as AJ's rump, ears and right foreleg, it's quite a leap compared to your first drawing. You even took an extra step and not only anchored AJ down but even provided a background! What you've done with the right side of the apple is a good start on trying to emphasize texture and shape. I adore the addition of the speckles on the fruit as well, some parts of it actually look like an apple! The line which rides from AJ's belly to her rump gives great contrast between herself and the fruit, this helps AJ pop out more and appear in front of the apple instead of 'in' it. I don't see any signs of your rough, that's good! It takes practice getting used to drawing lightly for the undersketch/rough but by the looks of it you're not having any trouble with that. Y U MAKE ME JELLY?!

There's something that has been bugging me though with Applejack, it's difficult seeing parts of her and seems visually confusing. The poor mare, it's as though AJ is starting to fuse in certain areas or parts of her are being absorbed by the apple! What I'd suggest is emphasizing AJ's defining characteristics and of herself from the apple so that she 'pops out' to us, but how do we do this? It's simple, we use the power of contrast to help us! Contrast is, in scrunched form, the arrangement of opposing elements. It helps us recognize defining characteristics in whatever we're viewing at the time. A good example is her belly, the contour line has a darker value compared to the apple and her stomach. It's due to this contrast that it makes it easier to see her belly and takes away from the visual confusion.

Contour lines are a great way to help point out defining characteristics in a subject or drawing due to the nature of how big the contrast it brings by being a much darker value. But is there something we can do instead of adding contour lines to help add contrast? There is actually! Realistically, there's many ways to bring contrast to an image, this is simply one of them. The best thing to do is to add a larger contrast between AJ, her defining parts and the apple itself. If you look towards AJ's rear and parts of her tail you can see that the contrast between these two areas in comparison to her hair with the apple is very noticeable. So, building on this, you can simply make the apple's overall value darker, make AJ a lighter value or vice versa to help define the two objects from one another.

Lets use the following as an example.

Both images are exactly the same with the exception being that the right one has contrast for hair along with the legs 'beyond' Fluttershy. Of the two, which one does your eyes gravitate more towards? I'm willing to bet that your eyes like the right Fluttershy more so than the left one. The reason why is because the clear definition via contrast help our eyes quickly identify key parts of the figure and make the image overall more visually appealing. If we look at the left figure it puts a bit of strain more on our eyes but there's also one thing I want to point out. Lets pretend that we've NEVER seen Fluttershy before and we were provided the left image. We can tell everything apart until we get to her tail. If we take a look at the base of the tail we can't really tell how big it is. Is it thin or is it so thick that a portion of it is drooping between her legs? We wouldn't know until we were provided either a full colored image or the right image above.

You're doing good my friend, lets keep up the pace and keep practicing! Don't be afraid to ask questions or comment on how I've been 'critiquing' your images.

P.S. Some things may not make sense or were repeated several times over than need be due to me lacking sleep. If this is indeed the case I'll provide further an update and further explanation via a supplemental post.

Name: Fio Filigree

Age: Young Adult

Sex: Female

Species: Diamond Dog

Coat and mane/tail color: A chestnut red envelopes Fio's body with a white patch resembling a 'tuxedo' pattern lies from her chest up to her chin.

Coat and Tail style: While her appearance has never been a firsthand concern, Fio always does her best to keep her fur neatly trimmed and combed down. She's accompanied by a short bushy tail which reaches down to her lower thigh.

Accessories: Fio wears an olive green bandana around her neck with an achromatic gem resting just below it.

Job before he/she joined the Guild(if they had one): Blacksmith/Handyman

Desired field of training: Enchanting

History: Fio was born in the Diamond Dog settlement of the Painted Pinto Desert, between Talonpolis and Beak Break city. She lived a happy life with her parents, her mother was a jeweler while her father was a gem hunter. Initially, Fio was taught not only how to create basic jewelry but also how to find gems within the land. It wasn't until she witnessed blacksmiths hard at work did the Diamond Dog become curious about shaping molten steel. After sneaking out several times, getting caught by the smiths and having the opportunity to forge her own crude armlet, she had found a profession which truly spoke to her.

