Gift pixel art: Triptych (and too-late group scene consideration) · 1:09am Mar 3rd, 2018
I mentioned this when talking about some of the things which my bout with the flu interfered with -- but now I can go into detail.
The not-short version: Spectrumancer is sponsoring a pixel artist on Patreon: Rangelost. (This artist also does stories and games: this is their FIMFic page). And one of the reward levels is that if you're sponsoring this artist, you get entered into a drawing every month: the winner gets a piece done to their specifications. Spectrumancer, for reasons known only to generosity and temporary madness, decided to gift that piece to me -- or, just about as much, to the story, because he wanted a Triptych scene. And so I got a PM telling about the win, the gifting -- and asking me which scene I would want to see rendered.
Now, first off: thank you. Thank you for the gift, for thinking of me, for the chance... for everything. I have to give thanks and I really have to do it in public, because I was down with the flu and wasn't answering -- or, for that matter, reading -- my mail. I was radio and Internet-silent. I said nothing because I wasn't capable of saying much. There were days when reaching the computer was an issue, and others where I had trouble looking at it. So in the end, Spectrumancer, instead of being offended by that silence -- something I would have completely understood -- chose the scene. I recently received the results, and... take a look.
The group within the ravine, in the Landscape chapter.
And once again... thank you. It's something I never expected to see.
I was offered the chance to choose my own scene for depiction. But I never got to answer that PM in time, and so the choice was made for me. But the thing is... I don't know what I would have chosen to have rendered. I thought of a few possibilities, after it was too late to express those wishes. But I never came to a definitive conclusion: the one thing I would have wanted to have brought into the visual. I probably would have wound up posting a short list of possibilities in my blog and asking everyone to vote.
So as long as we're here... if there was one moment from Triptych itself which you could have rendered into art -- what would it have been?
And is there a scene somewhere within the rest of the Continuum which you feel should be drawn?
Triptych
The scene where Discord sends them on their quest
(Echoes of the Fellowship of the Ring being set on their quest in Rivendell)
Huh. I can see why you'd have a hard time choosing. There are a lot of incredible moments to choose from. Rarity literally holding down the fort in Tricks of the Trade Show? The climax of Stupid Direction-Face? An image of the previous generation of Bearers? Or maybe just a portrait of Rachette in the middle of working on something, complete with face-spider, or the havoc wrought during Orange is the New Blue.
Still, definitely can't say I'm disappointed with what came of the raffle. Gorgeous piece, this. Thank you for sharing it with the rest of us, to Rangelost for making it, and to Spectrumancer for arranging it.
Really nice art, this. Pixel art baffles me, so seeing it done with such skill is a treat. Thanks Rangelost and Spectrumancer for the creation and commission of some badass art. Thanks for showing it to us, Estee.
Since I'm an artist (laughing out loud at old profile pic) I'm always trying to draw scenes from Triptych or the Continuum in more general. I wanted to make a comic out of the scene where Applejack and Twilight talk in the forest, because it was such a powerful scene, only got halfway through because I always get distracted. Also I get weird about getting things exactly like how they were in the text and any time I got stuck on some minute detail I'd get frustrated with myself and quit.
Others...I tried to draw that scene where they all confront her with Twi and Rainbow holding her down, right before Pinkie and AJ's fight which I also tried to draw. Joyous meeting Luna in the throne room in MoA, the sisters hunkering in the cell making contingencies, Celestia oversharing in the hotel bath. Those are the scenes I'd love to see rendered by someone who isn't allergic to backgrounds or clean lines such as myself.
I learned how to draw Fleur de Lis so I could draw dumb Anchor Foal art, so thanks for that?
Lady Applejack Malus of House Rosaceae, Keeper Of The Path, Discovery Of The Unknown and Bloom Of The New Seed, The Truth of Harmony, Our Reassurance of Honesty with that "small, slightly mercenary smile". (From "Plinth".)
...This could take a while. I'll get back to you.
The hopefully upcoming scene where Doctor Gentle is horribly spifficated in a suitably excessively violent fashion...?
I'm a bad person, but we should all know this by now.
Else I would not be having so much enormous fun setting people on fire in Witcher 3 and then standing there laughing while they stumble around shrieking...
There are two scenes from Triptych that I would really like to have seen in art.
First, the scene where Twilight meets Dr. Gentle, and bows to him.
