Kay Dreamer

@, @, @@AmberDust, "Jasmine?" Kay said, not recognising the word. Kay took a small sniff of the loose tea sitting in the teapot. It's scent was sweet and exotic and it triggered an old memory; a delegation of ponies from the Far East who had visited the Crystal Empire while Kay was still a young apprentice. They had bought bags of tea with them, among other gifts, and they shared it one evening with the minstrels who had entertained them through the day. They spoke little Equestrian, and the name for their tea was not something Kay could pronounce, but the tea silver spoon was offering smelled just like it. "Jasmine sounds delicious, thank you," she smiled. "I would love a cup." Kay Dreamer saw the pink filly toss a few bits into her coin chest as she was talking with Silver Spoon. She winked in a way of a thank you, not noticing immediately how much had gone in. It wasn't until a few seconds later, when she looked down at the chest, that she realised. 'Five gold bits!?!' Kay thought, her eyes wide. Not silver bits - gold. That was enough for more than a weeks worth of accommodation at the nicest inn in town, and more than enough to replenish the dwindling food supplies in her caravan. Losing the train of conversation completely, Kay excused herself and ducked over to where the filly sat, staring glumly out at the marketplace. Kay took a seat next to her. "Thank you very much for the bits. I'm so flattered you like my music so much," she said, quietly enough that the others shouldn't hear over the hubbub of the market. "It's Diamond Tiara, isn't it? Say, would you like to help me play the next song, after we've had our tea? I could use an extra hoof with some cymbals."

@@Joseph Stallion, I like the sound of the sample you uploaded. Swing me a copy of the lyrics and final instrumental version. I can't promise when I can actually get this recorded, but I have the equipment to do a decent job. This is OLD, but still a reasonably accurate example of me singing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dhAdTDuDy4

I think I did most of my growing last year, when I started my graduate diploma in teaching. I realised quickly that teaching was EXACTLY what I wanted to do and I excelled in that course, landing the highest grades I'd ever achieved in my many years at university. I was extremely proud of my dedication and drive throughout that year! This year I've moved out of home, I have a full time job teaching at a wonderful high school, and I'm trying to learn to be a real adult. I feel a bit overwhelmed this year, in all honesty. There's not much energy left for personal growth, but I think surviving will be an achievement in and of itself. Once I'm comfortable and secure in what I'm doing, there'll be room to strive for excellence again.

@@Aurelleah, That piano roll interface is extremely fascinating! In many ways, that's like a new form of music notation. It doesn't quite cover my need for a inclusive program which incorporates traditional notation, because I still need to teach the students how to read and write music on a western stave... But it seems a LOT more versatile than Garageband or Mixcraft are. Come to think of it, can you load an existing midi track into the program and change the instruments to those much nicer ones you used? Sibelius is a traditional music notation program with midi export capabilities. I could create a workflow from Sibelius through to FL Studio... Write a melody in Sibelius, export it as a midi track, and then arrange it using the far superior instrument library in FL!

@@Miles, I'm not 'advocating' people do anything. But a lot of people will lose resect for him over this, and I think that's fair enough. It's a natural consequence in response to what he did. He'll need to earn that respect back through legitimate hard work. I will say this in his defence; the apology he wrote is mature, contrite and it doesn't make excuses. That impressed me a fair bit, and if he proves his words are sincere, he'll earn back that lost respect. @, Selling a large volume of prints at cons does actually have an effect on the financial success of the other artists selling there. If everyone's giving their money to one guy, there's less to go around. If that one guy is getting all the attention because his artwork is phenomenal, that's fair enough. He obviously worked hard for it, and deserves the reward. But when that one guy is selling quickly traced work, that's just plain wrong. I know he is capable of drawing his own original work. I don't think his original art is particularly good, but it's certainly preferable to tracing. It's actually a fact that Hasbro (or at least their lawyers) feel more threatened by traces and show-accurate art than they do by the sale of more original art styles. The reason some of the biggest fan projects such as Button Mash and Fighting Is Magic were CMD'd was because Hasbro felt these projects were too accurate, too polished, and could therefore be mistaken for legitimate MLP spinoffs endorsed by Hasbro when they weren't. This threatened the integrity of their brand. By choosing to value show-accuracy over everything else, especially to the point of blatantly tracing work, artists like Drawponies actually threaten to draw the ire of Hasbro's lawyers and could, by association, threaten other fan artists with the same. Anyway, disregarding all the legal voodoo, he did was wrong. Whether you think it's being blown out of proportion or not, profiting off traced artwork is unethical and the repercussions he is facing now are a natural consequence of that dishonesty and laziness. Hell, he admits that in the apology he wrote on DA. That apology is a good step in the right direction toward fixing this, and I'll say it again; I was actually impressed with that. @@Aurelleah, Problem is, he basically was tracing a drawing line-by-line then filling it with colour. He'd add some sparkle to it, sure, but artistic terms it is very much considered theft. To further your analogy, drawing is assembling a variety of parts - colour, form, shade, line, etc - and assembling them on a canvas. 100% of what you use has been used before, but the art is in how you put them together. Tracing is like taking a popular song, changing some of the lyrics around and trying to claim you wrote it.

