Character Design, Progress, Etcetera · 5:25am Jan 15th, 2015
Those of you who have been around since the first story, or really anytime after "Under the Starry Skies," have probably figured out after several long periods of silence that I can be inconsistent in my communication. And you know what? That's lame. With this established, I'd like to let you all know what's been going on since the first of the year. I may make bi-weekly updates a thing, just so I can keep you all in the loop. If nothing else, I can always share some relevant art that I've drawn or had commissioned.
With a recent promotion came a whole slew of responsibilities, as well as an increase in hours, and the first week my spare time was spent largely in a semi-gelatinous state of absolute exhaustion, staring at my computer screen trying to remember what it was like to have any energy. However, despite slogging through almost an entire week of getting nearly nothing done on account of being fried, I'm stoked to let you all know that I've made significant progress overall, and am adjusting quickly to my new role in the small company I work for. The story is sitting at around 56k, which I would put it at approximately a third of the way complete. There are a lot of reasons why I'm excited for this next one, even if it is turning out almost nothing like I had planned, and my goal is to have it finished by the end of February. However, what that translates into is around 100k in 6 weeks, so it may end up being sometime in March that I actually key the last letter. Still, this is infinitely better than an ETA of "never," so woo!
Now, then, with the meat of the discussion taken care of, I'd like to announce a slight retcon. When I started "The Cheval Glass," Merry Mint was still in the conceptual stages of being a solid character. I had a fairly decent grasp of his personality and a few quirks, but I had never been satisfied with his color scheme or physical design. That hadn't changed by the time the story ended, and it wasn't until I started working on the next story that I really knuckled down and started trying to fix his design.
This may seem inconsequential, but I feel that OCs are immediately put under higher scrutiny than writing for even the most obscure of canon characters and background ponies, so having an appealing design is actually very important. Granted, aesthetics are arguable and everyone will have their own opinion, but there are some basic principles that can go a long ways in getting a positive reception. Hint: if people squint to block out the light, your color is probably too bright. Visual design is something that I actually rather enjoy, even if my actual artistic skills are somewhat limited. Here's what I'm talking about:
If I recall correctly, this was the color scheme that I had originally used for Merry Mint, and the one that is described in "The Cheval Glass." Now, this isn't necessarily a "bad" design, but the blue is quite bright, and is too similar to the color that I use for Cerulean's coat. His mane colors were chosen with peppermint candies in mind, but having red and white not only made him look like the American flag was ponified, but the red was also unpleasantly bright, and I didn't like it. Pink and white seemed to work as a color scheme, but pink isn't really associated with peppermint, and that's to say nothing of how poorly having a green cutie mark looked with his blue coat (even if it isn't visible). This was one of those cases of needing to move forward, though, so I went with what I had and just finished the story because it was short.
I needed new concept. Not for his personality, but for how to translate his name, talents, and personality into a fitting physical form. On a whim, I started browsing the internet for various mint related things, and that's when I found this:
They're bright. They're fun. They're flippin mint candies that gave me an entirely new color palette to draw from, and the moment I found that image, I knew that I had to incorporate them into Merry's design. They just seemed to fit the animated puppy pony that I had wanted to create, though even with that new inspiration, finalizing the details was difficult for me. Finding something that "works" is one thing, but finding the thing that "fits" is something else entirely. After much deliberation, this is what I settled with, and I'm pretty confident that it's far better than the first:
Ta-da~! Introducing the new and improved Merry Mint, guaranteed to freshen your day and brighten your smile! Or, something like that. That's what the ponies of Dodge seem to think, and I do, too. He's been a lot of fun to write for.
Thanks for reading, everyone!
Interesting take on Merry Mint. Thanks for the post. I do agree people do judge a story base on the OC, a bit more critically.
I like him. I also like your style of drawing.
Well... at least I've got one thing to look forward to this year.
Hehe, he almost looks like a pastel Rainbow Dash. I like it. Eagerly awaiting the next story and will probably reread the previous stories again to bide my time :3
I am so behind on checking blogs lol. I like his look though. Don't think I've seen a Pony colored quite like him... With all this talk of mints, and mints being something you eat, I wonder if he is any way related to the Pizza Pony.
Not being serious.