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AmberDust

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Posts posted by AmberDust

    ♦ Amber's Guide to Finding your Cutie Mark ♦

    in Original Character Help

    On 2/26/2020 at 5:12 PM, Kayotime said:

    IMG_20200226_170855804.jpgBoop! Two years later, here comes another new post!

     

    I just recently came up with the design for my MLP OC, Azure Rose, and just finished the first concept drawing today as a matter of fact. I had a design in mind for her cutie mark, but my friend pointed out that the same exact design was already taken by a canon pony (Flutterheart) so I had to rework it.

    Azure Rose is a Pegasus mare who always has her head in the clouds. She's ditzy, absent-minded and forgetful, but also very kind and friendly towards everyone. Her current cutie mark design is a heart with simple wings above two clouds. It's easy enough to fit into her flank, and I've managed to do so on the drawing. It represents how even though her mind is always fluffy and clouded with her own thoughts, her kindness and generosity rises out of that muddle to help her friends when they need it most. I was just wondering if this was a good/realistic design for her cutie mark. I know you said that it doesn't have to do with talent (and it doesn't in this case), but I'm still having a hard time thinking of an important event in her life that could have given her this mark. On top of that, I'm not entirely sure what I want her color scheme to be. I was thinking a light shade of blue and pink would work, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this first, OP. I'll post a photo of the drawing and a close-up of her cutie mark for ya!IMG_20200226_170859918.jpg

    I think this is a lovely design! The symbolism is real cute and simple, too.

    The colours will be easier to decide if you have a colour scheme already set for the rest of her. Soft blues, pink, and yellow would be pleasant.

     

    As for how she got it, I don't think the event in question has to be too dramatic. It could just be a sweet instance of her putting aside her own daydreams and helping a friend. :) Or maybe including someone into her imaginary game who was all alone previously.

    ♦ Amber's Guide to Finding your Cutie Mark ♦

    in Original Character Help

    · Edited by AmberDust

    On 9/20/2018 at 2:59 PM, Jeric said:

    As a general guide this can be kept up and it's perfectly fine if someone wants to take over this sort of thing in the absence of the active OP. :)

     

    Did somebody say "active OP"?

    On 9/19/2018 at 10:41 AM, Snow Walnut said:

    i'm kinda having trouble thinking of a cutie mark that would suit my flora

     

    1121109152_mlp_base__adorable_by_frozengembases-d6yaopf.png.6d8b3fc9d1f47aca84ef5bad0f0d8cbc.png

    How can I help you? :) 

    Offering OC help!

    in Original Character Help

     

    Usually I'm really a stickler when it comes to keeping things canonical, and I even stated at the beginning of my thread that I judge characters based on how they fit in Equestria...but this guy's backstory is just...it made me laugh. I thought it was hilarious, especially with a name like "Mcguffin".  :umad:  :toldya:  I see what u did there.

    I like how you didn't make him OP with his sword or anything, and how he's just a simple earth pony who's incredibly, incredibly out of his bounds. :lol:  It's not often I see a comedic character...most are more leaning towards tragic/heroic, so this was honestly refreshing. Plus, he has a goal!

    He's a silly, silly character, and there's not much to him to review or critique, but I like him so far. If you do plan on using him in roleplay, you might want to keep developing his personality a little further. And keep him simple!

     

    Though, fair warning, some DMs might not approve of an extradimensional being, even one as simple as Mike here. Do you think he'll try to blend in with the natives? Take on a pony name, like..uh...*gazes past you* ....Green... *looks over shoulder*...Door? 

     

     

     

     

     

     

    is this you?

    Dave-The-Barbarian-Creates-a-Megaphone-W

     

    • Brohoof 1

    My Little Pony: The Game

    in Pony Games, Apps, and Dev Projects

     

     

    Thank you! It all depends on you! ^^ If you would like to help, then there are maaaany ways to do so, dependable on what you'd like to help with.  The biggest problem for me will be graphics, because I'm not hiding, that there is tons of work to do there, but even discussing ideas is a great help. Sound effects also would be great, because I'm only capable of making 8-bit sounds, which will not have any use in this game.   When I'll be working on mechanics, then giving me suggestions and discussing ideas to make it as nice as possible will be a great help.   I'll open recruitment for 'game-mechanic consultants' once I'll get back to this project and get few basic things done, because at the moment it would be awkward to receive help, while not being able to do anything myself. Though I'm always open for ponies wanting to be a part, so if you'd like to offer your helpful hoof, then go ahead and notify me!    I think I'll be able to get back to the game in a month or two as I still have many requests to do, but I'll be trying to do my best to make it quicker. 

