Uz Naimatʼs Art Gallery - Part III · 8:14pm February 18th

Hiya, lovely peeps!

Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Thrice is a pattern.

And since this is officially Part III of my art gallery, this means that my art gallery has become a yearly tradition. For the last two years, I posted it in mid-January, but since my full year recap was posted in late January, I decided to postpone this to mid-February. Without further ado, here are all my art pieces since January 2023!

Let’s get into it.

Total count: 87

65 - A Study of Smart and Social by Uz Naimat
January 20, 2023

How rare is it to inspire oneself? ‘Cause I think I just did that. When I was first wondering this story, I knew I waned a cover art the likes of this. Interesting to note that the highlight of this image was Twilight’s geode. Man, I love those things.

66 - The Bit (cancelled)
January 31, 2023

Before anyone wonders where this story is, I cancelled it. It was originally supposed to be a story about an OC working together with Twilight to change the Equestria economy. But I couldn’t find a proper way to continue it, so it was scrapped. You can find the beginnings here, in Never Made The Cut. What you see in the potential cover is what I imagine the Equestria bit to look like. With the Sisters’ cutie marks and not their faces, ‘cause I feel like that’s too obnoxious and OOC for them.

67 - Pinkie Pie and the Pastry Switcheroo (status unknown)
February 27, 2023

I am not entirely sure what to do with this story. I do want to write it, but I don’t even where to begin with crafting a mystery. Anyway. This piece is among my best works and I was entirely during lunch breaks at work. Taking a little over 4 hours to create, I based this piece of those iconic notes-and-strings boards you see in mystery movies. I’m really proud of the composition on this one; among the best cover arts I’ve ever made.

68 - Who We Are by EndlessPossibilities58
March 28, 2023

Endless launched this ad on March 27th last year. Eager to take on more assignments, I said yes almost immediately. The story did not place in the contest it was written for, but it did hit the top Featured spot, so that’s nice. I really did like this one. The mountains, in particular, were fun to create. Sold for under $20.

69 - Hiya, Lovely Peeps (fourth avatar)
April 1, 2023

I felt the sudden urge to create logo featuring my signature greeting. In my favorite color, which is pink. Not much else to say here.

70 - No, Maybe, Yes by Uz Naimat
April 6, 2023

Ah, my famous award-winning story, which I will never shut up about. The piece is rather simple, all things considered, and is heavily inspired by the Fall Formal scene in the original Equestria Girls movie. You’ll notice that there’s a little something in the corner and while that may seem obnoxious to some, it’s not. I placed in a contest for the first time and I intend to shout it to the heavens.

71 - Chrysalis Saves Hearth’s Warming by Kris Overstreet
April 16, 2023

Kris Overstreet, author of the ever-popular Changeling Space Program, launched a project in the latter half of 2023. He combined several of his best-rated works into a hardcover compilation titled Remember Fort Libris. Eight of those stories received brand new artwork included, full page and colored, in the book.

I am pleased to announce that I am not one, but two, of these pieces!

This is one of my best pieces. It is important to know that this is first time I attempted a draw a pony, and I’m quite proud of the result. The colors I chose - vibrant, vivid hues of pinks, yellows and blues - are ironic for who Chrysalis is. This commission was sold for over $20.

72 - For The Love of the Love of the Game by Kris Overstreet
April 24, 2023

Mere days after I sold Artwork #71, I reached out and asked if I could have a second assignment. Lucky for both of us, he was able to accommodate. And so, this piece was born. I’m satisfied with it, especially with the lighting, but I’m not as happy with it as I was for the previous one. Also sold for over $20.

73 - Mayor by Uz Naimat
May 25, 2023

Okay, so it turns out that the majority of 2023 was taken up by cover arts. Go figure. For my entry in the May 2023 Pairings Contest, I went for a simple scene in the Ponyville mayoral office and made sure the lamp mentioned in the story is prominently featured. Also, those two banners on the side are gorgeous and I am obsessed with how they turned out.

74 - So Many Wonders by Uz Naimat
June 6, 2023

Wanted to go for something a little different for this story. I was looking for a more childlike, vibrant vibe to fit in with the protagonists being children. Received quite a few compliments on it, too, with a few people praising the color and composition.

75 - To Lose & To Heal by Uz Naimat
June 14, 2023

This one was a rather simple piece, fitting for the story’s length (1k). Up top we have the broken glass featured that bookends the story, underneath which there’s the title in a very simple font. Down we have the visual representation of the lost wing and the author name underneath. All backdropped by the this beautiful purple gradient. Simple, but it works.

76 - The Great Tabloid Disaster by Lupin
July 17, 2023

Now this took a long time, nearly nine hours (8 hrs and 50 min, actually). This was because I had to sculpt each individual paper and then collage them haphazardly to great this effect. And of you look closely, you’ll see just how many details each paper contain. But despite the time and the effort, I’m still really happy with how it turned out. On that note, you should all go check out the story. It’s really good. Sold over $15.

77 - Ladybugs Awake by Uz Naimat
September 7, 2023

Everypony put your hooves together for the star of 2023, the one, the only - Ladybugs Awake! My pride and joy on this site, the only work of mine that has over 100 upvotes, the one that got me to a 100 followers, my top-rated story.... and I don’t like the cover art. No, seriously, I don’t. It’s meant to showcase Twilight and Cadance’s happy-go-lucky childhood in stark contrast to their reunion in a time of difficulty, with the green hue representing Chrysalis’ overwhelming presence. Honestly, it’s not my best piece, but eh. Story makes up for it.

78 - Uz Naimat presents: Never Made The Cut
September 14, 2023

By far the simplest image I have ever made, crafted together in under an hour. The only things that I freehanded her was the background and the red cross. Everything else was typed and pasted.