Many years had passed since that day and Fio lived the grand life of the blacksmith. She had everything a smithy would want: a plentiful selection of resources to choose from, great demand at her shoppe, assistants whom were more than willing to go the extra mile, and a seemingly never ending supply of gems. Even though the Diamond Dog was incredibly successful in her life, Fio was longing for something more. Time after time again she would hear stories outside of the great world outside of the 'little' settlement she lived in. From the grand spectacles of Canterlot to the wondrous lands of Unyasia, Fio found herself being consumed by wanderlust. After some thorough talks and receiving blessings form her parents, Fio departed the home that she had lived in for her whole life to explore the world. Months would pass before the Diamond Dog would ever hear about the organization known as the Hollowfell Guild.

After spending some time within Rockwington the Diamond Dog was told that bandits had been sighted outside of the town and that it was advised to leave with either a group or bodyguard. Fio didn't want to take any chances and decided that it was wise to head the warnings of the local guard. After waiting for some time she found herself invited to a caravan which had hired a group of bodyguards outside the town. As the caravan just fell out of sight of Rockwington, the group was ambushed. Before Fio knew what was going on she found herself knocked to the ground. As the Diamond Dog finally stood up to assess what was going on she found herself being charged at by a bandit. While she was barely able to trip her assailant, she was once more knocked back to the earth. As Fio was about to get up her eyes met with an outlaw armed with a dagger pointed at her. The Diamond Dogs heart stopped, she didn't know what to do nor what was going to happen to her. For the first time in her life, Fio felt incredibly vunlerable.

As the thief was about to take action a flurry of weapons striked the attacker, sending them flying away from Fio. As the scene finally registered with the Diamond Dog she saw a pony wizz past her. Fio quickly erected herself and scanned the chaotic scene for whom saved her. She finally found her savior brawling amongst the many bandits which were attacking them. As she continued to watch she witnessed in disbelief how the warrior was materializing a grand selection of weapons from the air itself. The battle itself, while seeming to go on forever, ended just as swiftly as the ambush had commenced. Fio was mesmerized by what she had witnessed but that feeling quickly dissolved when she came to a very blunt realization. In a situation such as this, she was completely useless and was a liability if she didn't stay out of the way. The possibility of this happening again also became very real to the dog and next time she'd most likely be alone. Fio came to the conclusion that if she were to continue exploring the land that she'll need to learn how to defend herself from the harshness of the world. The warrior whom had saved her exhuberated great skill, Fio had a new found resolution to her situation.

After inquiring with her fellow travelers, Fio was bestowed with much needed knowledge. The group whom had protected them was known as the Hollowfell Guild and the individual whom saved Fio was an Elementalist. Once finding out where the town of Hollowfell was located Fio departed immediately to her new destination. After many days of traversing the land of Equestria, the Diamond Dog finally found herself at Hollowfell. The town was bustling with action, more so than most towns that Fio had visited. It didn't take much for her to learn though that today was "Recruitment Day" for the guild and she made her way to where all the activity was pouring towards.

This, is the story of Fio Filigree - Elementalist of the Hollowfell Guild.

Within your link it mentions that the thread is closed, does that mean you're no longer accepting participants?

Still typing mah history out.

Why hello there Brodzio, before we get started let me first thank you for participating in this thread! It's a difficult thing to willingly share your art in an online environment due to how harsh other users can be. Not only that but you've mustered up the strength to overcome the one fear that many are often over encumbered with when drawing, applying pencil to paper. It may be silly when one hears that but I remember staring at a blank sheet of paper and just avoiding drawing ponies for many moons! Thanks again my friend, lets move onto the critique shall we?

