Thoughts on the Designs for EQG

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

I'm not crazy about the designs for a multitude of reasons, but it's been said 100 times already. I will say that I don't think Rainbow Dash and Applejack should be wearing skirts. For the toy set? Fine with me. It makes sense. With the dolls, you'll want to be able to swap clothes between the characters, and skirts are easier to do that with than pants. However, for the movie itself, I feel that a skirt really does not properly represent Applejack or Rainbow Dash. Dash is an athlete, and skirts are not really athlete friendly. Luckily, she is wearing shorts underneath, and I do like that part of her design. However, Applejack should really not be in a skirt.

 

1. She has zero interest in girly attire.

2. She is a farmer, and a skirt does not go with Applejack's practical nature.

 

Honestly though, the only characters I can envision wearing a skirt on a regular basis would be Twilight Sparkle and possibly Rarity or Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie loves to run and bounce about, and shorts are a lot more complementary to someone of her cutesy, cartoony character than skirts are. Rarity likes dresses and loves looking as beautiful and fancy as she can, so I think she'd aim a bit higher than just a skirt.

 

My favorite design would probably be Fluttershy. The skirt goes well with her character, and I love how she's wearing green, as that fits her being a nature lover. Twilight looks about like I would have imagined her to look. She's very modestly dressed. Rainbow Dash looks pretty good. My only gripe is the pink colored skirt. Pinkie Pie looks alright, but nothing really stands out as being very Pinkie Pie. I'm mixed as to whether or not I like Applejack's design. I would've preferred she wasn't wearing a skirt, but at least it's a denim skirt. Her cowgirl boots definitely look pretty cool. I wish she was wearing a bracelet or a wristband similar to Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, because she seems a little naked without it. Rarity is probably my least favorite design. Not that it's particularly bad, but it's just boring. Nothing really stands out or screams Rarity, and there's just too much of that dark purple going on, and it's not the best color scheme.

 

And finally, Sunset Shimmer looks pretty cool. Gotta love that stereotypical black jacket that every school bully wears.

 

But make no mistake, I'm not hating on the designs. I don't really like the skinny art style, but as RWB pointed out, it could have been a lot worse. You can tell there was at least some thought as to what the girls' tastes are, which is more than what I can say for those prototype dolls revealed a while back. *shudder*

Edited June 13, 2013 by Sugar Cube

[Zygen 6,066]

Eh, well i don't particularly like any of the designs in general, art wise, but I think my favorites probably rarity or maybe AJ, just for them being a closet to normal skin color that doesn't stand out to much.

 

I find the pastel color of their skins as humans a bit odd, I know the reasons, but it is still kinda odd.

[Blue Moon 6,341]

Ok, everyone. I would like to comment on some of the things that have been discussed on this thread. First off, Rainbow Dash wearing a skirt.

 

This fits her character fine. First off, it is a skirt designed for athletes to wear. So it makes a lot of sense for her to be wearing one. Second, even if that doesn't change your mind on the matter, if you look at it, it isn't even girly looking. It is just a simple pink and white striped skirt. It doesn't have any frilly designs on it or trying to look pretty. It is just a plain skirt. Think of it like sweatpants, just shorter.

 

Second, the colors of the ponies as humans. While it is a bit odd and not realistic, there is a very good reason behind it and I tell it for those who don't know. I think the main reason why they are colored that way is to get prevent any complications or controversies about the race of the ponies. When they use the pony colors instead of actual human colors, there is no risk of parents or adults getting upset over the skin colors chosen for the ponies. Also, if they keep the colors of the ponies, there won't be a human skin tone chosen for each pony meaning that we won't think of the ponies as a certain race. 

 

That is all I have to say. Bye!

[Dark Qiviut 22,396]

@@Astrobrony, The official character design for EQG is bad, but for a completely different reason.
 
What makes them bad is by how formulaic they are after all of the details are ironed out. We have all of the six characters finalized with the colors dictating who each character is, but that's not enough, especially for a human design.
 
To show what makes character design good or bad, remove every piece of detail to the point of a silhouette. The hair gives identifies who's who, but crop off the head and hair (and shuffle the bodies if you want to be tricky); the characters become more difficult to spot.
 
The clothing, for that matter, has very little differences. Take the shirts, skirts, and boots; make each shape a black block with a white stroke (or vice-versa). Then stack each category into three separate piles. The details that separate each other from such a simplified perspective are very minimal, which doesn't good character design make.
 
