Fan art, and behind-the-scenes access
Hi, everyone! I'm sorry for the delay in this update. LiveJournal had a little hiccup, so I wasn't able to update at midnight as I normally do. This week, we start off with a hilarious piece of fan art I received from Evil Dead Pony.
I love the expressions and coloring! Thanks, EDP! :D Now, I've been receiving a lot of questions from readers about the various ponies I use to make the comic, and how certain shots are achieved. So this week, I'll give you a little tour behind the scenes.
One of the questions I am asked most is whether I'm using multiple ponies to achieve the different poses and expressions with Kimono and Minty. The answer is yes, I have multiples of each. Unlike action figures, which are poseable, My Little Ponies, at most, can only turn their heads, so multiples are required to get any sort of "motion."
Kimono and Minty are both Hasbro characters, and the company has created multiple sculpts for each. There are two Hasbro-issued Kimono variations and three Hasbro-issued basic Minty variations. There are two other Mintys I don't have yet, but they wouldn't blend in with the rest of the Mintys, anyway. The rest of the sculpts you see in KT are created by myself. As you can see, I have a rather large group of Minty:
The current group consists of seven Kimonos and six Mintys, with more in production. There are also multiples of several side characters, such as Sunny Daze and Sparkleworks.
Creating the extra ponies presents a challenge because they must match the Hasbro-issued ponies exactly. Otherwise, the eye would pick up on the difference, and it would pull the reader out of the story. Here is a Minty in-progress.
Kimono is more difficult, since she is an unusual shade of violet. Most of the customized Kimonos I create must be dyed to match, which can cause a lot of frustration. I find creative ways to let off steam when Kimono gets me down.
While I can achieve a large range of motion with the different sculpts of each pony, I am still limited by them. They are all, in essence, stuck standing around. There are not yet any sculpts that allow Kimono and Minty to sit, lie down, or curl up in a ball laughing.
Shots where the characters are in such positions require me to get a little more creative. Usually, these shots are achieved by using loose parts.
Gruesome, isn't it? ~_^ A combination of loose parts and a technique called forced perspective allow me to place the characters in unusual, dynamic poses.
In the next few weeks, I will have loose parts for Minty, as well, which means we will see a much larger range of activity for her. And that concludes our tour! I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me. ^_^
If everything goes as planned, as it sometimes does (ha), we will be back on schedule next week. I thank you all for your patience through this and for sticking with Kimono and Minty on their hiatus. We'll see you next week!
I love the expressions and coloring! Thanks, EDP! :D Now, I've been receiving a lot of questions from readers about the various ponies I use to make the comic, and how certain shots are achieved. So this week, I'll give you a little tour behind the scenes.
One of the questions I am asked most is whether I'm using multiple ponies to achieve the different poses and expressions with Kimono and Minty. The answer is yes, I have multiples of each. Unlike action figures, which are poseable, My Little Ponies, at most, can only turn their heads, so multiples are required to get any sort of "motion."
Kimono and Minty are both Hasbro characters, and the company has created multiple sculpts for each. There are two Hasbro-issued Kimono variations and three Hasbro-issued basic Minty variations. There are two other Mintys I don't have yet, but they wouldn't blend in with the rest of the Mintys, anyway. The rest of the sculpts you see in KT are created by myself. As you can see, I have a rather large group of Minty:
The current group consists of seven Kimonos and six Mintys, with more in production. There are also multiples of several side characters, such as Sunny Daze and Sparkleworks.
Creating the extra ponies presents a challenge because they must match the Hasbro-issued ponies exactly. Otherwise, the eye would pick up on the difference, and it would pull the reader out of the story. Here is a Minty in-progress.
Kimono is more difficult, since she is an unusual shade of violet. Most of the customized Kimonos I create must be dyed to match, which can cause a lot of frustration. I find creative ways to let off steam when Kimono gets me down.
While I can achieve a large range of motion with the different sculpts of each pony, I am still limited by them. They are all, in essence, stuck standing around. There are not yet any sculpts that allow Kimono and Minty to sit, lie down, or curl up in a ball laughing.
Shots where the characters are in such positions require me to get a little more creative. Usually, these shots are achieved by using loose parts.
Gruesome, isn't it? ~_^ A combination of loose parts and a technique called forced perspective allow me to place the characters in unusual, dynamic poses.
In the next few weeks, I will have loose parts for Minty, as well, which means we will see a much larger range of activity for her. And that concludes our tour! I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me. ^_^
If everything goes as planned, as it sometimes does (ha), we will be back on schedule next week. I thank you all for your patience through this and for sticking with Kimono and Minty on their hiatus. We'll see you next week!