Second (mainly because I think it would work better in animation than as a static scene): Applejack showing up to breakfast the morning after she betrayed, and her not wearing her hat.
The eclipse over the Lunar Courtyard, naturally.
Thank you, Spectrumancer!
Quite a nice piece. :)
As for what one scene out of Triptych, or the whole Continuum (or at least the bits of it I've read)... oogh. Yeah, I don't know how I'd pick, either...
From Twilight: Magic Minus Magic. Switch 12, Okay, that might be problematic, or obscene. Or both...
How about Twilight reacting to Pinkie’s book fort from The Remainders Of The Day.
Honestly, I just want to see what a snitcher looks like, particularly with the chaos pearls. Would they all be the same gem at the same time, or would they be out of sync, i.e. in disharmony.
What a beautiful piece. Something I always love about seeing a scene from a story that is only words suddenly rendered visual, be it a picture, a comic, animation, or a real life movie, is how almost every time it's completely different than how I imagined it - and yet perfectly fitting and beautiful, giving me yet another way to appreciate said scene.
I love how deep the ravine looks here, and how the sunlight falls down to the bottom. The bearers look so soft and small cuddled up there... it looks gorgeous. The artist is really good.
If I would choose a moment to see from Triptych, it would probably be her ascension. It must have looked spectacular, as cruel as that moment was. I also agree with Dinode that I would really love to see what a snitcher looks like! An image like a page out of Fortreeze Laudanum's book with the sketches, presented as if it was the real thing. That would be really cool...
For the whole verse, I'm not sure if my favourite moment would come across as well if drawn. It's when Twilight feels the resonance of Luna raising the moon. (I dream of having that put into animation with proper voice acting. Hearing that awesome, awesome quote spoken by Luna's voice actress would be thrilling.) Actually now that I think about it, most of my favourite moments rely so much on internal narration and context that drawing them would just mean a picture of someone standing around, giving a meaningful look. Apple Bloom breaking the crusade, Spike finding the spot where Aoratoss died, Celestia telling Luna about the tulip market crash, Celestia visiting the lunar half of the palace during abeyance, the memory of cantomile while Celestia makes her hurry up mix, the moment where Celestia uplinks with Sun, Trixie being sad after finding a way to enhance her field strength without having the strength to truly pull it off, Rarity in her booth at the trade show, Pinkie Pie pushing a rock on the farm as a filly... uhm, sorry, this wasn't supposed to be a list of favourite moments.
But I do have a favourite moment that might be easier to render into a picture - when Rainbow Dash enchants her wonder, the fire extinguisher, because that was beautiful and I'd imagine that a picture could capture some of the elegance that came across through the writing.
Diamond Tiara meeting Cameo for the first time, from "Confederacy of Dunce Caps". It's like the first moment Diamond switches off her other instincts of ambitions and manipulation, and just experiences the world instantly, in harmony with others. Central scene of your third best story.
Rarity owning Rainbow Dash with water balloons comes to mind, especially in cute pixel art.
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You'd have to narrow that down. His initially showing himself in the Hall Of Legends? Laying down the rules? The moment just before the talons snap against each other?
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ElementAggregator created an image of Ratchette some time ago -- but that link is now showing as broken. *sigh* I could (and should) ask for a reposting.
The Rarity choice is interesting to me because visually, it has the potential to be a very dynamic scene. There's a lot going on: the tarpaulins (and frames) trying to take off, hats and dresses caught by the wind, Rarity's field over everything and the sheer strain on her face, Coco moving to help, background chaos as the other two artists lose their own goods and maybe just a hint of what's happening at Stormy's little show visible in the distance...
Stupid Direction-Face needs some narrowing down, though. Rainbow just above her freshly-woven mini-cloud, on the absolute border of the weave? The negotiation with the red dragon? The summoning of the true flame? And I'm not sure what you specifically mean by Orange Is The New Blue havoc: the first thing I flashed on was trying to talk Daisy off her soapbox -- but I'm very probably wrong.
There may be enough here for someone to try drawing the Original Six. Personally, I'd want to add some details first -- but it's all about artist interpretation.
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Y'do know that you're both free and welcome to show some of this to all of us at any time, right?
