Anonymous asked: Will this blog continue activity in the foreseeable future?
This deserves to be answered, so I’m going to post it:
The short answer? Probably not.
It’s kind of sad. I remember staying up for hours having this giant list of like 100+ different blogs that I would always look at and have on the ready. Always thinking about which one to do next. I had a lot of hopes for this blog, and was so disappointed for how things turned out in the end.
But the reasons why are a bit different than what you might think.
1. So first off: This is something that I’m sure you guys can guess. Basically what happened was that I was never able to draw myself, but when I created this blog in order to help artists gain some followers (I used to have a lot of respect for people like that) I had someone who agreed to work with me who was an artist who would draw up the posts when I needed. They then eventually jumped ship on me randomly.
After that, I kept trying to find new people, and I went through A LOT. About 10 different people in total never even made a single post. They would agree to help me (since the blog seemed like a good cause), I would ask them for just a simple picture, and they would wait a long time until the day of and immediately tell me “Nah, I changed my mind.”
Anyone who did actually agree to work with me was short lived at best. I’ve been trying to teach myself how to draw on my own but that’s taken a while and with me trying to juggle three degrees, it’s not a whole lot of time to practice (and I haven’t even begun to learn how to draw digitally). So yeah, there’s that.
Since then, and having to deal with people, I’ve lost a lot of respect for ‘artists’ over the years.
2. Second thing that happened: Somebody basically jacked by idea. It sucked, but yeah I had always taken hours to think out and write out these long posts, and I tried not to spam blogs cause I had hoped people would actually look at the blogs I was talking about and not just ignore them. It could have been easy to just spam links to blogs, but I wanted people to not get used to that and it turn into a sort of ‘white noise’ on someone’s dashboard.
I never got hardly any followers, and the people I did things for half the time wouldn’t even reblog the post I did about them. So they took the benefit (and the purpose) of this blog which was to send them more followers, but they never returned the favor by reblogging and sending some followers back to help others down the road.
Then somebody else does a blog with basically the same concept but with posts about as long as Twitter comments (and about as well written). Some Tracy Flash person. I don’t know, but their main blog had more followers so when they used the same idea they had more people starting out and, you know the saying, “The rich get richer”.
Tried talking to them once to wish them luck. They were a dick. So I stopped. Which brings me to the next point….
3. Finally, there’s the third thing: Tumblr. This is two-fold. One, MLP blogs are kind of dead now. Well not so much dead, but definitely comatose in some hospital bed somewhere. It used to be really cool with TONS of new blogs all the time, and so much cool stuff to look at. But the stream of new and exciting blogs has become a slow trickle from the faucet, and the show’s fandom has kind of fluttered away (ha, get it?).
Then there’s the problem with Tumblr itself. The site is basically an SJW killzone. Say something someone doesn’t agree with (politically or socially), and prepare to get flamed a thousand times till you’re burnt to a crisp.
I guess that it then, huh? Kind of sucks. I still remember hoping to help everyone get all the followers I had (at the time anyways) thought everyone deserved. People were only getting popular because of luck or knowing someone else who was popular, and that kind of made people depressed. I really wanted to fix that, and wanted to make people happy and encourage them to keep drawing.
What’s really funny? This was another long post I put a lot of thought into writing, and I bet no one will see it, or reblog it, or care. It’ll just get buried like all my others under the mountain of stuff on someone’s dashboard. I wonder what it’ll be sandwiched between? Knowing my luck? Probably between automatically reblogged posts of a gif and one of the thousands of random blogs I had actually once wanted to help.
See You, Space Cowboys. And Stay Dandy.
[video]
(Thank you to our artist: http://ask-izaneighi-and-friends.tumblr.com/ )
[video]
“Alright guys! Guess who’s back! I know, I know, you all missed me. I’ve been on a bit of a break, touring all over Equestria and the TumblrVerse to find new stars! (OOC: And by that I mean I had to give our artists some time off due to everyone’s finals going on.) So what’s this week’s blog? Why it’s the newest sensation of Tumblr Pone! Twily and Smarty!”
“Well, where to we begin with this amazing blog? As you may have guessed, the blog centers around the adventures of a young Twilight and her imaginary friend and doll, Smarty Pants, who often tries to keep the ambitious and energetic Twilight in line. Not to worry though, as there are plenty of other regularly occurring characters within the blog, such as Twilight’s mother and father, her brother Shining, and most recently her classmates. With all these characters and Twilight’s childhood imagination, and maybe some of her brother’s, this blog is shaping up to be a great adventure, even if some of the epic parts may simply be imaginary”
“See that? It’s posts like this that let you know a blog’s going to be good.”
“Now, before I go any further, let’s talk a bit about the mod/artist behind the blog, and where they got their start. Some of you may in fact recognize them from DeviantArt, which is where Twily and Smarty got its start. It was quite popular, and the artist has finally joined us ponies on Tumblr Pone! Everyone clap your whooves and go ‘Yay!’ Okay, dramatics and celebrations aside, lets seriously give a shout out to the artist and welcome them among us! Remember folks, if you know anyone else who’s missing out on Tumblr Pone, they’re missing out on half of the fandom!”
“So what about the blog itself? Well, it’s very humor-focused (as opposed to other genres like cuteness overload, story-focused, crossover, etc.), and much of its humor is derived from Twilight’s antics, both at home and now at Celestia’s academy, and is fueled greatly by that childhood imagination and energy that many of us remember fondly, which is what makes a great part of the blog. It takes you back to that age where everything was epic, anything could be an adventure, and you were always an ever shifting heroic persona of your choosing. Couple this with some great jokes and references throughout, and you’ve got a blog that’s really shaping up to be a great show!”