Equestria Girls's base design — the head, neck, body, legs, boot-free legs — is actually quite decent and (unlike this concept) inoffensive. But there's so little to separate them after they're finished. Let the base work and create vast differences to make each character represent a personality from basic silhouetted blocks. EQG doesn't do that. Instead of individualizing the characters, cost-effective corners are cut to replicate the usage of Flash easier and to mold/dress the toyline.
 
This is the big difference with the likes of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls. Each character has several key differences that separate one from the other.
 
MLP:FIM's base design is so simple and so strong that you don't need to do any more extracurricular stuff. Draw the mane and tail; you have the character. Here's a good way to tell, with the Mane Six:
 

 
You can tell who each character is by the outlines. Things like the eyes, horn, and wings can come later.
 
MWatGG: Milky Way, the Sun, the Moon, Uranus, Mars, Pluto, Jupiter, etc. Block out the details, and you know who they are just by the silhouette.
 
Like a good logo, good character design comes from not only understanding basic human proportions (which all five demonstrate [even MWatGG, which I won't explain here to not veer the topic off-course]), but also varying easily telling who each is when simplified. If you need the extra details within the shapes and colors to properly differentiate the characters like what the Equestria Girls' designs did, then it's bad design.

[RWB 229]

...woul

 

@@Astrobrony, The official character design for EQG is bad, but for a completely different reason.
 
What makes them bad is by how formulaic they are after all of the details are ironed out. We have all of the six characters finalized with the colors dictating who each character is, but that's not enough, especially for a human design.
 
To show what makes character design good or bad, remove every piece of detail to the point of a silhouette. The hair gives identifies who's who, but crop off the head and hair (and shuffle the bodies if you want to be tricky); the characters become more difficult to spot.
 
The clothing, for that matter, has very little differences. Take the shirts, skirts, and boots; make each shape a black block with a white stroke (or vice-versa). Then stack each category into three separate piles. The details that separate each other from such a simplified perspective are very minimal, which doesn't good character design make.
 
Equestria Girls's base design — the head, neck, body, legs, boot-free legs — is actually quite decent and (unlike this concept) inoffensive. But there's so little to separate them after they're finished. Let the base work and create vast differences to make each character represent a personality from basic silhouetted blocks. EQG doesn't do that. Instead of individualizing the characters, cost-effective corners are cut to replicate the usage of Flash easier and to mold/dress the toyline.
 
This is the big difference with the likes of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Milky Way and the Galaxy Girls. Each character has several key differences that separate one from the other.
 
MLP:FIM's base design is so simple and so strong that you don't need to do any more extracurricular stuff. Draw the mane and tail; you have the character. Here's a good way to tell, with the Mane Six:
 

 
You can tell who each character is by the outlines. Things like the eyes, horn, and wings can come later.
 
MWatGG: Milky Way, the Sun, the Moon, Uranus, Mars, Pluto, Jupiter, etc. Block out the details, and you know who they are just by the silhouette.
 
Like a good logo, good character design comes from not only understanding basic human proportions (which all five demonstrate [even MWatGG, which I won't explain here to not veer the topic off-course]), but also varying easily telling who each is when simplified. If you need the extra details within the shapes and colors to properly differentiate the characters like what the Equestria Girls' designs did, then it's bad design.

 

 

I like how you didn't put up a silhouette pic of Equestria Girls, as it would prove you wrong.

 

Heck, the skirts alone would render all of them different enough in silhouette. Hair would do the same(and by the way, is the only thing that differentiates the originals in the first place, outside the hat/wings/horns)

 

Even in silhouette, the EGs would stand out more from each other than the mane 6. Add actual differing colors that further set them apart...

 

In silhouette, the only ones that even come anywhere close similarity among the EGs are Flutter and Rarity, who still would look unique if you removed the hair thanks to different shirts.

 

I can understand not liking the EG designs(on a personal level), or even genuinely thinking they are bad. But to claim that they are so similar in shape that the original Mane 6 is more unique is just intellectually dishonest.

 

 

Either way, I would actually agree that AJ should wear more practical clothes- not because she's tomboyish, but because she wouldn't want to do hard physical work in a skirt. Boys don't do hard physical work in shorts for the same reason- it's easy to scratch or otherwise injure yourself. You need proper work pants. However, there's one thing that shoots this down:

 

 

 

AJ is in school. She would want something more practical for the schooltime because proper workpants are both hot and a bit on the heavy side. A wide, somewhat short skirt on the other hand? Doesn't have any of those issues. In fact, it would be the least impractical assuming you're not incredbly modest(AJ? lol), as short wide skirts>shorts for comfort and are actually less restricting. 