     

    Graphics? Like...art? Or animations?

    I do vector art, if you need anything. :o I suppose there's already a lot out there.... 

    • Brohoof 2

    Offering OC help!

    in Original Character Help

    · Edited by AmberDust

    Hello.

     

    I was wondering if you could look at my OC, and tell me if there is any way to improve him.

     

    His name is Regal Shadow. (I made these images on Ponyscape.)

     

    attachicon.gifRegal Shadow cool pose.png

     

    Here is his cutie-mark:

     

    attachicon.gifRegal's cutie-mark copy.png

     

    Here is his backstory that I wrote:

     

    https://mlpforums.com/topic/162535-regal-shadows-backstory-improved/

     

    Also, do you have any tips for using Ponyscape? You know, to make my vector art look better.

     

    (One last question. Can I use your picture of the pony dressed like Discord as a base. I would love to make a picture like that!)

     

    Thanks! Regal Shadow

     

    I'm just gonna start with some vector tips.

     

    I used Ponyscape just once, I think, then switched back to Inkscape (the program its based on). I don't remember the differences between them...so i'm just going to assume they're pretty well the same. ^^' Bear with me.

    Anyways, this vector is really good! Honestly you seem to know full well what you're doing, but since you asked, I shall nitpick...Just regarding some bits than can be polished that I usually wouldn't even notice unless It was a commission. :P

    There's a bit in the mane that I circled in red--it might look better it this point was a sharp, corner node rather than a smooth round one, just to be consistent with the rest of the mane.

    In the wings, I circled one node in purple. This sharp one--I think all the others (circled in green) should be sharp like that, which can be attained by increasing the miter limit (if you're using Square corners). The default is 4, but I like to set it to 8 so I can get nice pointy corners. :) Of course, powerstroke may mess with that... recently, for paths with pointed ends, I've been converting stroke to path (ctrl-alt-c) and manually pointing the ends and corners. ^^

    For the tail, I think that grey line should be moved to where I put the yellow line, so it makes it look like the middle portion overlaps the upper portion, like what you did with the lowest portion overlapping the middle portion. Also the bottom bit I circled could be smoothed out a bit. It might look better if you divided it into three separate shapes. I like the cutie mark, it looks pretty and clever, but most cutie marks are more simple in design since you generally see them from far off and don't want all the details to be distracting or out of place. Also, they typically don't have outlines. I edited it a bit, if you'd like to see what I mean. Anyways, enough nitpicking. Onto the reason you came here!

     

     

     

     

    So, your main concern was with the backstory, right? I notice your character is an Alicorn. Now, I don't have anything against alicorn OCs in theory, and I've made a few of my own, but I'm just going to remind you of the basis on which I critique:

     

     

    I'll be critiquing your OC's under the assumption that you want them to be able to fit into the realm of canon.

     

    ...meaning, I'm going to treat this character as if he was actually in the setting of the show...so now that that's out of the way, let's get started!

     

     

     

     

    Usually when I look at OCs, I like to see a description of their personalities and a sort of...summary of their backstories, rather than a full-on story, so I can just focus on the content rather than the style...Welp, here goes anyways!

    I'm curious--how old is Regal at the beginning of this story? CMC age? I like how Regal didn't realize his own potential when his father did, and had to discover it in a moment of heroic necessity. The whole "chemical factory explosion" thing seems a bit ill-suited for the MLP universe, and the fact that there was another colt in the building seems kind of strange, too...so maybe this scenario can be replaced by something similar, but a bit more pony-esque? (A chemical factory doesn't seem like a place that blue pegasus would be allowed to be--and it doesn't seem like the place to test a portal machine, either. Also, they wouldn't have waited up until their meeting to test the machine for the first time, especially in such a volatile building. I think all of this could have happened at a magic University, instead? Maybe?)

