Ponyville

Comic #72 - 72:05

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:09:56 GMT

Comic #72 - 72:05

(As always, comments appreciated!)

Comic #71 - 71:05

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:53:18 GMT

Comic #71 - 71:05

Note: This comic needs Monday's new comic for context: link

PONYVILLE NEWS CRAWL: THE CREATOR SPEAKS; ECHO EFFECT ADDED

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:37:36 GMT

Hello, Ponyville readers!

It's clear by now that I do not know what the future holds for the Ponyville comic. I don't want you to assume that this prolonged hiatus is writing on the wall, that the comic has gone the way of Roo's youth. ponyville is not yet snarling at passers-by, weilding a broom, losing its teeth.

Also clear, what's keeping me from updating is not easily circumvented. My creative energy and time has to go towards finishing school with my music degree, and a coming summer internship. (Couldn't I intern in Ponyville? But on second thought...)

As you know, I've been conflicted about whether it's best to give the comic the mercy killing that Roo never got. But I've decided that's not going to happen. I think I can figure out a way to let the comic evolve into something enjoyable and manageable.

I've discussed, with friends of mine who create comics themselves, doing an overhaul of the PV format. Perhaps a refocusing of storylines, but certainly a change to how the comic looks. It will likely get a bit sketchy (literally!), but I welcome this, and hope it won't be a jarring change for you.

I want to sincerely thank you all for sticking with Ponyville. Unless the majority of journals still watching the comic are now abandoned, many of you are still here, and I am encouraged by this!

Comic #70 - 70:05

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:58:45 GMT

Dear members of the Ponyville Press, thank you for attending today's event, on this, Ponyville's 3RD ANNIVERSARY. Mayor Pie will be addressing you very shortly.

Ponyville Press Conference
(file is in MP3 format, 1.0 MB, compressed for quicker downloading; simply right-click the link, then "save target/file" to download. Depending on your browser, you may be able to simply click without downlaoding to stream the audio)

Further details about the Mayor's announcement will be issued to you in print form shortly. There are complimentary pasteries for you on the way out.

(And if you want to phrase your comment in the form of a press-release, I would be greatly amused).

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 04:32:56 GMT

Politically motivated holiday greetings! :D

Comic #69 - 69:04

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 02:03:33 GMT

Comic #69 - 69:04

You know what they say: The Annual Costume Balls must go on!

Behind the cut is a list of who's wearing what!

Ki'ono and the monkey as Aladdin and Abu
Lemon Squash as a newscaster (that may or may not be Sparkleworks)
Mayor Pie as Mayor Quimby from The Simpsons
Sweetberry as Brutus
Dash as himself
Minty as The Poopsmith from Homestar Runner
Wysteria as a fairy.

Who has the best costume?

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:40:54 GMT

LJ had a fever yesterday, so here's yesterday's content.. today!

Is Mayor Pie talking about a Transformer or Sparkleworks' hair?

Comic #68- 68:04

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:01:41 GMT

Comic #68- 68:04

Today's strip was subject to an experiment. Comics usually take 10 hours, on average, to complete, but I wanted to see what I could create in only half that time, maximum. Visually it's notably more rough, and my perfectionism is tingling, but I'm hoping to find ways to make updating consistatly an easier endeavor.

("The Fourth Wall" is the imaginary boundary beween and audience and the characters on stage/television/etc.. When a character turns to the "camera" and addresses the audience, that's called "breaking the fourth wall.")

*And of course, please break my walls with comments. ;)

Comic #67- 67:04

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:33:46 GMT

Comic #67- 67:04

Does updating two weeks in a row mean the strip is officially off hiatus?

*As Dash dines on doughnuts, I wish to engorge myself with your comments. ::tucks napkin into shirt collar::

Comic #66- 66:04

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:17:55 GMT

Comic #66- 66:04

Could it be?

*Comments would kill me dead with joy. I'd love your feedback about this strip or in general.

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 07:22:26 GMT

I know this is already late, but I couldn't resist:

PS: I can make no promises, but my life is quieting down in terms of school and responsibilities beyond Ponyville's borders. I miss the strip, and I miss you!

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:54:57 GMT

Ponyville Reruns:
After carefully considering the poll results, I've decided to go ahead with the PV re-runs during the comic's hiatus, but they will be posted in a new, second journal I will create shortly. This way anyone who wants to see them can enjoy them, and anyone who doesn't won't have to simply ignore them.