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I can see artists as declaring themselves allergic to this one -- unless someone's very good at giving the general impression of a huge crowd: Applejack being announced means a tremendous number of ponies in the crowd below, along with all the reactions from the Bearers and Softtread trying to get everything out without losing beat or composure. It may just be too many individuals portrayed for a given effort.
(Actually, it's a pity that Duke Cimarron arrived too late for witnessing that.)
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I am not going to look up 'spifficated'.
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Even with the sheer number of ponies at the burnout, the first is easier than the party introduction because narrowing the view to show just a little background shock is more of an option. (It's more of a curtsy, though.) The second could work as a single frame -- but I think you'd have to get in all the reactions of the Bearers.
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Which one? Luna's initial use of illusion to recreate it ("I had forgotten...") with a moment of memory and beauty shared between the sisters -- or the utter "She's trying to take over again!" chaos during/after the mistake of the sneak preview for the staff? Two very different emotional themes there.
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We don't talk about Switch #12. Ever. Some Noodle Incidents are doomed to remain exactly that.
The book fort reaction wouldn't be too complicated to render. (But personally, for that story... I might have gone with the column which was not actually holding up the tree. Or maybe even one of the many column collapses. The reveal of the storage unit...?)
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Oh, you.
Thankee.
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A snitcher is an eternal golden braid...
(The pearls held within the necklace, for their changes, are in sync with each other.)
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What struck me about the image -- and the thing which told me that either Spectrumancer had done an incredible job on the briefing or that the artist had done some reading? Look at Applejack. Fluttershy and Twilight are in the center of the scene, with everypony else focused on them -- except for AJ, who's looking up at the ravine's walls. There are different reactions going on within the scene: Pinkie's more concerned, Rainbow isn't quite going all cuddly -- but Applejack, even while standing within it, has split away from the group.
The first is a scene we have yet to reach in-story, meaning any theoretical artist would be working in whole cloth -- and right now, I'd discourage that, because the setting is vital. But the last is -- stylistically interesting, especially once you start including the notes.
The moon-raising as a single image would be tricky, especially in trying to get across the words. That's a moment which probably is better off as animation -- and therefore, is effectively impossible.
Of the others... Celestia wandering through the shutdown half of the palace could have a lot of power behind it, and the connection with Sun -- well, you either just have two ponies in a basement or you're giving the artist freedom to go incredibly stylized. It's a scene with 'do something surreal here!' all over it.
The breaking of the Crusade could work as a single frame, but it's a moment which needs careful choice. Apple Bloom voicing the words and the others reacting? Towing the cart away?
I can see a potential issue there: it's a scene about a dance. You'd get one shot at suggesting movement.
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(So tempted to start a 'You think that's the central scene?' and '...so what are the other two?' debate...)
I can find one artist tripping point in this one: background. All the terrariums, heat lamps, and everything else that goes into keeping Snails' farm operational. It's potentially a lot of detail to ask for.
And as long as I'm posting: here's an actual jeweled scarab, seen from above. (Note that the camera really doesn't capture the reflective polarization.)
museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Guide/Scarabaeoidea/Scarabaeidae/Rutelinae/Rutelinae-Tribes/Rutelini/Chrysina/Chrysina-species/C-resplendens/Images/C-resplendens_D.jpg
And in the wild:
museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/Guide/Scarabaeoidea/Scarabaeidae/Rutelinae/Rutelinae-Tribes/Rutelini/Chrysina/Chrysina-species/C-resplendens/Images/C-resplendenslive.jpg
Living jewelry.
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Are you going for Rainbow within the sphere and the exact moment of 'Oh, megacrap' just before impact?
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I think the initial one, because I am a huge softie for moments of sisterly bonding.
Although the other in, say, Andy Price''s style would be great for ponied caricatures of popular news media fleeing in terror.
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Any of the above. There are a number of visually striking scenes in that sequence, and it's hard to pick just one. I suppose if I had to pick one, it would be Rainbow and her cloud seen from behind, with the dragon looming before her, almost more landscape than character. Maybe do a three-quarter rear view on Dash so we can see her expression. Somewhere between "David vs. Goliath" and "Yes, I do dare challenge a god."