First thing I want to mention about critiques is that you should try your best not to take it at face value and the following is probably the most important thing I can advise throughout this post along with future posts. DO NOT take any advice as 100% fact, even the advice I'm about to give you. Your critical thinking skills are the greatest tool you have as an artist. Use them, along with your resources, to help develop your skill to the level you want them to be. Learning any other major skill isn't something that happens overnight, don't get discouraged.

First thing I want to point out is that I love how you're experimenting with not only your line work but varying values between the images. While the portrait shot is a darker hue your second image is the reverse! The way you've shaded in Twilight's inner ear in the second image was done softly. This is a good thing to get used to if you want to add not only more values to your drawings but also a nice undersketch. You've also nailed the way Twilight's pupil/iris should be drawn. I had one hell of a time drawing that when I was just starting out so I have to say I'm quite surprised. You also remembered to give Twilight her eye lashes! It seems silly but I ALWAYS forget to add eye lashes to my ponies.

You're at a good start my friend, now lets see what we can improve on! This is the part where most users who seek advice/critique begin to cringe and pray that they won't be torn asunder. I promise you that what I'm going to say is not meant to be personal or mean spirited in any way shape or form. A critique is useless if it doesn't help point out flaws or areas which need improvement after all! Lets get underway shall we?

You already know about one glaring issue you wish to resolve, your proportions. Proportions have always been a difficult thing to tackle for artists, even those whom have been drawing for quite some time. Why is that? My hypothesis is because many do not know or have lacked being properly taught how to visually measure (Watch this Video!) Visual measuring is, in a nutshell, when you make visual comparisons between parts of the figure/object so you can accurately draw everything in correct proportion. My second theory is that one isn't aware of or takes the time to simplify their subject before beginning to draw. By simplifying your subject initially it'll make it MUCH easier to visually compare your proportions before putting in the fine details/linework. Many times I've been too cocky to do this simple step and find myself burning more time making adjustments and fixes. What this surmises is that more often than not, I never thought about making an undersketch before going to the fun bits early on. Be sure to slow down and critically think out your image!

Here's an example of what I mean. Keep in mind that this my own approach on drawing little equines. There's many other methods and ideas one can use instead of what I'm about to suggest so keep in mind this isn't the 100% guaranteed method that'll work.

I used a combination of primitive shapes with several lines for legs and an incredibly rough outline of Twilight. What's great about an undersketch is that due to it being so rough and light I can make adjustments to my proportions quickly and painlessly without having to worry about ruining something which I spent an incredible amount of time on. It's always better to plan thoroughly first before jumping straight in, a simple thing as this undersketch can save you from frustration and wasted time. Once you have an undersketch begin to compare parts of the body to one another, like how high/wide Twilight's eyes are in comparison to her head? How big are her ears to her eyes? How long/thick her legs should be in comparison to her head? Where do Twilight's muzzle and eyes line up with one another? etc. You'll begin to take note of little things like that, for example, Twilight's body is about 2 3/4 - 3 heads tall (using her head as a reference of course ), that her foreground leg is aligned with the corner of her mane, the ear is easily close to the size of her eyes, etc. It's really a process of asking yourself a bunch of questions and using your results to correctly make adjustments.

It'll take practice to do visual comparisons and drawing an undersketch but once you get used to doing these things you'll find yourself improving before ya know it! You may initially feel as though you need to get your 'undersketch' perfect before moving on to the line work and may spend minutes, possibly hours just trying to get that sucker correct. If you do feel this you need to try your best to break yourself out of feeling that and just letting go. Forget about perfecting the undersketch, it's meant to be rough and quick so don't stress over it. Let loose and just go for it!

Believe me when I say this, I know the pain you're going through right now (many do! Dx) but you're off to a great start! The beginning is always the most difficult but once you take off it's hard to come back down! If you have any questions or need further assistance please by all means ask Brodzio!

Would you be accepting Diamond Dogs into this RP, Derppy?

