Thoughts and Criticism on my Ponysona

[LumenNightlight 46]

This took many hours and several long nights to make. So y`all better appreciate my hard work, or else.

Ponysona is a little misleading. He`s more of an OC I plan to use as an avatar and also a Changeling. More specifically a Changeling that learned to live on his own love, which is why he`s a different morph. The full album is available here: https://imgchest.com/p/agyvrbdaj78   Only images 1-6 are his character sheet, images labelled 1-19 are reference material. This was my very first time making a characters sheet, so appologies if it looks bad or certain details aren`t explained very well. Feedback is appreciated

There is also a 10 page PDF expaining my process, reasons for certain decisions, and elaborating on some details. No I`m not kidding about this sadly, it`s available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/ehvjow6q3g8e6uh/OC_Thoughts_and_Prayers.pdf/file  You don`t need to read all of this, all of the relevant information should be in his character sheet. But if you`re wondering why I made certain descisions, like why the green looks so washed out, there is a full section where every single colour in his palette is explained in detail. This document was made to be skimmed, I know people will only read the sections that interest them, so don`t be intimidated by its lenght. I would also like to apologize here for the poor style of this document, this was at the tail end of all my creative struggles and I just wanted to get it done. Pinkie Party Promise I can write better than that

There have been many different revisions of just about every aspect of this character. This is only the semi-final version, I would not be asking for feedback otherwise. Everything is fair game, everything can be changed. And don`t hold back with your scalding criticism. Obviously this isn`t an invite to be unnescessarily rude, but don`t sugarcoat anything to spare my feelings.

Lastly here`s a fun question I have no notes on: What should I call this new Changeling morph? Best Answer will be taken. 

Thanks to all of you in advance.

 

[liujiadong 1,503]

That painting is pretty good! But what's its name?

 

 

[LumenNightlight 46]

His name is Stigma. It`s in the ref sheet in the attached album. I know it`s an unconventional choice, part of the reason I chose it was because I thought to no one else would give their OC such a loaded name 

Stigmata are the holes insects use to breath out of (the spots on his neck and chest). Although the conventional meaning of the word does of course relate back to his personality and past. There are some slightly deeper facets to this, for example his alter pony ego is named Lumen Nightlight. Other than being a unit used to measure light, lumen also refers to the inside of a tubular organ in biology. Basically bringing us back to stigmata. 

Oh, and in case you`re wondering light is also a major theme of this character. Sorry if that`s a little hard to see in the sketch.

[Nitobit 2,386]

Very interesting character. I like him ^c,^ Also, I vote for Stigma and Insect and Pest Annihilator with 40 Watts rechargable UV LED Light splash and shatterproof Glass for Indoor and Outdoor Use in a 20 Meter Radius (Anni) for the shipping of the year. 

[LumenNightlight 46]

Thank you 

I`m stupidly proud of having come up with this one. Let`s just hope she(?) doesn`t run out of batteries any time soon...

[ExplosionMare 26,199]

All I can think to suggest at the moment is to make your Changelingsona's legs and arms bigger since they look a bit too small for him.

[LumenNightlight 46]

Yeah, I didn`t realize this while drawing but now that you point it out to me I can definitely see that his legs are a little stubby.  It`s probably the front pair more than the rear. Luna was my main reference point in terms of body build, since I wanted him to be just slightly taller than her. Giving him a few extra inches will maybe make the legs seem a bit less busy, which was one of my main concerns with this phase of the design.

[Iridescent Edge 871]

 

I like your OC. I think they're endearing and interesting. However, I do feel like the part where Luna mentored them feels a little forced. That aspect could be reworked or fleshed out a little more. But overall, I think this is pretty good!

As for a name for their specific morph? Hmmm... How about...Alterling?

[LumenNightlight 46]

I suppose this was my fault for moving all that relevant info to the PDF instead of the characters sheet. 

Within the alternate timeline he resides in, the events of A Canterlot Wedding have just transpired, however Thorax decieded to stay with the main cast in this timeline. From him we know that changelings are not nescessarily parasitic, but are not yet aware of their transformative potential. Stigma is the very first to transfrom in some capacity. Luna mentoring him thus has a political layer to it. Of course it is also a play on moths literally using the moon to guide them. His nocturnal nature reasonably puts some limits on who he can even form a relationship with, which is part of the reason I decieded to tie him to Luna. Stigma is meant to embody a sort of older brother role in relation to the mane cast, another reason I inserted him into the constellation around Canterlot. For Luna I thought this developement would make sense, I am pretty confident she still has some residual feelings of envy towards her sister. Objectively, not a lot changed about her situation and the events of A Royal problem seem to confirm this theory to me. Just like Moondancers recolour he is a student of friendship, something, I thought to myself, could be a fun challenge for Luna to grow on and find some satisfaction in. Personality wise he is meant to be a soft counterpart to Twiggy, in other words my intention was to mirror her relationship to Tia.

And that`s the full sauce. I know using an alternate timeline that bends around my OC is a lil cheep, but that`s just how I like to imagine myself in the MLP universe. The later seasons introduced/forgot many concepts, something I`m not the biggest fan of. 

Most of these are reasons why I made this decision, which is I assume what you meant? If you were actually taliking about their dynamic then, well, horseapples. You caught me red-handed, I barely have any notes on that. And while all of these certainly are reasons, that doesn`t nescessarily mean they are good ones. 

Oh, and Alterling is a great name, I`m definitely keeping that, tysm.