@@Aurelleah, Interesting! So the instruments are loop patterns, similar to Mixcraft or Garageband? Is there any way in which one can use a midi keyboard or notation software to input sound at all? (Sorry, I'm a music teacher. I'm on a bit of a hunt for the holy grail of music software. Ideally, I'm chasing something which can combine loops with limited traditional notation and the option to record digital input through a midi device. Basically, something which would appeal to every student of every ability level. So far, I haven't found it. xD)

@@Miles, By "lose his livelihood", I don't mean that Drawponies should be turfed out onto the street and made to beg for handouts. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But he made a substantial income from this. To be frank, he doesn't deserve that. If he needs to go back to a part time job to make ends meet while he rebuilds his reputation and fractured fan base to the point where he can once again make a living off original art, I think that's fair. I'm not saying he should never agin be able to make art his career, but he'll need to work hard to regain what he's lost. Yes, people deserve to be forgiven for their mistakes. But that doesn't mean one gets to dodge the consequences of one's decisions. Bad consequences are a natural result of bad choices. For Drawponies, the loss of his fan base and some income from his art is a natural (and probably unavoidable) consequence for choosing to trace his art. I certainly advocate forgiveness, but it will take a while for him to earn back the respect he's lost today.

@@Aurelleah, It certainly has a very 'grand epic' vibe to it, and I love the percussion you've chosen! To me, it paints a picture of the Mane 6 embarking on some great adventure. The driving strings and almost ethereal flute also help. What program did you use, if you don't mind my asking?

@@Lil'Cinnamon, @, @@Miles, The real issue isn't that he traced his art. I have no respect for people who trace, it's absolutely useless as a method for improvement, but it harms no one when done for personal use. However, the line is crossed when you start making money off your traced works. This guy took his traced art to conventions and sold it there. He's traced art and profited from it. That is unethical and dishonest. His ill-gained popularity also drew customers away from artists who were doing the right thing and creating original work, siphoning profits which might have otherwise gone to people with genuine talent. It is true that all fan artists who sell their work exist in a legal grey area. We know that. Most companies turn a blind eye because the growth of a fandom depends on fans generating creative media, and a big fandom will spill money into official merchandise. (In short; our existence boost the value of that company's IP. That is true of fans who create art, host fan sites, make plushies, make videos, write songs and write fan fiction. By saturating popular culture with all things MLP, we help Hasbro make more money!) However, we artists maintain standards among ourselves. One standard is that artwork is expected to be original, and created entirely by the artist selling it. Directly copying show assets line-for-line and selling these slides outside of that grey area we exist in. We are tolerated by companies like Hasbro because we adapt existing IP into original work with it's own artistic merit, in such a way that doesn't diminish the company's profits. Making a quick buck by tracing elements directly from screencaps has no intrinsic artistic value whatsoever, and being traced from a screenshot out of the actual show places it on morally dubious ground. The 'art' wasn't drawn by him; it was drawn by the animators on the show. Why should he profit at all? Fan artists put their metaphorical blood, sweat and tears into creating original work. These things take hours. Creating art is not fast, nor is it easy. So for someone to claim cheap traces as original creations and profit from them spits in the face of legitimate artists. (For the record, I don't particularly care for art which resembles the style of the show to the point where it's basically indistinguishable. Part of the point of fan art, in my eyes, it that it's supposed to offer a unique interpretation of a character which wouldn't exist otherwise.) While I think it's wrong that people are harassing and tormenting Drawponies to the extent that they are, what he has done is wrong and he certainly deserves to lose his fanbase and livelihood for it. It's a hard lesson for him to learn, but perhaps in the future he will come to appreciate the value of hard and honest work.

@@Eloquence, @@AmberDust, @@Love, @@Kulstor, As Kay Dreamer continued playing, she couldn't help but smile at a little white filly who had appeared out of nowhere and was staring at her in awe. The filly didn't seem to notice that she was losing pieces of a big sweet cake-like thing; Kay deftly levitated a crystal berry before it hit the ground, placing it back atop the pile of whipped cream with a wink. Kay was just finishing the final few bars of her song when she caught the hushed comment of the brown stallion as he walked by. She caught his eye and smiled as he dropped her a gold bit, though as she played the last note a startling realisation hit her. 'I... I think I recognise him,' she thought. 'That's IMPOSSIBLE.' She almost dropped her lute in surprise, twisting around to see where he went. It seemed like an overreaction, but Kay swore she had seen him before; it was at the last Royal Ball the two sisters had held before the fall of the Crystal Empire. The one where some prankster had enchanted strange metal ponies to frighten everyone. Or was it at the first Summer Sun Celebration she had attended in Equestria after becoming a royal minstrel? In any case, it was over one thousand years ago. The stallion had vanished into the crowd leaving Kay sitting in shock, her mouth hanging open most inelegantly. Kay snapped back to reality as she heard voices in front of her. She shook her head slightly to clear it. The stallion must have been a distant relation to the one she recognised. Of course, that had to be it. Kay looked back at the white filly she had been playing to, only to find her being chastised by a pair of mares; possibly for having disappeared to watch Kay play. They were quickly joined by a third, who seemed surprised that the filly was even at the Crystal Faire. Feeling slightly guilty for getting this 'Sweetie Belle' in trouble, Kay took a few steps forward, putting a light hoof on the filly's shoulder. "There's no need to worry," she said brightly. "She was right here in front of me the whole time; weren't you?" she said to Sweetie Belle. "The Crystal Faire is a place of harmony. She would never come to any harm here." Kay hoped that was enough to help get Sweetie Belle out of trouble. Looking at the three mares before her, she was surprised to recognise one of them. "Amber Dust?" she said, hoping she'd remembered the right name.

