Discombobulated Soul

Ah, I see. Very well, then. I admire your honesty and candor for clarifying the pricing concerns first and foremost--Applejack would be proud. In light of those changes, I believe I will scrap the comic idea and just commission the final and most-desired panel. With the new pricing, I believe (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that that would be an $85 project which fits under the 'Detailed Full Body Ponies' section. To expound on that, I'd like the diabetes of Darkest and Bon Bon cuddling, with the detailed background of a KOed hydra possessing swirly eyes. I feel that it would be both heart-warming and greatly humorous at the same time. I thank you deeply for your vivification on these matters, and look forward with great eagerness to work with you more. (Oh, and the queue is absolutely fine: I am nothing if not patient, and especially so with regards to cute pone pictures!)

Salutations, Nihi! I have a humble request to ask, and do hope that you will oh-so-magnanimously oblige my commission. I would love for you to draw a comic strip based on a scene from the fanfiction that I'm writing. Specifically, I'm interested in the detailed background option, as I feel that having one will greatly benefit the presentation. Rest assured, this will not be an overly long strip, merely five panels that summarize the ending of this chapter. In the likely case that you do not desire to read my humble writings, I shall do my best to summarize for you: This story stars an original character of mine, a unicorn colt named Darkest Knight. He originally stems from a thought experiment in how far a victim can go before their mental state is irreparable. Darkest is an abuse victim who was kidnapped at age two because of his potential ability to create super strong magical shields. His kidnapper, named Broken Barrier, strategically traumatized him throughout his foalhood so that he would obey any commands without question, as well as some other desired results that are unimportant to this commission. What is important is that Darkest eventually found himself getting taken care of by the entire town of Ponyville. What's critical information is that Twilight casted a magical charm on his mind that compelled him to trust ponies. Unfortunately, Darkest's mind had been made so magic-resistant by that time that the trust charm only activates for certain ponies, and only after they've fulfilled certain conditions. This brings us to right before the scene that I'd like you to draw. Essentially, Discord wreaks havoc on Ponyville and sets the monsters from the Everfree Forest, well, free to romp around through Ponyville. Darkest is scared by the chaos and chased through town by a giant hydra, which nearly eats him before Bon Bon--or maybe I should say Agent Sweetie Drops--ambushes the monster and proceeds to knock out all four of its heads with four successive blows. Cue the process of getting the trust charm to activate, and what panel 1 will show. Bon Bon has to lay on the ground and remain stock still until Darkest is satisfied that she won't attack him. Behind her lays the KOed hydra with spirals for eyes, and all around them is an untouched section of one of Poyville's residential areas. In the distance, the top of the rainbow beam from the Elements of Harmony is barely visible from over a roof. Cut to Darkest--who I'll describe in detail after this--cowering in fear where he collapsed to the ground ten feet or so away. Nothing of interest is in the area behind him, and you may decide to angle the view 'up', so as to display more of a top-down perspective. I lack the drawing skills to know whether that would look better or not, so I'm hoping for your advice on that. In any case, the third panel will show him around half an hour later, as he calls Bon Bon's name and beckons her forward. At this point, the charm is in full effect, and he trusts her completely. I picture Darkest gesturing her toward him much like a toddler asks for upsies, all while having pleading puppy-dog eyes and a trembling mouth. Darkest is asking for safety at this moment, and is essentially begging Bon Bon to protect him with the power of snuggles. Bon Bon hesitantly approaches the colt, metaphorically stepping on eggshells and really afraid of scaring him. The mare possesses an unfair amount of common sense, and has been really smart about helping him up to this point. She really doesn't want to set back all the progress they've made with his healing, so she's understandably hesitant in approaching him so blatantly. Finally, the best panel of all, wherein the two cuddle like the cute, fluffy ponies they are. Darkest is completely out of energy by this point, and so falls asleep in her forelegs right away. This is the image that I most want to see brought to life, and I believe that you are the right person for the job. Bon Bon sits on her haunches, holding the snoozing Darkest gently in her forelegs as she tenderly strokes his heavily disheveled and grimy mane. Well, that's what I came up with, anyway. If you feel that the comic would work better with differently-timed panels or a different number of them, then it's open to change. Really, what I'm after is that diabetes-inducing final panel. In any case, allow me to describe Darkest Knight: As stated earlier, Darkest is a unicorn colt who size-wise is barely taller than the CMCs. Really, the height difference is practically negligible. At this point in the actual story, he has actually been dyed pink, but I'd prefer he keep his original coloration in the comic. Darkest Knight's name is really ironic, because he is completely pure white from horn to hoof. His mane, irises, and coat all have absolutely no color to them: they're just white. There's a very good in-story reason for this, but that's both spoilers and not relevant to this commission. (At least, I don't think it's relevant. If you think I'd help with drawing him, then I'd be happy to send you all the details.) As for mane and tail styles, he's never really been great at that self-care thing. This is made worse by the fact that at the point in which the comic will take place, he'll have been galloping through town and fighting monsters left and right for a while now. As such, while they shouldn't exactly be bird's nests, his mane and tail ought to be really disheveled to the point that no style is able to peek through, as well as on the long side for a colt. They'll also be pretty grimy from sweat and dirt, though not to such a degree that it changes the white coloration too badly. Darkest's complete whiteness is one of the most immediately striking things about his character design, so I would prefer nothing overshadow that. Hopefully I'm not sounding too bossy or impossible to please at this point--rest assured that I am in fact very reasonable and can be convinced to make what changes you deem more appropriate. I'd much rather have the art be different from how I pictured than not have the art at all. I do have an absolutely hideous rendition of Darkest Knight from a 3D pony creator, and because you ask for any kind of reference picture, I shall--against by better judgement--release it to you. Rest assured that I am in no way proud of this monstrosity of an image, but maybe it'll help you in some capacity. Many details are inaccurate, including the scars in the picture. Darkest remarks to himself in the first chapter that his white coat is perfect for hiding scars, so really, they're not visible. At least, the physical ones aren't. Darkest's cutie mark is described in the story with the following words: "The image was of a half-sphere, viewed from the side, and gradually fading out into smaller circles as it trailed out to the right. Rather reminiscent of a comet whose tail was separated into so many spheres." Rest assured that I have little to no artistic talent, so my poor rendition of the mark is pretty much nothing like the actual one, but maybe it will help you visualize it. The rounded side of the half-sphere faces toward Darkest's head, and every circle in the illustration is meant to be three-dimensional. Color-wise, the cutie mark is canonically a barely darker white than the rest of him, but in the comic I think it should be darkened more so as to be visible. I think a dark grey will suffice nicely, though the lightness of the color can be scaled if that makes it any easier to draw. One final thing regarding Darkest is that if there's any way you can 'sharpen' his design, or make his plentiful mental trauma show in any way, regarding posture and facial expressions, especially compared to Bon Bon, then that would be great. Alright! I do believe that's everything. I'm happy to supply more information should you require it. I look forward to working with you, Nihi, and know that this excursion shall be a fruitful one. That is, if you do choose to accept the commission. Quick question: does the $15 extra character price apply to every panel or just one per character? (Said differently, if I were to commission a comic with three panels starring Rarity in all three and Rainbow Dash in two, would that be $60 or $45?) I only want to know so that I can pay the appropriate amount. I know that any price will likely be worth the end result!