 

 

So yeah, back at the farm, EG AJ should wear workpants, but in school? Her skirt is a far more reasonable choice.

Edited June 14, 2013 by RWB

[DarligPegasi 315]

My favorite is AJ because her fashion and her look are the most 'human' in my opinion. And her outfit totally fits her. I also think its the prettiest.

 

My least favorite is RD, because she looks really tacky. And her cloths don't even match. >.> Plus the skirt doesn't fit her personality at all! And don't even get me started on those shoes!

Edited June 14, 2013 by DarligPegasi

[Dark Qiviut 22,396]

@@RWB, I don't need to alter them to silhouettes: The minimal differences are all evident for me to see, even in a completed state. A silhouette would only prove it further.

 

Twilight Sparkle's skirt is too similar to Applejack's and Rainbow Dash's. The only thing that makes Twilight's skirt differentiate more is the sectioned wrinkling.

 

Rainbow Dash's and Applejack's skirt are actually exactly the same with the colors, Applejack's unkempt skirt hem (that could easily get lost if reduced in size), and athletic shorts used to identify and separate them.

 

Rarity's skirt is too similar to Pinkie Pie's and Fluttershy's. The only difference that makes Pinkie's stand out a bit more is how it's a half-circle rather than a wavy shape like Fluttershy and Rarity's. Rarity's and Fluttershy's skirts are completely identical except Rarity's is a little longer.

 

As for the shirts:

1. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie are too similar except Dash's sleeves are a bit shorter and wider. In Pinkie's design, the sleeve and upper arm are (almost) exactly the same shape.
2. Applejack's and Twilight's only differences are Twilight's shoulders are a little puffy, and Applejack's sleeves are folded.
3. Pinkie's and Rarity's shirts are too similar, because the sleeves are nearly the same length. Only Rarity's looser sleeves differentiate the two.
4. The only shirt that is remotely different from the rest is Fluttershy because, when colored, she has no sleeves. But take a bit of Fluttershy's upper arm and turn it white; it'll look nearly identical to Pinkie's *snaps fingers* like that.

The only part of the character design that really makes each of the Mane Six stand out is the hair. But like what I wrote before, when the hair and head are cropped off to show the rest of the body only, then the differences are much more minimal. For factually good (human) character design, you really need to pay attention to every shape and make sure the differences aren't so minimal that you don't need to wait a few more seconds to process the information, not concentrate on one main part of the anatomy and color to make them stand out. Shape-wise, you can swap each shirt, skirt, or boot from one character to another, and you can put them on anyone. That's how ambiguous almost all of them are.

 

Even in silhouette, the EGs would stand out more from each other than the mane 6.

Wrong. In fact, it's the opposite. The pony base design is so simple and strong that you don't need to do anymore other than add a mane and tail. Things like eye/ear shape, horn, and wings can be thought of afterwards and checked if they match the character. You can tell who each of the Mane Six ponies very easily by the blocks of shapes themselves: The radical designs of the mane and tail tells us who they are nearly immediately whether you fill them in with colors or not. Each shape is so different that you can recognize who each character is by them alone, no matter how much you swap them.

 

Equestria Girls's character designs, on the other hand, don't succeed in this regard for the Mane Six humans, period, and have to rely on colors, refined details, and hair design from the ponies just for us to know who each character is.

 

Add actual differing colors that further set them apart...

Color should be used AFTER the designs are finalized. Good design is based on the foundation with color added in last. When colors and little details are filled in in order to genuinely identify the character (especially ones you're trying to replicate like Equestria Girls's), you prove how weak the design is.

Edited June 14, 2013 by Dark Qiviut

[RWB 229]

@@RWB, I don't need to alter them to silhouettes: The minimal differences are all evident for me to see, even in a completed state. A silhouette would only prove it further.

 

Except where it wouldn't. Please, do give me silhouettes.

 

RD wouldn't look like any of the others, being sleeker on her lower body silhouette by far due to her athlete skirt. She would also have a more masculine shape all in all because her upper body clothing would be the biggest silhoette. Essentially, RD is "the boy", bigger upper body, smaller lower. There are similar things with all the others, as well.

 

 

Twilight Sparkle's skirt is too similar to Applejack's and Rainbow Dash's. The only thing that makes Twilight's skirt differentiate more is the sectioned wrinkling.

 

The wrinkling, the width, the shape and even the length, gee golly. It's almost like the only thing they have in common is that they are technically miniskirts(though I'm not so sure Athlete skirts are actually considered as such).