@@AmberDust, I'm going to assume that this RP takes place after the Silver Spoon's Tea Shop one, so Kay will recognise Amber. I'll try to keep it as vague as I can, since we have no idea what they may or may not talk about in the Silver Spoon RP.

@@AmberDust, @, @, Kay smiled graciously at Silver Spoon's compliment. "Thank you! I'm glad to be of service. Though I'm sure the beautiful scent of your teas are drawing just as many customers," she said with a wink. "I'd certainly love some tea, thank you very much! Music is thirsty work. I don't suppose you have anything with jasmine or lavender?" Kay was quite mesmerised with watching the little filly work. From the smell of the teas she was brewing, it was obvious her cutie mark was well-earned. She was so confident and elegant with the way she handled the delicate tea ware. Kay thought it was quite curious to see earth ponies with such poise as the two young fillies beside her; in her time, the aristocracy were almost exclusively unicorns. Kay had never much cared for such social pretence, so, while surprised, it pleased her to see that different types of ponies were far more equal now. Kay's wandering thoughts snapped back as she heard something clink in her coin chest. Looking up, she caught the eye of the other green unicorn. "Ah, thank you!" she said happily. "You said your name was Amber Dust? I'm Kay Dreamer, pleased to meet you. I'm glad you like my music. I'll happily play a request if you have one that I know; after we finish our tea, of course."

@@AmberDust, @, @, Kay Dreamer smiled to herself as her keen ears overheard Diamond Tiara's whispered remark. She chose not to say anything though, unsure if it was wise to compromise the little filly's aloof persona just yet. 'Perhaps she's noble born...' Kay thought to herself, noting the crown. The common youngsters in her time were never this guarded. Kay was curious, though a good minstrel knows when to ask questions, and when to simply observe. "I hope you enjoyed it," she said simply. "Perhaps an instrumental piece would be to your taste next?" Kay began choosing her instruments, levitating a small triangle, a tiny silver flute and a larger wooden flute behind her. As she did, she smiled at the newest patron to approach the trolley; a green mare with a braided blue mane. "I'm certainly tempted to try some of her tea as well," Kay said to the stranger. "It smells divine! But first..." Still holding the lute in her hooves, Kay began plucking a scale which rose and fell, repeating again and again, cascading across the instrument like a trickling brook. The triangle chimed intermittently, like the splash of water against a pebble. After a while, Kay bought in the flutes; first the silver one, sparkling like the sun on the surface of the water. Next came the low flute, it's deeper wooden tones offering an undercurrent as the silver flute played the main theme of the piece, sweet and smooth. All the while, Kay's mind was consumed with the picture of the river, as it flowed from tiny brook to wide, slow stream. She'd have preferred a wider variety of instruments for this piece; perhaps a deeper drum, even a cello to herald the river opening to the ocean. But she had neither with her, and so she repeated the river theme twice before improvising an ending, setting down each instrument one by one until all that was left was the lute, playing the trickling brook once more until it all ended with a high 'plink' and a chime of the triangle.

@@AmberDust, I don't think so, they have their little trolley set up in the marketplace, and Kay is standing nearby singing for them. I'll wait for you to amend your post before I carry on with my own.

Kay Dreamer looked around her as she finished her song, her hooves lightly plucking random strings on her lute in pleasant patterns. Her music was having the desired effect; ponies were starting to flock toward the food stalls, and her little treasure chest was already lined with bits. Levitating a small drum behind her, she beat a quick tattoo before launching into another song, this one about sparkling bubble-juices, the kind that go up ones nose and make one sneeze. For the chorus section she added a shimmering descant from a tiny metal flute she’d purchased only recently. It had a bright, happy tone which cut clear across the babble of the crowds, floating through the air to distant ears. Kay glanced into her treasure chest as she sang, noticing she had more than enough bits now for lunch, dinner, more lunch, and perhaps even a few games! There were more than a few attractions she’d certainly never seen in her time, and plenty of delicious looking foods, both familiar and exotic. Kay was curious to try it all, and to enjoy this 'new' Crystal Faire as much as she possibly could. ‘Just a song or two more,’ she thought, ‘and I’ll go explore the faire!’