I feel very clever right now. ;)

Also, per suggestion, I will add a little commentary to each re-run. This gives you something new to read, as well as feeding my creative ego.

FAN-ARTZ!
..I think someone may have fed The Pie's ego too, and it didn't sit right with his innards:

Created by the amazing, formidable, hilarious, crafty, flexible, Hugh-tastic littlegreenpony! The style especially is striking. Let us all convince her to create her own comic too.

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 17:55:35 GMT

I have some unfortunate news, Readers. Despite Mayor Pie's well-meaning press conference last week, I am calling a little press conference of my own. ::affixes Seal-of-Ponyville on the wall behind me::

I am officially putting Ponyville on an indefinite hiatus.

I am currently in the last throws of my college days and, until the end of June, I must use all of my time and creative effort on creating musicz, not comicz. I feel uncomfortable with this decision, but I felt it necessary to announce a hiatus formally; you have been very dedicated and patient with Ponyville, and I appreciate that.

But don't worry! Ponyville is not going gently into that good night! It's flailing and yelling and being a general jerk about it. <3 This is truly only a hiatus, not the end of the strip. Ponyville is easily the most rewarding project I've started online, and I won't let it go so readily.

I would like to continue posting sporadic art-stuffs, so this journal won't go completely dark for 3 months.

I also think posting PV "reruns" might be fun for you. Like Charlie Brown or something, except they are not posthumous. Although I like the idea of updating Ponyville frtom beyond the grave.

What do you think about me rerunning an old strip each week? It's not something I will do if an appreciable chunk of you have a problem with the idea. But perhaps, on a certain day each week, I'll post an old strip - maybe in chronological order, maybe in storyline order.

View Poll: Ponyville Re-runs:

Comic #65 - 65:04

Sun, 01 Apr 2007 16:29:28 GMT

Comic #65 - 65:04

http://www.50mbp.com/ponyville/strips/2007/65.04.b.jpg

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 02:48:46 GMT

It's Monday!

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 01:59:04 GMT

It's (still) Monday!

Hopefully Ponyville will come out of hock soon. Until then, I will continue to use class time for filler.

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:37:06 GMT

Here are my favorite captions you submitted for the last entry:

Because it's low-brow:
http://ponyville.livejournal.com/39400.html?thread=1426408#t1426408

Because it aptly references pop culture:
http://ponyville.livejournal.com/39400.html?thread=1431528#t1431528

Because it's cruel:
http://ponyville.livejournal.com/39400.html?thread=1429992#t1429992

I decided to unscreen all of the comments, so check out the last post if you want to read more. Thanks for submitting! SUBMITTING TO MY DEMANDS, THAT IS! ::cackles::

It's Monday!

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 23:43:39 GMT

My kingdom for some free time! In the meantine, you can do my work for me: FILL IN THE WORD BUBBLE! I'll screen comments and then choose the three best quotes, which I will reveal later.

It's Monday!

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 18:22:24 GMT

Comic process

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 16:01:41 GMT

I want to get in the habit of posting something to Ponyville at "Comic Time!" (::Muppets leap up and flail around::) each week. Since the last strip was posted only Thursday, I have no comic for you today, but that doesn't mean I have nothing!

I've wanted to post an illustrated entry detailing the steps I use in creating any given comic, and that is what you find below. I don't know if anyone will find this interesting, and I know I'm opening myself up to suggestions from artist-friends far more talented than I could hope to be, but I thought this might be fun.

I don't do anything extraordinary, and probably do everything ass-backwards since I am self-taught, but it all works for me. :) RIGHT?? DOESN'T IT?? (Don't humor that wave of self-doubt). As the strip has gone on, I seem to add more and more steps to the creation process. Recently, for example, I've added shading to each strip.

Step One: Sketching
I start by printing out a strip's diaglogue, which almost always gets revised along the way. Then I make a rough storyboard sketch, deciding how to partition the joke. I tend to crowd all of my sketches onto one or two pages. That's just how I roll.

(all examples in this entry are sized down significantly for posting.)

Step Two: Placement
Sometimes I will skip this step, but for strips with layouts beyond 4 equal boxes, this is a must.

In the above case, for example, I found that two sketches weren't right for the panels, so I redrew them. There's lots of redrawing any given week. Lots of second-guessing and fits of (artistic) rage. And apparantly Loverboy Armstrong used to play a character named "Doctor Mussels."

Step Three: Inking
Drawings get inked. Drawings get colored.

