Apr
9th
2014
Vote on a sunrise picture · 3:25am Apr 9th, 2014
New story coming out, possibly at midnight. What happens in this story, see, is that Celestia wakes Twilight with a sunrise, and asks her a question.
That's pretty much it. It was supposed to be a quick, 400-word scene. Instead, it took me days to write 1300 words.
Which of these pictures would you use, & why?
(ADDED: To heck with deciding; I'll start with one and switch to the other tomorrow. Also, the story is out now.)
I guarantee somebody will complain that Twilight has no wings. Is it bad that I don't care?
Another question is whether putting a cute, somewhat sweet story in "The Twilight Zone" would be good, because it would vary the mood in that collection, or bad, because it doesn't fit the "theme" of that collection.
derpicdn.net/img/2013/10/23/454643/large.jpeg
Oh wait, sunrise
Shit
Neither. The first would be appropriate if it weren't so obviously two ponies photoshopped into a field. The second is just too pompous for the story concept. If required to choose of these options... the first one. The content is at least a closer match.
The second one would probably draw more views, but popularity does not equal quality.
1993653 This is why bagpipe players don't get to vote.
Unless the story really centers on Celestia being a goddess and her power and bad-assery, I'd go for the first one.
1993661
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/8/1/64462__safe_octavia_octavia+melody_britain_artist-colon-gimpcowking_kilt_scotland_bagpipes.jpg
You know the vote's not worth a damn to you burger-munchers anyway. Same result either way
I'm averse to "ponies in real life" images as cover images, and the second one doesn't seem to fit the subject matter.
I suppose my vote is for the second one based on aesthetics, but if I can offer a write-in candidate, I suggest this.
I'd favor the second one just because ponies shopped onto a real life background might give readers the wrong impression about the story (unless it does actually intersect with the real world).
Between those two, I'd probably choose the former, since Twilight seems like an important element in the story. However, I think a picture of a sunrise without any ponies would still be more effective than blatantly photoshopping the characters into a real life picture.
Ah, probably the second, but the first would be okay, too.
You could also just go with a sunrise picture without Twilight or Celestia, and presume that the camerapony is standing next to them.
Second one lends itself to a bit of mystery, since we don't know what themes will be present in the story. The image seems to ring more with the idea that something will outflank you and Celestia sees and knows it. Cover your butt.
C'mon, "Twilight", this is how the sun works *coughdeludedbronycough*
Option B is more of a "Celestia's a Badass" sunrise.
Option A isn't as put together, but it's Celly and Twiley together.
I wouldn't use the first. Juxtaposing cartoons with real world environments always looks awkward and out of place. The second is a bit busy for an image that is going to get shrunk down to small sizes. I'd recommend cropping it.
I'm also confused by your choice to post the story at midnight.
Certainly looking forward to the new story. As far as choosing appropriate artwork goes, that's a tough choice.
One could argue the validity of either piece, both visually stunning, yet significantly different for the subject depicted.
Ultimately it comes down to the barest facts for me:
Given that, unless they were both napping in the middle of a grassy field together, the first picture doesn't leave much to anticipate - the sun is up, and Twilight is awake.
In a field.
With Celestia.
Watching the sunrise.
Ship ship ship ship ship ship ship.
Second one, by a mile. Cartoons interposed on real images rarely work, and very likely not at all for a serious work unless it's combined with a lot of care. The one you have here isn't very evocative.
Plus I love that second image.
1993713
I concur with the evaluation of my esteemed colleague.
EDIT: As for the second question... uhm... I dunno. Is it long enough to stand on its own?
I second 1993682 on this.
I like the second a lot as artwork, but I also think it's kind of generic and uninteresting as story art. Between the two, I'd probably pick the first, but I think a sunrise all alone would go fine and probably be better.
You could always use fc05.deviantart.net/fs28/i/2008/203/2/7/Sunrise_at_Moeraki_by_Yakaji.jpg
with artist permission, though I suspect it's a bit too interesting to be a generic sunrise shot.
Oh bummer missed the vote.
The second one is very well done, but it gets used everywhere, including as one of the optional header images for this site. I think the first one fits your story well.
1993713
Because it is midnight and the story is finally done.
I guess I'll give the dissenting opinion.
Let me get the bad argument out of the way: You had a unanimous vote for the second. If you want a more varied crowd of watchers, you should be selecting the things they don't like.
The lighting and shadows make sense in the first image. There are a lot of lighting errors in the second, which wouldn't be bad if it wasn't going for flashy-with-lighting.
The first image is peaceful. The second is neither peaceful nor exciting. I can't tell what it's going for except flashy. Celestia looks like she was asked to pose for a shot. Not pose any particular thing, just pose.
The colors in the second don't stand out at all against other fics. Also, darkened corners don't make sense against fimfiction's background or icon border.
Your only tag is slice of life. The first image fits that perfectly. The second doesn't fit that at all.
I vote for Dreatos's I'm a morning kind of pony.
I think some thing stark, simple, and beautiful would work best here. Something like this:
thedailyoat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/sunrise_over_canterlot_by_artizay-d695inb.png
By Artizay
I really like that second picture. It pulls at the feels.
Well, I could point out that the original Twilight Zone did in fact have both sweet and horrific episodes, as well as some that were a bit of both. The theme was the fantastic, not only the horrific. As befits the name, twilight incorporating both lightness and dark.