As for Orange Is The New Blue havoc, what I had in mind was sort of a composite shot encapsulating as many of Spectra's misdeeds as possible: The ersatz zap apples, Fruit Stripe Zecora, photonegative Rarity and Dash, the Boutique in one corner where we can see the chromatic vandalism through the windows, Twilight holding that one glass of blue orange juice in her field, maybe even playing fast and loose with the layout of Ponyville so the Corner full of dubiously colored pastries could be seen as well. And, of course, ponies clamoring everywhere as Twilight looks on in horror, Zecora with determination, and Rarity with intent to kill. (Dash hasn't woken up yet.) Less a scene than a visual summary of the story that's too spoiler-laden to serve as a cover image.
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From th Oxford dicitionary website:
I do not think that word means what you think it means...
Seriously, it's a word I learned out of the Beano.
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Just before the talon snap, where he numbers off the questors,
One Pegasus
One Fluttershy, etc.
Sorry I wasn't clearer.
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Yep! And if the framing could work, a shot of Rarities smug "Welcome to your death" face we all know must have been spectacular. Maybe it could be a panel and the rest of the page could be Rainbow? Eh.
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Oh, that's because I phrased it that way. On purpose. Knowing that it incites such questions.
...
Well, perhaps not central plot-wise, but I re-read the story last week on a train and, as with my first reading, this was the scene that stood out the most to me. It's impactful - it changes completely how the reader views Diamond - it's the first time she allows herself to be completely vulnerable, and I thought that it was the emotional core of the story, and also that it was beatifully envisioned. The moment Diamond sees the scarab everything disappears to her - I imagine Cameo placed at the center of the scene, with the (detailed? smudgy-impressionistic?) background out of focus or overtaken by the scarab's incandescence, and both Diamond's and Snails's line of sight point to her. I dunno, it just connects with me.
Other candidates for a 'central' scene include the first was (although I somewhat disliked your use of it throughout the story, a tad melodramatic, but it worked) and Diamond waiting for her trial with Snails, Snips and Cheerilee in the heat of the sun. Probably a misuse of the word 'central', but... well, I've got nothing. Misuse.
Regarding my rankings, they're not meant to be very precise placements, but I feel like "Lazy River" is your best work, with "Triptych" not far behind, and "Confederacy..." so close behind it might as well be a tie (although I presume there was more effort put into "Triptych", so maybe it edges out). And now that I think about it, perhaps I was careless and should have said "my favourite of yours" instead of "your best". I don't think I'm up for a debate you're tempted to start.
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I'm gonna try. There's no way to view sai files through the usual methods so I'm digging through years of content only going off of my bad file names. I can't find the pinkie/aj fight, so might try and redraw that one.
I did just find this file from, god, Halloween 2016? Literally October 31st. It's that scene in Anchor Foal when Pinkie jumps Fleur, but I forgot that it basically took place in the doorway and not like, outside. RIP accuracy. Let me know if the link doesn't work.
...Now I'm annoyed how most of my files don't have enough specificity to qualify as triptych fanart in particular. I made a lot of art on paper but hell if I'm going to dig through all that. When I make more, might just PM Estee rather than update a comment when no one gets notifications on edits. Promise not to spam, I swear.
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Great taste. Lazy River gave me the insight to not read fanfic in public places anymore, cause crying in public sucks! It was still really good. Even if I can never read it again. You made me want to reread Confederacy again though.
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Hmm. Possibly. Though I've seen quite a few works on the 'booru that are at least as detailed.
But there are always alternatives, such as Her in mid-transformation. You know, in case some reader doesn't want to encase certain ponies in stone, put the new statues in Tartarus, and relocate Tartarus to the Moon.
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Yeah, I noticed that! Regardless of whether it was a good briefing or if the artist did some reading, they did an amazing job conveying the characters and emotions of the scene. It feels really accurate to the story.
Ooooh, so we will see her ascension in the story?? HUZZAH!
Well now I'm intrigued. Trippy stylised art can be incredibly cool when combined with "regular" animation styles, especially cutesy ones. It's something I liked about the Madoka Magica anime; the meshing of different art styles was incredibly interesting and fun to watch.
That's true! I have seen still images of dancing scenes incredibly well, and I've also read comics who did an amazing job conveying the movement of air through highly stylised lineart, so this was something on the back of my mind when I chose this scene. But then of course I'm not much of an artist myself so I have no idea how difficult that would truly be to realise. It might be harder than it seemed to me based on the images I had in mind.