    Anyways, young regal has a pretty cute "look-I'm-a-hero" personality, when he's talking to Cyber, and I'd like to learn more. :) It's also cute how they basically became brothers--I don't typically like tragic backstories, so this kind of balances it out.

     

    Now here's where things get a little dicey...

    A young colt...shouldn't be able to make a flying suit like he did. He simply wouldn't have the money, resources, or knowledge too, nevermind the fact that his adopted parents would probably go nuts if they saw the dangerous things he was working with--especially after the explosion that almost killed them all. Even more, Equestria doesn't really have any technology more advanced than the steam engine--and even that relies on magic, something a Pegasus couldn't work with. This kind of ruins the rest of the story, I know...

     

    I like the confrontation he has with his bully even though ponies don't have knuckles. It's a bit odd that H.E. didn't accept help even when he was literally being sucked into a black hole that he was trying to run away from moments before. I mean, that's a lot of pride. ^^'

    Also, where did this crowd come from? I thought they were in the outskirts of town. And what does Regal's cutie mark actually symbolize, considering what he was doing the moment he got it? It suits his name, sure, but doesn't seem to suit his actions.

    Also, if he didn't want to take credit for his heroics, why did he meet Twilight in-costume? And how much older is he than the mane-six, seeing as he was Rainbow's Foal-sitter? Why was he, a magic user, able to fix the flying suit, which was electrical?

     

    After this, I'm sorry to say that the story just gets out of control. Including all the mane six, all the princesses, Shining Armour, The elements of Harmony, Discord, and an additional super powerful extradimensional supervillain type of character with very convenient powers and limitations is just...too much, I think. And Regal himself is twiddling his thumbs while all this is happening...why does Servitor want Regal's powers, anyways, when he's already captured all the Princesses? Why was he able to control the very powerful Discord, but not Celestia, Luna, and Cadence? Why is Servitor, who stole the power of all these other ponies, mane six included, not able to defeat Regal? Why is Celestia able to turn Regal into an Alicorn from inside her cage, and if she can still use magic, what's stopping her from escaping? Why did Cyber help Servitor in the first place?

    So much of what's going on just doesn't make sense. It's all very exciting and dramatic, and the ending is sweet and triumphant, but, still, much of it doesn't make sense and is a little too reliant on convenient happenings and oversights regarding the limitations of the mlp world.

     

    You really don't need any of this to create an interesting character, and I think it's working against you rather than for you. Your character can be interesting and, if you want, powerful, without all this craziness involving all the mane six. Your character, I think, should be able to stand alone without relying on the main/canon characters this much.

     

    At times like this I think it's good to look at the show. If you want to make an Alicorn character, look at other Alicorns. Cadence earned her horn by selflessly helping reform a villain with the power of love. Twilight earned her wings after creating magic to help her friends. It doesn't need to be complicated, and often it's more believable if it isn't. Including different dimensions and relying on technological McGuffins to initiate the story just doesn't work in this setting, and feels very out of place.

     

    I'd like to help you work on this character more via PM, if you'll accept my criticism. Maybe we can work out some changes together? I like Regal's personality, and his design, but I think his story needs to fit the world a bit better. 

     

     

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    Ask me, AmberDust!

    in Ask a Pony

    Is the world nothing more than a chunk of earth drifting aimlessly through the solar system, heading to its inevitable demise at the hands of the Sun?

     

    Excellent question! The world is actually a flat disk riding on the backs of four elephants who are in turn riding on the back of a giant turtle a big chunk of many, many different things! Dirt, rocks, water, gasses, life of all sorts (and really I mean all sorts)! I wouldn't say it's drifting so much as orbiting, or perhaps pacing about the solar system, and I believe we've been on rather friendly terms with the sun ever since that whole Primordial Soup business. It's really a nice system, when you think about it.

    Same here. I mean, it is so much easier to protect yourself form coldness than from hot weather, or? 

    How hot can the summer be in your region?

    Do you usually have often snow in winter?

     

    Where my home is, not where I'm schooling, the summers get fairly warm. High twenties, or low thirties, on rare occasions. Nothing crazy. Winters, on the other hand, are very very cold and snowy. Usually -20 to -30....once we had a day a couple years ago where it was -52! It was warmer on Mars!