Also, would races which aren't naturally imbued with magic have the chance to choose magic based professions?

It's detective Pinky Pie cracking cases and solving mysteries!

3.9/5

Disclaimer:

Told you it'd be simple!

If you really want to get the most out of this thread than I'd highly suggest experimenting with your drawings. Don't be afraid to try out new poses, mediums or exp

ressions. A large part of learning how to draw is simply experimentation, try out whatever your heart desires! If you're having trouble learning how to approach your drawing you can check out EqD's Tutorial Codex as well as Reddit's MLP drawing School (Note: Contains NSFW content, tread lightly!) Don't be afraid to voice your questions, comments or suggestions, I'm more than willing to listen!

Note: I'll update this as needed, promise!

Update Log:

(9/15/13) Added a new section - "I've got the basic materials but I don't know where to start!" including a video on "Visual Measuring."

...Also, I am pretty sure that you can't really run a warframe dedicated server effectively, since it's an online-based game. Kind of like how you can't run a dedicated World of Tanks or Guild Wars 2 server.

You're right, I derped badly on that one, sorry.

As for the Three~Way tie, may I suggest starting off with TF2 to see how well it plays out? You could also rotate which game you'd make a dedicated server every X days or mark specific days of the week for each game.

Accellerant grabs mysterious soapbox and stands upon it.

I'm not much of a movie watcher but I found it enjoyable for what it was offering. It definitely felt rushed (especially that ending) but for the targeted audience it's forgivable, it was a wise choice to have it run for an hour plus twenty. I wasn't really thinking that I'd enjoy this flick but I was happy to find myself pleasantly surprised considering.

The overall design just seems lazily done. I know that from an animators standpoint that using the same stock body for key characters makes sense but because this is a movie I was sure as hell hoping they'd take the extra step and make multiple variants. I also was, how should I say this, put off by the fact that everyones skin color remains the same as their Equestria counterpart. It's as though Hasbro was worried that nobody would recognize any of the characters hair styles, voices or the blatantly huge cutie marks on their dresses/clothing. It also kills me how none of the main six wear pants or something other than boots, I mean c'mon. When it comes to having 'thin as rails' body types it's not great but is easily forgivable due to it being a cartoon. It's not like the many sources/examples of real individuals in their idealized forms via mags, images, shows and social medias.

Would I watch it again? Probably not, it's just not a memorable flick and I'd rather re-watch an episode from FiM.

Would I watch a sequel? Depends, but I don't think we'll ever see one considering how volatile the fandom was for this one :l

Accellerant steps off his soapbox and returns to his lurking duties.

I'll take the case! I made four six slight variants for you to toy around with and have included the original ref in case you wish for someone to make a vector in the future.

Original Concept:

There's some reasons as to why I added a leaf to your mark. The first is the design of the potion, the cork itself is quite small/deep in the bottle and requires a chain/string to help yank that sucker out. Having a random bit of chain/string just hanging there seemed a bit odd so I felt something needed to be added. I also did a bit of digging and found that in Aselia's bio it's mentioned that she has a large knowledge of herbs and plant life. So, I decided, why not put two together to help make it more personal than a bottle of liquid? None the less, that's why I also added the leafless versions, just in case it doesn't pique your interest.

I hope you like it and let me know if you need something edited!

I doubt that this'll be the final Saints Row game considering how positive the game's been received. While I've only played Saints Row III and IV I will say that it's only enjoyable when playing with a friend. I remember joking to my friend saying that they'd release an expac just so we could play with Saints Flow on 24/7 back in the Trouble With Clones DLC. Sadly though I can't help but feel as though that's exactly what Saints Row IV is, an expac of Saints Row III with a sixty dollar price tag.

To be honest I wouldn't mind if this was the finale of the series, it's not really a memorable game without a friend ya know?

Query: Have you ran a dedicated server before for these games? I assume you have but could you confirm?