After much rereading, and some reading that really shouldn't have been postponed for so long, I've come up with some possibilities. Part of keeping the list down was not including anything, except for one, that didn't state that it was part of the Continuum in the long description. The other part was trying not to list more than one idea per represented story (and where I failed, the ideas are close to each other, anyway). Also, some stories, while I enjoyed them (or at least, felt along with them), didn't give me any ideas for scenes to throw out there.
Total Eclipse of the Fun: Ponyvillian citizens (possibly with the probable set of unmentioned Canterlotters, you know, the ones who attend pretty much everything in Ponyville?) decorating for
EcliReturn Day. ("Conjunction")Permanent Record: Bobbi Brassie at her desk, surrounded by darkness, except for "They must have been there. But nopony saw them. But they must have been there. But nopony saw them. But they must have been there. But nopony saw them. But..." written in some sort of appropriate style. Or perhaps the words of Incident #139's report. Or a mixture.
Pony Up a Tree: The moment when Rarity touches ground for the first time in several hours.
If Rainbow Dash can't sleep...: Rainbow Dash at approximately 2:16. Maybe a little before. Point is, being defenestrated.
The Hypocrisy of Tolerance: Caramel getting The Flitter Experience.
Twilight's Escort Service: Caramel being escorted... with his internal monologue, naturally.
Post Negative Comments Only: Tanza "dancing in place a little", as the narrative puts it. ("The Only Constant Is Change")
The Elements of Elements: Ratchette laying the ground rules for Apple Bloom's new job. ("Natural Conducters (Ratchette)"
Goosed!: Spike yelling at Applejack, with all four of the others visible. ("The Temperate Traveling Temper Tantrum")
Rainbow Splash: And I quote: "and then [Rainbow Dash] found herself at the exact center of the sphere. A sphere composed of one hundred and ninety-nine glowing dye-filled balloons, precisely spaced so that there was no way to exit in any direction without impacting at least ten of them." So basically, agreeing with Kai Creech.
Sick Little Ponies (And One Dragon): And on the note of flying objects, Rhynorn-directed reading materials. ("Twilight: Magic Minus Magic")
Good For Nearly All Princess Labor, Public And Private: Pretty much any point during the rock dove encounter.
The Remainders of the Day: Related to Brumby_Run's idea, the book fort, occupied by playing colts and fillies and one young mare keeping it safe while not sacrificing fun. ("Restoring Circulation")
Haunted Hayride: The moment Rainbow takes off, while she's still like 1-2' from the cart, reacting to what proved to be... the last straw. A number of angles to consider, here; my first thought was from kind of a low angle, looking toward the cart so we couldn't see the "playlet" that pushed her over, but one could also imagine a perspective from inside the cart, where we could.
Three Hundred and Sixty Degrees of Saturation: A crowd watching a mare be air-dryed... as Twilight field-carries Rarity away against her wishes.
A Series of Egotistical Events: Very young filly Rainbow Dash breaking down in tears of pity for a pony whom she thought must have lost his/her wings in a horrible accident. ("Air ← → Earth")
A Bird in the Dryer...: Lotus, in bed, trying to block out chickadee noises. (Or possibly Lotus trying to get Aloe to mimic chickadee noises...)
Drunk Little Ponies: Aw man... some possibilities here... Twilight in uniform? Rainbow and Flitter, having drunk themselves unconscious? Daisy, still yelling from police custody?
Now... here's one -- one -- that I debated with myself whether or not to include, because it's not explicitly part of the Continuum, so to include it is to give weight to the (self-imposed) idea that I have to go back and look for ideas amongst the other non-Continuum stories... which I'm willing to do, but it will take more time... but I love the idea my brain came up with:
Jury Duty II: Jury Harder: Luna and Unanimi... from the perspective of inside the vending machine, as they regard food that just might have passed its "Best by" date.
Incidentally, there's a thread on derpibooru about fanfiction you'd like to see more fanart of, so if there's no real reason not to, I was thinking this blog post could be linked to there.
I just had a thought.
"Triptych", being an art term (as you, the author, know, but someone else might not), is already a tag over at Derpibooru. If someone uploads fanart of these and tags it "triptych", it'll get lost in the actual triptychs. So I suggest you (as in, whoever uploads it) tag it with "triptych continuum" for fanart of anything within the Continuum (along with the specific title), and "triptych (fanfic)" for fanart of the central work.