critique wanted My first OC...

[Hadrien 950]

Weirdly enough, I've never thought about making an OC. But when i was asked if i had one, i decided that now was the time. So i went to Ponylumen 3d pony creator to jot down some idea.

Firstly, he would be a Pegasus. Mainly because I'm afraid of heights and i thought that if I were a Pegasus I'd be able to overcome this fear easily enough, but also because I always felt like the Pegasi were the most heroic of all 3 races, which is a trait i admire.

Secondly, the color scheme. That was easy enough. I've always been drawn to the color scheme of knights in games, which is often in golds, silvers and blues. The tricky part was balancing the colors and making sure it wasn't an eyesore. This is what i came up with with the limited time I gave myself.

Finally the name and the cutie mark. Like some of the other thread i saw, this is where most people seem to have trouble and I'm no exception. So I'll leave this to you guys to help me figure out those things. I already have an idea for something shield related for the cutie mark, but that's about it.

P.S. I saw the resemblance to Flash Sentry waaaaaaay later than would like to admit.

[Hadrien 950]

Moments ago, Props Valroa said:

Nice job for your first oc! 

Thanks, I'm really not much of an visual artist (I'm much better at music haha), so I had to make due with what i could find. The bases are all there, but it's missing the flare some of you great artist have on your oc. 

[Hadrien 950]

1 minute ago, Props Valroa said:

If you want your OC drawn by others a good place to do that would be the Requestria section

Yeah, I saw that there was section for this, which is awesome. There really is a lot of people good at drawing on here. Meanwhile, I'm stuck doodling stick figures as the pinnacle of my art. 

[Evil Pink One 13,505]

9 minutes ago, Hadrien said:

Yeah, I saw that there was section for this, which is awesome. There really is a lot of people good at drawing on here. Meanwhile, I'm stuck doodling stick figures as the pinnacle of my art. 

Everyone starts at something.... whats important is you started.... reminisce your past as a musician... where did you start?

[Hadrien 950]

49 minutes ago, StrawberryMilk Simp said:

Everyone starts at something.... whats important is you started.... reminisce your past as a musician... where did you start?

Started piano when i was 5, never really learned more than playing stuff by ear. Then I really started in highschool. Played saxophone for 5 years (highschool is 5 years here). Unfortunately, it's kind of boring playing the saxophone alone, and my appartment is too small to put a keyboard in, so i'm instrumentless for the time being. Haha

[Evil Pink One 13,505]

2 hours ago, Hadrien said:

Started piano when i was 5, never really learned more than playing stuff by ear. Then I really started in highschool. Played saxophone for 5 years (highschool is 5 years here). Unfortunately, it's kind of boring playing the saxophone alone, and my appartment is too small to put a keyboard in, so i'm instrumentless for the time being. Haha

Well shit .. piano already.... haha that escalated quick.

[Hadrien 950]

Yeah, I've only ever played thing that sounded good to me (mostly Zelda songs) and i can't read music really well. I just rely on my ear, which is definitely better than average.

[MidnightFire1222 2,059]

Pretty  cool color scheme, and I think the character looks different enough from Flash Sentry to be their own character. Besides, there will always be people in the real world that look alike even when they aren't related. I'm sure the same thing happens with ponies too. What sort of ideas did you have for a cutie mark? I suppose you'd need a name for your OC as well, unless you already have an idea in mind.

[Hadrien 950]

14 minutes ago, MidnightFire1222 said:

Pretty  cool color scheme, and I think the character looks different enough from Flash Sentry to be their own character. Besides, there will always be people in the real world that look alike even when they aren't related. I'm sure the same thing happens with ponies too. What sort of ideas did you have for a cutie mark? I suppose you'd need a name for your OC as well, unless you already have an idea in mind.

Thanks, that makes me feel less bad about the colors. I tried with the blue as a coat with silver and gold in the mane *and* with the silver for the coat with blue and gold in the mane, but both felt wrong somehow. Gold is a nicer color for the coat. As for the cutie mark, I like the idea of having a shield or a sword with something music related. I found some things online, but nothing quite fits exactly how I'd want it. The name I'm still thing about. 

[MidnightFire1222 2,059]

Seems like a pretty cool idea. I'd advise not going too detailed for a cutie mark, since it's a small picture on a pony's hip. A lot of detail can get lost as pictures get smaller, and if anyone ever draws your pony or you do it can be hard to recreate detailed cutie marks on small scales.

That's only my own opinion though. I've made plenty of pony characters over the years and that's just my take on it. In the end, the character is yours and it's your decision how simplistic or detailed you want the cutie mark and/or any other aspects of the character to be.

