Scootareader Looks Into: Fanart · 5:51pm Dec 4th, 2017
Ignore the typo-ish in the blog title. That's legit what I titled this back in ye olden days of 2013.
I consider these first couple themes I did to be pretty dry, honestly. My original idea was to do a bit of a showcase of aspects of the fandom before tackling more nebulous, overarching trends. We've got one more what I'd consider "dud" before we actually get to the good shit, but if I'm going to be using this blog as a time capsule for my old content, it's gotta be all of it.
So, the specific site I wrote these things for was called The Daily Oat, which is now defunct, and trying to go to the old website appears to redirect you to some kind of phishing site. Quite the legacy, if I do say so myself.
At the time I became active and wrote these editorials, the editor-in-chief went by the handle Four String, and he wrote this little blurb at the beginning of my first Scootareader Looks Into:
This is the first in a new recurring feature by The Daily Oat’s newest writer, Scootareader. Join him every Saturday as he scrutinizes a different aspect of the “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” community, and be sure to keep the conversation going with him in the comments section.
I remember how excited I was when I first saw this at the beginning of my first editorial. I was so excited and happy. I got my first ever writing gig! I certainly started my job-type thing with a lot of gusto. There are quite a lot of these. 
Also, as an aside: I have over 4000 pony pictures accumulated from the beginning of season 2 till the end of season 3, every single one of them renamed at the time I saved them to my PC. It's like its own little time capsule of fandom art and memes from a time long departed.
Every day, thousands of images fly through our heads. From the mundane to the extraordinary, our eyes capture it all. And, despite all this viewing of happenstances in real-time, people still find a draw to art. This art is something so unique, so captivating, to the artist that they feel they must encapsulate this feeling they have into a single moment. Looking around us, we may fail to see the beauty of the world; however, in pictures, the most beautiful moments of a person's soul can be created for all to see.
This calls to mind the question, “Why do people draw ponies?” Well, it's simple: Because people who draw ponies have been so greatly influenced by it that they want to share what they see in their minds with the whole world.
Many fansites showcase the fanart that is so common, yet so expertly done, in our fandom. Go onto Google and put the name of any pony from the show in the image search, and I can almost guarantee that any pony that has existed for over a month has had at least some fanart done of them. Look at Apple Bottom; she showed up in the recent episode “Apple Family Reunion,” and no more than two days after the episode was released, there was an artist's depiction of her, and very well-done.
Every moment that artists find memorable in ponydom has been drawn, sometimes re-drawn. Other moments that still haven't happened have been drawn anyway, thanks to the imagination and creative spark that drives some artists. Trixie is shown at her greatest and most powerful and at her lowest and most pitiful, Rainbow Dash breaks the sound barrier in a spectacular rainboom, and Spike is dressing in his Sunday best for an occasion known only to the person who drew it. These are some iconic pictures that have been drawn by none other than bronies who wanted to contribute something to the show that we've all come to know and love.
Just how far-flung is this artistic medium? Well, it's difficult to describe in words just how art can affect so many people in so many different ways. In the same way that ponies means something a little different to everyone, artistic expression is very open-ended, and how we interpret pony fanart ultimately falls to us as individuals.
Seeing how widely varied each brony is, and then seeing the incredible amount of fanart freely available for each and every brony, it's no wonder so many bronies keep a digital warehouse of these on their computers. These pictures are usually no more than a few kilobytes in size, making it very practical to store them in large amounts. With just the amount of fanart available, a brony could look at them for hours and not even make a dent in how much content has been drawn by the fans.
Even Scootareader, your humble writer, has drawn a picture of ponies. Two, in fact. One of Scootaloo, and another of the Mane 6 that was given to a very good friend. Some who have artistic talent but previously had nothing inspiring enough to draw have all of a sudden begun producing loads of these cute, interesting, funny, sad, awesome, etc., pictures alongside the experienced artists who have been making them for years. Artists have been coming out in droves to draw depictions of this cute, quirky, silly show. Whether the art has retained this sense of innocence or portrayed a darker side of life is left completely up to the creator.
Why has this amount of content not been noticed by the general populace? Why are brony artists not accredited in the same way as artists who draw fruit, or landscapes, or humans, or any of that other boring stuff? Why, simply because they're ponies. That seems a little unfair. By virtue of what the art is about, most bronies aren't recognized as artists, and the work that they put into all of their pictures fails to be recognized by almost all other artistic communities.
Despite roadblocks like these to brony artists, who typically don't get payment for their art (unlike music artists, who can easily ask for very small fees if they want), they continue to create art for everyone to enjoy. How do we support them? Why, by looking at their art. Recognition for how impressive something can be to an artist is what they strive for. So, get out there and look at some art!
Coolio!
Is there any chance we can get a an updated "Scootaloo, that's who!" pic to compare to your past
scootaself?I think it's be interesting.
That's a nice butt.
4741614
To be honest, that is the only art I have ever drawn with serious effort. My current artistic competency is unchanged, and any art that is created for my stories is commissioned. I am not an artist; the Scootaloo picture (which I still have in my room somewhere) and the Mane 6 picture (which I gave to my friend when she was going through some turbulent times, and I don't believe I took pictures of it) are the only things I legit drew, and I have no interest in improving my artistry.
4741892
static3.fjcdn.com/comments/Not+promoting+clopping+just+found+a+perfect+time+to+use+_23621cb00529e7b4cffa2d23d77670e1.jpg
There's a special place in Hell for ponyfuckers. Don't allow yourself to be tempted. Fight your nature.
4742096
Aw... That's a shame.
I'd hoped there would be some awesome scoota-art to see.
4742096
Kaz... I'm already a demon.