    (This is all in degrees Celcius, by the way.)

    Ask me, AmberDust!

    in Ask a Pony

    When I could give some of my snow (I have enough snow since two weeks here) to you, would you take snow from me?

    Warm or cold weather, what do you like more and why?

    I will gladly take your snow!

     

    I can't handle overly warm weather, plus I don't have an air conditioner, so I prefer dealing with cold weather.

    • Brohoof 1

    Ask me, AmberDust!

    in Ask a Pony

     

    Hi there, how are you?

    How is the weather in your region?

    Which song is your current favorite?

     

    I'm good! Tired, and lazy, but good.

    I'm disappointed to say that this winter has been basically snowless where I am. I bet it's much snowier back home...:(

    My favourite song? Hm. I've had "you're welcome" from Moana stuck in my head, but I wouldn't say it's my favourite. There are just too many to choose from, and of course it depends on my mood.

    Community Roleplay Idea Suggestion Thread

    in Everfree Planning, OOC & Discussion

     

     

    Discord gets a bee in his bonnet about teaching Chaos magic to ponies. Trouble is, by its nature any mortal can't just learn Chaos magic (if you could understand it, that would defeat the purpose wouldn't it?) but that doesn't concern Discord any that your mind can't comprehend his subject, no. So he's just abducting ponies out of their lives & timelines (they can go right back when afterwards) forcing them into his "school" and its up to them to survive it while convincing Teach 'Cord they're totally stellar students while avoiding giving him a reason to weld them to the wall with bubblegum.

     

    This is hilarious. XD I don't think he'd go around abducting ponies, but he might post a want ad and be very...erm...firm about students trying to escape leave early. 

     

    Also, props on the cool username. :P

    Ask me, AmberDust!

    in Ask a Pony

    · Edited by AmberDust

    Who did you get to do you wonderful OC art for your avatar/character pages?

     

    Love the Luna Cosplay Plum!

    *rereading old posts*

     

    Byyy the way, I sell vectors now. :P

    What are you looking forward to this year? ^_^

    Aah, Gong Hay Fat Choy! Happy Year-of-the-Rooster!

     

    It feels like there are a lot of things to be scared about this year...and it's hard to be positive in that regard...but there are always good things happening, too. How about movies? I'm going to see a new Yugioh movie on Tuesday with my friend, plus the Power Rangers movie will be out in March, and I still have my fingers crossed for Tintin. Oh, and Wreck it Ralph 2!

     

    Other than movies, I'm looking forward to study break and summer vacation so I can a) be with my family,  b ) work on my Etsy store, and c) hopefully buy the new Pokémon game and play it with my bro! And then there's all the Discworld books I want to read...

     

    Most of the things I'm looking forward to are just regular things, I realize. ^^' Nothing spectacular really to look forward too, except maybe a convention or two...? 

     

     

    May we all live in uninteresting times!

    • Brohoof 1

    need an intro?

    in Requestria

    yeah, I had recently restarted my soundcloud. Considering soundcloud limits the amount of songs you can post there I had rid my account of all the previous intros in order to make room for more songs. I was assuming that everyone had their custom intros.

    I'm scouring my computer for it right now. I THOUGHT I had downloaded it, but... @_@' I can't find it!

    Which Harry Potter house would you be in?

    in Media Discussion

    I'm a Thunderbird here. Suppose it only makes sense to include the North American equivalent to Hogwarts. My patronus is a White Swan, and my wand is hazel wood with a unicorn hair core, 10 3/4 inches, and unyielding in flexibility.

     

    It's weird to think our mlp OCs could have bits of their mane in some wizard's wand. :P My wand is English Oak, Unicorn hair, slightly springy. I did the patronus quiz so many times and made a speadsheet of my points and results...I ended up deciding on Tortoiseshell Cat, which was my second highest score next to Dun Mare...since I'm honestly not fond of horses. :'D

     

    Also, TO ANYONE INTERESTED, there's a really cool Harry Potter community on Facebook that I'm part of. You join the Great Hall and your House's group, and play games and compete against other houses for points. :) There are prefects and professors and everything. Tell me if you join!

     

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/333331803717636/

    • Brohoof 1
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