Overrun with Ponies

I noticed that a lot of what I've been doing lately has been very pony-centric. I really didn't intend for it to happen this way. I have long lists of things to work on in every possible category of craft (art, crochet, sewing, etc.), and for some reason ponies managed to make it to the top of the list in almost all of them. @_@

I don't really see myself as that big a MLP fan.  Don't get me wrong--I like the show. I especially love both Rarity and Fluttershy. Rarity is a favorite simply because it is not possible for me to not love a character who is essentially a costume designer. This goes back to Edna from The Incredibles. That movie made me all kinds of happy simply because of that one character. Fluttershy...well...if you get down to it, I am Fluttershy. I relate to her way too well. I feel incredibly socially awkward when I get around other people. Shy doesn't even come close to describing it. So, I love Fluttershy, and I love that a lot of other people love Fluttershy because, indirectly, it makes me feel more accepted as well. I realize that's not particularly rational. =P Of course, I never claimed to be particularly rational.

Anyways, back on topic. Too many ponies around Gothic Panda Studios...Right now I'm working with some custom printed Fluttershy fabric to make myself a tote bag (and I'm severely tempted to splurge on some of the extra soft stuff to make some pajama pants out of). I am working on My Little Pony crossovers (or mash-ups; I kind of like this term better) (and also because MLP is so abusable in this way--kind of like Sailor Moon). I am working on a set of MLP plushies for the Animazement Art Show/auction (in my defense here, I started these about a year ago). Oh yeah, and I'm also working on putting together a set of geek-themed household management PDFs (you know like printable planner pages, maybe a menu/grocery list printable page, to do list printable pages, etc.) (and this is also because I have to write things down or I forget--I am very easily distracted--so I love things like this, but I have yet to find any with awesome cook geekish themes), and I just happen to be starting with ponies. @_@ I think for that one I'm starting with ponies because for me, they're a little easier to work with and I'm kind of new to the whole design process for these things.

That said, the MLP themed pin-back buttons are finished. This means I will be moving on from that--be prepared for a massive bombardment of Final Fantasy designs. Final Fantasy is by far my most favorite rpg game series in existence. There are others that I like, but Final Fantasy and I go way back. So yeah, I'll be drawing from Final Fantasy I, IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, X-2 (this one's a maybe), XII, and XIII. Yeah...I wonder if I'll be sick of it by the time I get to the end of that? Heh. I am using it as an excuse to sit down and replay through all the games. FYI, FF VII is really hard to get a hold of now. Why don't people carry used PS 1 games any more? Or, maybe it's just my area. I originally had the game for PC, and I can't get that copy to work, so bleh. XD After that, who knows. I'll pick an obsession; I certainly have plenty to chose from.

I also finished the Dark Mare Rises parody movie poster. I was sort of planning on doing a follow up to that one with Pinkie Pie doing the "Why So Serious?" line on that one poster of the Joker, but I haven't been too motivated to start that one. Instead I'm working on a Hobbit movie poster parody. Any guesses on what I'm mashing that one with? =P Mwahahaha. Alright, got that out of my system. Oh, yeah, and I'm also working on a new set of 10 What Would ___ Do? designs (I have a few I'm still waffling on, so if there's someone you'd really like to see, drop me a line; now's the time to do so). So, there are going to be some non-pony things coming up, eventually.

The jist of this post: For pony fans, there's more pony stuff coming. =D For non-pony fans, there's some other stuff coming. =D

WIP - Vol. 36

Final Fantasy I buttons (3 mages + 1 failed Black Belt design). At the top you can see sketches from the now finished My Little Pony button designs.

This is going to be a blanket for a baby in my church. He's just a couple of weeks younger than Sophie. =)

Up close of one of the blanket squares

It's my Fluttershy fabric. The print came out larger than I thought it would, but I still have ideas as to what to do with it. =D If I thought I could afford it, I would totally get enough of this fabric to make a pair of pajama pants.

I'm working on the new set of What Would's. Here's a preview of one of the new designs.

Really bad picture quality, but I was too lazy to dig out my flatbed scanner for this. XD The beginnings of the first set of My Little Pony mash-ups I'm working on.

Works in Progress No. 1, Vol. 8

This weeks WIP post will include stuff for this week and last week, since I missed posting last week's due to pre-AWA craziness. Actually most of this post will be for last week's stuff; I haven't actually gotten much done since AWA--I've spent most of this week catching up on sleep so far. =P

So, let's start with art--that's the big one, so let's get it over with. I did finish the Zodiacs... all of them. It was exhausting, but I was glad I had them all finished for AWA. That's about it for art though. I'm starting new sets this evening though, as soon as I finish putting together this post, so there should be some cool, exciting, new stuff starting next week. =D

The big time sink last week, outside of finishing the zodiacs and getting all the badges cut out and laminated for AWA, was the Anime Tarot Deck. I wanted to include pictures of the booklet we were putting together for the deck with last week's WIP post, which was why the post got put off so late that it didn't happen. It took us literally all day Wednesday to finish tweaking the formatting so the book would print properly, printing it, cutting out all the pages, arranging the pages in order, folding the book, adding the cover which also had to be cut out, and stapling it. Random bit of trivia: the insides of this book are one of the only things on my art tables that I have printed from home. Usually we take it to another place to print; we did have the cover printed elsewhere.

Uncut pages

Assembled Book

Finished Deck

The next spiffy thing I finished (mostly) last week was my Fluttershy costume. The dress in the photo is a little wrinkled and the wings are a little squished from the trip home, but that's nothing a little trip through the wash then ironing and a pile of heavy books won't fix. Fluttershy's butterfly cutie mark is still missing from the dress; I will have that added by Halloween, since I'll probably be re-wearing it for our annual party.

Finally, I started a new plushie kitty during AWA. It's going to be another Kisa-colored one. =D