Blique

Go for it! Make sure to at least do the homework that counts. Though, if it's high school, I personally don't think anything there counts. Finals just (mostly) ended over on my end, so I'm going on a pony drawing streak for the next many weeks.

@@repsol rave, @websterhamster, , @AgileFawkes, , , @Techite Sparkle, @Rough Pathway, and the following two: Good question. It would be dependent on score. For example, if first place had 70k and second place had 68k, they'd get about the same quality commission. I'm tentatively going by about 2.5k grains = $1, so 70k grains would equal about $30. 20k grains is about $10. Ehhh, already? I thought it would take longer. Maybe I should've set it at 150k. If we could make it to 150k, I'd give every participant a complimentary sketch. Might not finish them all by Christmas, but New Years probably.

@, @repsol rave, @websterhamster, , @The Pulse, @AgileFawkes, , , @Techite Sparkle, @Rough Pathway, and whoever Chigens is: It has been a full 6 days and 19 hours! By the schedule, the challenge should end in 5 hours, but... Since I forgot to remind everyone it ends at 11:59:59 on the 13th, plus New Years round likely won't be happening due to a lack of players, plus I wanna see us hit that 100k mark, the challenge has been extended to 11:59:59 PM of the 14th! And that's not all! We're currently still borderline on the 2nd and 3rd place requirements, so here's the deal: if we reach 111,110 grains of rice by the end of the deadline, 2nd and 3rd places will get prizes! Give it your all to try and take one of those top three spots for yourself! Good luck!

Interesting thing to note, that's the same words they use here. Do so few people here understand the lesson in One Bad Apple? It does not matter if you think someone "deserves it", if you are judging someone, calling him names and badmouthing him, you are a bully. If Justin went and told that girl that she should just go die, most people here would rise up in disgust over how horrible he is. You think that it is "justified" to call what you view as a douchebag a douchbag? He is the exact same. He thinks it is justified to call what he views as a fat girl a fat girl. If you have a problem with that, then please look at yourself and make sure you aren't acting just like him.

I have a lot of concepts, so I can relate to your troubles. To turn them into stories, I start by fleshing out the characters, making sure they're not Mary Sues, making them deep and interesting. Next, for the setting, I do trial and error by throwing out ideas and seeing if they have interesting chemistry with the characters. Same goes with the plot - imagine you have a giant snow-less snow globe containing your characters and setting, and you're bored. What events can you throw at them to make things interesting? But most important of all is that one thread that keeps everything connected - your theme. Ideally, every sentence in your story should relate to your theme. I think of themes as "objective statements", and can be stuff like "revenge is a never-ending cycle of hatred", "ignorance leads to fear and hatred", and "the truth is not always the best answer". Every character, action, and event in your story should be dedicated to expressing the message that you choose. Now then, if your main problem is coming up with ideas, I recommend carrying around a little notebook or piece of paper. Every time you think of something interesting, write it down (you'd be amazed at how fast you can forget things). I can get as many as a few dozen ideas written down a day, from character design to intriguing plot concepts. When I have characters and no setting, I look at my list and see if they fit into any. Similarly, if I have an interesting plot, I can look for any characters that might fit into it. As for getting ideas to put on that list, it's just a change in mindset. Be on the alert throughout the day for anything you can use. Read good stories, read good story synopses! You'll find stuff if you look for it. If you're having trouble starting your story, just lay out a basic plot. Look at a part of the story and ask, "Is this boring? Does it tie in well with the rest? How can I make this fun to read? What if I make this part serious? Funny? Insightful? What can I do to make this better?" Just play around with ideas until you get one you like the most. One of my stories started as a single scene and three vague characters. The setting, events and plot were literally barren when I first started, and now, the characters have changed, the events have changed, the setting has changed, the theme has changed...It's completely different from my first plan, and I like it so much better. TLDR; start it out basic, then refine it to become better and better. Just make sure to start it.

I wouldn't complain about those traits under a music industry category...Look no farther than a high school, and most of the kids there have all those traits. He's only 19...I know a bunch of 19-year-olds - even those in their 20s - just like him, whether it's in the art field or medical field. The only difference is that he's getting the media following his life. Since the media won't leave us alone about him (and note, this is because we love talking about him), I just hope he'll mellow out as he grows up. I quite sanely would not join...I always say, those people who post on every Youtube video, "I hate Justin Bieber, this song is way better!" are the most obsessed with Bieber of all. I'm not a Bieber fan, but the haters annoy me far more than the guy they keep rattling on about.

I only know of HetaOni, which is based loosely off of it. And it is, no exaggeration, my favorite story of all time. "Ao" is "blue", by the way. Even though he does looks kinda purple. Well, that's all I can contribute.