[Hadrien 950]

For sure keep it simple, that's the beauty of a cutie mark. The images is just for the inspiration behind the concepts. If i could draw, I'd try to keep the idea and remake the images as just simple concepts, like a lyre with two cross swords, but without all the added detail. I would even try to mimic the artstyle of the sword, so like a cartoonish sword hilt and a titled lyre of some kind. It's why i like the last image most as a 1:1 image to cutie mark, since it's already simple, just a vague shield with some lyre strings. 

[MidnightFire1222 2,059]

Probably isn't that hard to draw a lyre with crossed swords, though there are different kinds of swords. Whatever you go with, the end result of whatever it ends up being is entirely up to you.

Edited October 3, 2023 by MidnightFire1222

[Hadrien 950]

5 minutes ago, MidnightFire1222 said:

Probably isn't that hard to draw a lyre with crossed swords, though there are different kinds of swords. Whatever you go with, the end result of whatever it ends up being is entirely up to you.

Didn't think about the types of sword I'd like on there. Mmmmmh, maybe a rapier, and a basic longsword. That sounds fitting.

[Hadrien 950]

On 2023-10-03 at 9:20 AM, MidnightFire1222 said:

I suppose you'd need a name for your OC as well, unless you already have an idea in mind.

After thinking about it a bit, I think I found something I like. I wanted a name that represented the idea of a protector of harmony, but also had a musical ring to it. So I ended up with Tonal Aegis. Tonal as in something related to music and harmony, so I have my music influence and the harmonic motif as it relate to peace and the elements of Equestria. And Aegis as the protection and support of a particular person or idea. So Tonal Aegis would definitely fits my idea of a protector of peace and harmony, and by extent the guardian of the elements thereof, our precious Mane Six.

[Evil Pink One 13,505]

What do you call something that keeps the music together? Instruments together. Balances the music? Those might mix well with aegis.

[MidnightFire1222 2,059]

11 hours ago, Hadrien said:

After thinking about it a bit, I think I found something I like. I wanted a name that represented the idea of a protector of harmony, but also had a musical ring to it. So I ended up with Tonal Aegis. Tonal as in something related to music and harmony, so I have my music influence and the harmonic motif as it relate to peace and the elements of Equestria. And Aegis as the protection and support of a particular person or idea. So Tonal Aegis would definitely fits my idea of a protector of peace and harmony, and by extent the guardian of the elements thereof, our precious Mane Six.

That is very cool and hnique. I've seen many ocs from different people and I don't think I've ever seen one with Aegis in the name anywhere.

[Hadrien 950]

1 hour ago, MidnightFire1222 said:

That is very cool and hnique. I've seen many ocs from different people and I don't think I've ever seen one with Aegis in the name anywhere.

Thanks, I knew that Aegis was the right choice, but with @StrawberryMilk Simp comments, I'm not sure about Tonal, especially as a first name. Back to the drawing board.
 

5 hours ago, StrawberryMilk Simp said:

What do you call something that keeps the music together? Instruments together. Balances the music? Those might mix well with aegis.

Usually it's either the melody, harmony, rhythm or tonality. I'm trying to scrabble this to make a fitting first name

[Evil Pink One 13,505]

@Hadrien 

A ghost told me, use:

" Harmonic Aegis."

I think it's crap though.....

[MidnightFire1222 2,059]

11 hours ago, StrawberryMilk Simp said:

@Hadrien 

A ghost told me, use:

" Harmonic Aegis."

I think it's crap though.....

Sounds pretty cool to me.

[Hadrien 950]

Funnily enough, that was my first guess. But Harmonic seemed kind of on the nose, like blunt force harmony in your face. But I could go with Harmonic Aegis, but the shorthand would be Aegis instead. That would solve it, in the most lazy way possible, which is kind if fitting hahahaha

Edited October 6, 2023 by Hadrien

[Hadrien 950]

Well, thanks to @Sophie the Witch and the magic of ai-pony-art, I've some better art for Harmonic Aegis ! I even have a teen version and a grown up version 

Edited October 26, 2023 by Hadrien

[Comrade Friendship 436]

Wow! Lots of care put into good-looking horse!

I love how accurate the teen and adult versions are

[Hadrien 950]

1 hour ago, Comrade Friendship said:

Wow! Lots of care put into good-looking horse!

I love how accurate the teen and adult versions are

Oh, I didn't draw those, I can't draw for shit. It's all done by AI hahaha

[Comrade Friendship 436]

On 2023-10-25 at 7:06 PM, Hadrien said:

Oh, I didn't draw those, I can't draw for shit. It's all done by AI hahaha

Work smarter not harder