Step Four: Backgrounds/Cropping:
Sometimes I will create a background independent of the character inkings, but lately I've been creating backgrounds *around* the characters, which helps to add a sense of space. Either way, the scenes are then cropped into dimensions for the correct panel size laid out in the storyboard. These are HEEE-YOOOGE files. Villagers run from these while clutching their children.

This is also the most time consuming step. I've accumulated more and more pieces that I can reuse in different settings, but largely each strip needs its own scenery built.

Step Five: Shading:
I shade the ponies in-panel, after everything is already placed and cropped, in an effort to have lighting sources that line up. You can't have multiple suns, for example. Unless you can and Ponyville is on a seperate planet, which it is.

Step Six: Word Bubbles:
I account for word bubble placement in the storyboarding step, but unless it's a special case, word bubbles conform around what else is happening visually in a panel. That's why I do them last. After placing the text, I draw my bubbles by hand rather than use my graphic program. It's actually quicker and easier for me, and gives a more organic look that I like.

Step Seven: Post, and Beg for Comments:
You are familiar with this step.

TOTAL WORK TIME: An average of 10 hours. (Perhaps it shouldn't take that long, but it does. Oh how it does).

I hope this was interesting!

-----

Ponyville G3 Auctions:
Not to be a total shill, but I currently have about 60 G3 ponies listed on eBay, including almost every single Ponyville character in toy form, expect for Wysteria. (And Lemon Squash, since that would be impossible). Even Jack. Even Toola Roola. So maybe you can start your own collection, I don't know. Dude, you know you need your own Amberlocks to whore up. LINK

Comic #64- 64:04

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:58:10 GMT

Comic #64- 64:04

I've had this strip in my head for almost 2 years, so it's a bit of a milestone that I'm finally to the point of posting it.

Today's strip references a couple of past ones, #39 specifically. And here's a picture of Sunny Salsa, just because.

*Comments and feedback GREATLY, OVERZEALOUSLY appreciated! Was today's strip funny? What was funny about it? ETC!

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 12:18:19 GMT

It's a sad state of affairs, this. There will be a new PV comic posted tomorrow, oh there will be.

Because I am white-knuckling the idea of having a followable storyline, here's the link to the last strip, so it's fresh in your memory:

http://www.50mbp.com/ponyville/strips/2007/63.04.jpg

Thanks again for your candid answers to the feedback poll I posted earlier last month. It was very informative. Chiefly, it confirms what I suspected, that regular updates are the most important thing I can do to enhance your enjoyment of the comic. That will be difficult given my workload this semester, but I am up for an earnest effort! Also: you need more Dash, apparantly.

Comic #63- 63:04

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 15:13:58 GMT

Comic #63- 63:04

Ponyville updates two Mondays in a row? It's like a streak or something!

For the past strips in this stroyline, click here.

If you haven't seen or taken the Reader Feedback Poll, click here to log your valuable opinion!

Poll; fanart

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 22:01:24 GMT

Feedback Poll:
The response to the recent feedback poll has been very informative. You're giving a lot of great advice and input, and giving insight into things I've wondered about for some time. You've schooled me, yo.

If you missed the poll, please do fill it out. Your input is valuable, and the outcome of the poll will help guide some important decisions I'll shortly be making for the strip.

Click here for the poll.

Fant Art: 'ROO STATUE:
odindeathcrush did something awesome! She has divined ROO from a pile of clay! And then? She sent him to me! :D

She even sculted the eye veins. She even sculpted his trenchy wrinkles! Thank you, Odin!

Feedback poll

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 17:05:40 GMT

I mentioned in the last entry that it's Ponyville's 2nd Anniversary!
(PLEASE DO check that last entry if you missed it, as I posted a new comic too! I'd really like your comments :))

It's been perhaps an entire year since I last posted a feedback poll for PV's readers - YOU! I'm finding that the strip is at a pivot point here: I'd like to make it something better than it is, and to do that I very much need your input.

Please take the time to fill out the below poll. I can't emphasize enough (with hand gestures and everything) how important your input today will be to the future of the strip. PLEASE BE CANDID, and don't be afraid to give honest criticism where I ask for it. You will not hurt my feelings; in fact, getting criticism is an excellent way to help improve the comic, which I want to do.

Thank you all again for sticking with PV through its changes and challenges. You have made the strip something special for me.

Now, to the poll! Please feel free to speak openly in this entry's comments, too, if you ran out of room in the text boxes or if you had something else to add that I may not have asked about.

View Poll: Ponyville Feedback Poll #3 (Mini)