Rough Pathway has overtaken Shaymin for second place, but The Pulse is still going strong in first place! The donated rice is going up to impressive amounts! Hurrah for all the newly joined players! I did some calculating, and apparently, if you answer at a rate of two seconds per question, you can get all the way to first place in just over two hours. Math is a strange thing. Maybe I should try... Anyway, I set up a poll for New Years round! Vote if you want it, vote if you don't! If we get five people interested, we will sally forth. See the poll for details. The winner of this current round will be allowed to play in the next round, but if he/she wins again, only a sketch will be awarded, and the main prize will go to second place.

Are you on winter break already? I'm swamped in finals this week...I need more free time to play. Excluding me and one other person who hasn't played yet, there are only 6 actual players in the challenge, so it's just above the bare minimum. If we get 10 actual players, I'll add a 2nd place, and 15 players will have a 3rd place. So when you want a break from playing, you could always try recruiting. Fun fact: we actually had 10 people post here that they were interested. Alert to , @repsol rave, @websterhamster, , @The Pulse, @AgileFawkes, , , @Techite Sparkle and @Rough Pathway! If every last one of you joins in and plays, a second place prize will appear~

It's currently evening of day two, and an amazing cumulative score has already started building up! In the lead is The Pulse, at almost 30k! Second place is Shaymin, at over 10k, and coming up close in third is Rough Pathway at almost 9k! It's only day two, everyone - plenty of time for a turnaround! Work hard and keep on your toes! And remember, newcomers are always welcome! Come join in and start playing!

That's probably the problem. He needs to mature a bit if he's judging people older than him like he knows better. As posted before, C.S. Lewis says it well. The fear of childishness is a childish thing itself. As Picasso puts it, a bit more abstractly, "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." (Anyway, if you want to do something to secretly get back at him, try describing awesome/funny things about MLP, but without telling him it's MLP or a kids cartoon. Turn all the characters into live action humans and put them in a dangerous fantasy setting or something. Worked for me.)

MS Paint is always an option though, unless you have a Mac maybe. I found this tutorial back when I was a wee artist, and that's how I did all my art: http://yuliya.deviantart.com/art/Microsoft-Paint-Tutorial-19775603 Not that I think everyone should go hone their MS Paint skills to make ponies; just throwing it out there for anyone interested in free art programs that work well. Pixel artwork has a special place in my heart~

You sound like a really good voice actor. I've critiqued far too many voices to know that's hard to come by... You could try reading some transcripts and then comparing it to the originals. I always find that fun... If you want something other than MLP for that, "Welcome to Nightvale" is great. The sort of tone of voice it requires is very fun. Transcripts: http://cecilspeaks.tumblr.com/post/56680281610/episode-1-pilot Original voice acting: http://podbay.fm/show/536258179 "The City Council announces the opening of a new Dog Park at the corner of Earl and Somerset, near the Ralph’s. They would like to remind everyone that dogs are not allowed in the Dog Park. People are not allowed in the Dog Park. It is possible you will see Hooded Figures in the Dog Park. Do not approach them. Do not approach the Dog Park. The fence is electrified and highly dangerous. Try not to look at the Dog Park, and especially do not look for any period of time at the Hooded Figures. The Dog Park will not harm you."

Come join, come join! All are welcome.

@, @repsol rave, @websterhamster, , @The Pulse, @AgileFawkes, , , and @Techite Sparkle: Let the challenge begin! Make sure to click the "Play" button on the group page so your score adds to the group! Meanwhile, it's 1 AM over here...Finals are rough. *study*

@, @repsol rave, @websterhamster, , @The Pulse, @AgileFawkes, , , and @Techite Sparkle: http://freerice.com/content-group/mlp-freerice-challenge The group is up! Once you join the group, please do not play until the challenge starts, at midnight. We will be going by Central Standard Time, so that's 4 hours and 18 minutes from now. Here's a clock for reference: http://www.thetimenow.com/cst/central_standard_time Get ready!

I just realized I got 24 and 25 mixed up once again. Happens every year! The prize will be awarded on Christmas, not Christmas Eve. *edits post* You shall be with us in spirit! I need to make a habit of using it more - I can't believe they have such a nice human anatomy section! I should've used it before taking my anatomy classes, rather than regretting it now, during finals week. Ah, yes! I should've mentioned that in the first post...The site's pretty straightforward in making accounts, so it shouldn't be too much trouble. *edits first post*

Mooore ponies! The second image is for this thread. Come join, earn some rice, and win free art!

The legs. In particular, the legs in regards to perspective...I'm rather bad at perspective in general. *puts on to-practice list*

Wow, so many people already! The five person minimum is met, so the Freerice Challenge will be properly starting on the 7th! And just so you know, anyone is free to join any time from now to the end of the challenge (12/14/13). The plan is that you can join the group starting on the 6th, then start playing on the 7th. I'll mention everyone participating so you all know of any important announcements. Thank you all for your interest! I hope everyone has fun!