 

Rainbow Dash's and Applejack's skirt are actually exactly the same with the colors, Applejack's unkempt skirt hem (that could easily get lost if reduced in size), and athletic shorts used to identify and separate them.

 

Except the part where AJ's skirt is far, far wider than RDs, and even falls differently.

 

Rarity's skirt is too similar to Pinkie Pie's and Fluttershy's. The only difference that makes Pinkie's stand out a bit more is how it's a half-circle rather than a wavy shape like Fluttershy and Rarity's. Rarity's and Fluttershy's skirts are completely identical except Rarity's is a little longer.

 

...Thanks for proving that the skirts are actually unique on your own. Bravo. You do fail to recognize that fluttershy has far more waves, and is wider than Rarity's, and falls differently. Similarly.

 

 

As for the shirts:

1. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie are too similar except Dash's sleeves are a bit shorter and wider. In Pinkie's design, the sleeve and upper arm are (almost) exactly the same shape.

Except, you know, the fact that one of the two is actually wearing a jacket and thus ends up wider.

 

Applejack's and Twilight's only differences are Twilight's shoulders are a little puffy, and Applejack's sleeves are folded.'

 

And the low end of the shirt on twilight actually stand out while AJ's is neatly tucked away.

 

Pinkie's and Rarity's shirts are too similar, because the sleeves are nearly the same length. Only Rarity's looser sleeves differentiate the two.

 

Looser and longer.

 

The only shirt that is remotely different from the rest is Fluttershy because, when colored, she has no sleeves. But take a bit of Fluttershy's upper arm and turn it white; it'll look nearly identical to Pinkie's *snaps fingers* like that.

 

Except where Rainbow Dash is the most standout because her jacket makes her noticeably wider in her design. Fluttershy's sleevelessness is easily stand-out on it's own.

 

The only part of the character design that really makes each of the Mane Six stand out is the hair. But like what I wrote before, when the hair and head are cropped off to show the rest of the body only, then the differences are much more minimal. For factually good (human) character design, you really need to pay attention to every shape and make sure the differences aren't so minimal that you don't need to wait a few more seconds to process the information, not concentrate on one main part of the anatomy and color to make them stand out. Shape-wise, you can swap each shirt, skirt, or boot from one character to another, and you can put them on anyone. That's how ambiguous almost all of them are.

 

1. If you crop of the mane and tail off of the pony mane 6, they are actually identical. The EGs at least have slight differences(or in the case of AD, very noticeable ones).

2. There is no such thing as "factually good human character design". It's all subjective.

3. Except for the part where all the skirts are different(in the case of RD, Twi and AJ, very much so).

 

 

Wrong. In fact, it's the opposite. The pony base design is so simple and strong that you don't need to do anymore other than add a mane and tail. Things like eye/ear shape, horn, and wings can be thought of afterwards and checked if they match the character. You can tell who each of the Mane Six ponies very easily by the blocks of shapes themselves: The radical designs of the mane and tail tells us who they are nearly immediately whether you fill them in with colors or not. Each shape is so different that you can recognize who each character is by them alone, no matter how much you swap them.

 

Same with EG, since, you know, their hair design is equally radical. You are making this up as you go.

 

Equestria Girls's character designs, on the other hand, don't succeed in this regard for the Mane Six humans, period, and have to rely on colors, refined details, and hair design from the ponies just for us to know who each character is.

 

...So essentially:

Base pony design +hair= good and unique.

Base human design  +hair= not unique because ponies had that already.

 

You have to be ****ing kidding me. You are trying to say that the hair makes the ponies unique enough, yet when it clearly does the very same to the humanized version, you dismiss it (and try to penalize it) because you don't want to admit that the EG girls actually are more unique and identifiable in their design. You are not even trying to have a serious debate here, you are just denying what, unlike "good human design" is actually factual: The EG girls have more design differences and more quirks than the Ponies to identify them by.

 

Color should be used AFTER the designs are finalized. Good design is based on the foundation with color added in last. When colors and little details are filled in in order to genuinely identify the character (especially ones you're trying to replicate like Equestria Girls's), you prove how weak the design is.

 

...Except the EG designs utterly demolish the ponies in how identifiable they are. In fact, character design for ponies in FiM itself is horridly lazy.

 

 

Finally: I don't think the EG designs are fantastic in any way. They are, however, a ton more personal and unique than MLP: FiM's pony design.

 

But you are clearly not even trying to be logical.