Anyway, The safest bet would be TF2 because it's free. Terraria and L4D2 are definitely viable options due to how affordable these two have been in the past on Steam/GreenMan. One of the reasons why I'm against ARMA 2/Day Z because I have a feeling that'd be intense to run server wise. You may want to possibly think about Warframe due to it being primarily a P2P F2P game.

[colour=#a9a9a9]Our twitter account is on the front page of Canterlot.com. Please DM rather than simply 'mention'.[/colour]

Hate to admit it, but I forgot about the twitter option

Thanks for the update

I'm not sure, but is there something going on with the host servers? Because today seems to be the longest time Canterlot 503'd since I've been here.

Normally this usually wouldn't be something I'd ask about, servers need maintenance or sometimes the connection implodes, but today wasn't the first time I've ran into Canterlot not being available. I've ran into this error several times now over the past week and it seems as though when I do, Canterlot disappears for longer periods of time as it continues to 503.

I hope it's just me, but could I get some insight please?

"Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by.

If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them.

If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones."

- Marcus Aurelius

Oh, I'm giving my mum something VERY special this year.

Nothing says "I Love You Mum!" more than a good 'ol steel door!

.... and a box of chocolates

STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!

So, come back to the scene of the crime have we, Lt. Sparkle?

Fool! Your ice cream is proof enough that you killed this innocent individual lying before us!

What do you have to say in your defense?

Oh? You don't say... What a shame, they were a good.... uh. . .

PERSON! Yes, they were a good person, but they will never be forgotten, oh yes.

But who is this person my good chum? I've never seen them before in my entire life...

EVER ಠ_ಠ

A murderer you say? ಠ_ರೃ

Do tell us old bean, what supports such horrid accusations towards your fellow comrades here in this lovely room?

I usually stray away from Pay to Play Alphas/Betas because I usually gain little to nothing in the long run, the only exception being Minecraft. I mean heck, it had a demo, a nice discount AND a lot of my friends were playing it. THIS game, doesn't have any benefits or demo, the only perk being that you can play the alpha early... This seems like an under handing tactic to have players (in a sense) pay to test their game when in reality they should be paying dedicated testers to test out their game.

But honestly, I don't mind buggy games, I've accepted that all games will have some sort of collection of bugs. But what really turns me off to the idea of Pay to Play Alpha games is just for the fact that so much of the core concept can dramatically change as the game continues to be updated, sometimes to the point that the original vision can be lost along the journey. Of course game breaking/annoying bugs themselves can ruin a game, but those can be fixed in due time. Yet if I lose what originally interested me in the prospect of the game (especially after putting money down) I'll feel as though I was cheated or wasted my money as I would buying a digital hat in TF2.

Either way, I don't plan to purchase games that encourages the P2P Alpha model with a 10 ft. pole because i'd rather play a complete project instead of risking the possibility of playing the game 'twice.'

I just find that it's just not worth paying for an Alpha of a game and would rather wait for a finished project before purchase.

"Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor."

- Alexis Carrel

Welcome Windwaker, welcome to the dot com variant of Canterlot.

I see you have fine tastes in favorite ponies, Yesssss....

But of course who could blame us? Trixie IS the Greatest Pony in all of Equestria after all!

Enjoy your new home friend and again, welcome to Canterlot

Yes, because the thought of Flootershy as a Strawberry gave me a giggle!

Scanning all day as a job you say? That really doesn't sound that bad to be honest, and you're correct I haven't heard of Publix.

Who's the pony in your avatar and what does he do?

I wouldn't click this if I were you...

I'm Warning you!

GO BACK BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!!!

OH GODS, YOU CAN NO LONGER LOOK AT STRAWBERRIES THE SAME WAY AGAIN!

THE HORROR!

So then, you work at a grocery store eh? Mind if I ask which grocery store and what position you hold?

I myself am looking for a job in a local supermarket, anything's better than the current job I have (more retail.)