79 - Pink & Purple UZ (fifth avatar)
September 20, 2023

In light of all my FimFic achievements in September, I decided to change things up. The entirety of my profile page was switched up and I got myself a new avatar. I rather like this one. It’s very simple, but it’s made with the show logo’s colors, which also happens to be my favorite color combo - pink, purple and blue.

80 - Night & Day
October 15, 2023

And now we get to my first non-cover art piece of the year, starting off with #85. Heavily inspired by the ever-famous song “Lullaby for a Princess”, the piece is meant to symbolize the balance between night and day, sun and moon, light and darkness. That much was pretty obvious. But yeah, I like this one. It’s a nice, solid piece; not my favorite, but still good. Also, I’m not entirely sure if the eyes turned okay. Do let me know, ‘kay?

81 - Sunset’s Appartment
October 22, 2023

This one is the first among three pieces based on Sunset Shimmer, because hot damn, I love this girl. This artwork depicts the kind of apartment Sunset might move into in the near future. It has complete amenities, such a proper kitchen and full living room, unlike her current residence. It is also jam packed with tons of fun details; see if you can spot ‘em all. And also, this is heavily inspired by a Sims 4 house I found on Pinterest. If you guys know the creator, do let me know so I give credit where credit is due.

82 - Dame Sunset Shimmer
November 3, 2023

The second piece also happens to be my favorite of the three Sunset-focused artwork, and also the best thing I created in 2023. To give you some context - the image is set in a distant future where Equestria makes first contact with Earth and now ponies and humans have formal, official relationships. In charge of human-pony relations is Sunset Shimmer, who isn’t just the Royal Ambassador of Equestria, but has also been knighted as a dame by Princess Twilight. I’m insanely proud of how this piece turned out; I love everything about it, from the quill to the keyring to the geode to the medal. Might just be my best work yet.

ARTWORK #83 CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS FOR DANGANRONPA: IN HARMONYS WAKE BY DEWDROPS ON THE GRASS.

83 - Danganronpa: In Harmony’s Wake by Dewdrops on the Grass
November 14, 2023

Ahem. So, yes, as the spoiler warning above states, this piece is based off of someone else’s story, linked above. Taking a whopping eight hours and 50 minutes of work, this artwork is inspired by my favorite mystery fanfic of this site. For those of you who are familiar with Danganronpa, this story is a fusion fic between it and Equestria Girls, set post-canon and starring Sunset Shimmer as our viewpoint character. It is important to note that Dewdrops did not commission this; I made it on my own and surprised her with it. Her story was just that good. I have so many background thoughts on this one that I wrote it all down on a Google Doc. Go check it out. And while you’re at it, you can also check out Dewdropsʼ story; it’s so good.

84 - Parabellum of Freedom by EndlessPossibilities58
November 22, 2023

Endless contacted me again in the latter half of the year for another commission. This time, it was something a little more elaborate, as you can see. I like this one a lot. And the process itself was quite fun - I started with drawings the buildings intact, then I strategically tore them up, then I added fire and smoke before desaturating the whole thing. Also, it’s not that all the buildings in the city are the same colors; it’s the fire that’s coating everything in a warm glow. I wanted to include the story’s title in there somewhere but, after discussing it with Endless, we decided it wouldn’t fit. Oh, well. Sold for over $20.

85 - By My Side by EndlessPossibilities58
December 23, 2023

Before I had the chance to finish the previous commission, piece #89, Endless reached out and asked if I could pause it and work on something else, something simpler, for his Jinglemas submission. After hearing their description, I said yes. There’s not much to say here other than it being one of the simplest things I’ve ever worked on. The background is in Zipp’s colors and the bubble in Pipp’s and that’s about it. Sold for under $10.

86 - The First, The Last & The New by Uz Naimat
December 26, 2023

Ah, my Jinglemas submission. My unedited, rushed, published-without-a-cover-art submission. I waited until the last possible minute to submit my gift and because it was so last minute, I had to publish it without art. Which I have never done before. Posted this cover art couple of days later. It’s meant to be reminiscent of a Christmas card, with a decorations stickered on and some drawn, ‘cause you Sunset’s an artist. There’s also the two balls that signify that this is for Jinglemas and who it’s for.

87 - An Instrumental Rainboom
January 13, 2024

The New Year begins with, as should be expected by now, Equestria Girls. I was originally going to post this on the 10th anniversary of Rainbow Rocks, but it can’t wait. I like this one. It reminds me of the collage I made back for my ‘A Deep Dive Into Twilight’s Character’ blog series. Colorful, lively and sweet. Just the way I like it.

I sold six commissioned pieces this year. Six! Which is more than previous years combined. My mind is absolutely blown. Kris launched an ad, Endless contacted me personally two out of three times and Lupin and I negotiated an offer. And I cannot thank them enough for having trusted me with their visions.

On a related note, the majority of the year was taken up by cover arts, wasnʼt it? I did write a lot this year, though, and with each new story comes a new art piece. Which left me little time for freehand creations. Still, I was able to whip up #81, #82 and #83 in two months, so.

Lovely peeps, there might be a slight lull in art this year. I plan on changing phones halfway through 2024, and since I do everything on my phone, this change will affect a lot of things. I might even have to change up the app Iʼm currently use. Depending on what phone I get and what app Iʼll use, my art might either go up or down in quality. Stick around, though, because I will keep creating.

Who We Are, The Great Tabloid Disaster, Parabellum of Freedom and By My Side can be found in my Contributions shelf here. Chrysalis Saves Hearthʼs Warming and For the Love of the Love of The Game can be found Krisʼ list of stories here. Go check our Dewdropsʼ Danganronpa: In Harmonyʼs Wake. My own stories can be found here. More non-MLP art here and here.