“If you get the reference, you win! If you don’t, well you should, so go play a Kojima game some time. Your leader has spoken!”
“What about the artist style? Well, you can definently see the artist’s improvement over time from their first comic of Twily and Smarty compared to their more recent strips. I’m actually very interested in their style, denoted by sharp shapes and lines (especially found a lot in manes) as well as heavy outlines and shading. It gives it a sort of nice comic-style to the blog that I’m honestly looking forward to seeing more of in the future.”
“Now let’s go more into the story of Twily and Smarty. While many posts up until now have not focused on a clear cut storyline, recently we’ve begun to see a more focused plot of Twilight and her beginning Celestia’s academy. Here we are introduced to some of her classmates and her teacher that she’ll be spending time and interacting with, and yes she does this all with her imaginary friend Smarty Pants to be by her side!”
“And that, class, concludes our lesson on Twily and Smarty! Hope you guys enjoyed today’s lecture, I mean review, and we hope to see you again with our next Spotlight sometime soon! Until then, have fun and keep those suggestions coming in! Be sure to keep a look out for our voice interview with the mod of Twiley and Smarty, RipFrost, in the near future!”
“Until then, remember! EVERYONE deserves a chance in the Spotlight! See you soon!”
http://twilyandsmarty.tumblr.com/
“Well folks, it’s that time again! Did ya miss me!? You know you did! Boy, am I getting lazy these days right? Well, I’ve actually gotten a few messages from this person in the past recommending other blogs, and now they’ve asked for their own to be shown! So here’s Ask Dream Baker! (Why does that sound like it has something to do with drugs?)”
“Yes, as you could guess from above and from her name, she makes her living as a baker. Now, we may have seen plenty of bakers before, each one trying to complete with the Cakes, though it usually is a fruitless effort seeing as how the Cakes have their secret logic-breaking weapon known as Pinkie Pie, but thankfully Dream Baker doesn’t usually focus on that aspect, if at all.”
“Usually, when there is a story arc it’s actually relatively kept short, with the focus just on answering questions which actually fits pretty well balance wise, which in turn makes it a lot more interesting than just ‘Insert Random Cute Answer To Question Here’ or 'Drama All The Time Here’ blogs. In this way, this makes the blog a whole lot more enjoyable, and will actually make you interested when the story arcs actually do come up, even if they are kind of sappy sometimes.”
“What? Don’t get the reference? Then for shame upon all of you! For the rest of you, strike a pose in honor of Captain Ginyu! Ok, Internet References aside, let’s talk a bit about Dream Baker herself. As you can she, she’s a bit shaggy for pony, which she does try to keep shaved and in check sometimes to no avail. She’s a mare who gives thanks to Luna rather than Celestia, and seems to be quite a big fan of her. Hmm, I wonder what you would call them then….Lunites? Lunars? Lunists? Am I offending somebody yet? Oh well, bit’s over anyways.”
“And, yes, unfortunately for you stallions out there, she already has herself a Special-Some-Pony, so try not to get any big ideas.”
“Aww, aren’t they cute together? The eye-patch is a little bit gaudy though if you ask me, but then again I wear a top-hat, a cane, and a bow tie! Then again, I actually pull it off. BAZINGA!”
“You know, one of my favorite things about this blog is just the way the art has improved over time. If you want to see what I’m talking about, well here’s a little snap shot of the artwork from a year ago.”
“Quite the improvement isn’t it? Not bad for a year’s time am I right? I would say though that the artist could still use a little bit of work on her angles, as it can get a bit awkward at times.”
“See what I mean? That view would sort of only come about if you were looking from a top-down perspective (aka, looking on her face from above), not from a frontward perspective, so there’s still some work to be done there but thankfully those little quirks don’t show up much if at all and it’s probably just my critic-minded focus that picks these things out.”
“However, on a side note by the way, I’d like to also point out that this blog at the same time probably has one of the best designs for Derpy/Ditzy that I have ever seen.”
“I really love the way she looks here. Maybe it’s the hair, maybe it’s the eyes, or maybe it’s just the fact they treat her and make her look like an actual mare instead of just relying on her to be the comedic point and actually try to make her look appealing, and even quite lovely.”
“Also, as some of you may have noticed, sometimes Dream Baker seems to have her horn and other times she seems not to have her horn. Well, actually she recently got into an accident ('Magical Clot’, sort of like Magical Build-Up for those of you who will get the reference), caused her horn to shatter, leaving her in the hospital without a horn, but maybe not all hope is lost for her magic though…”
“…Want to know what I mean? You’ll just have to read to find out! As for me, I have something extremely important to do!”
“The fun never ends!”
“Also, THIS is how the front perspective should look! Well, until next time! See you then! Spotlight Heart, out!”
http://askdreambaker.tumblr.com/
“Well alright folks, I’m back from my break! It’s been about a week or so, but hey a birthday deserves a holiday, and by ‘holiday’ I mean a coupe of weeks! Deal with it! Haha!”
“But not to worry, as I come bearing the gift of blogs! And what’s the blog we have to review today? Well, if you didn’t know already by looking at the title, we’re taking a look at Ask Itty Bit!”
“That’s right! Today we’re taking a look at a baby foal! Adorable right? We may have seen fillies before, but we don’t often see actual babies. Even the blogs with fillies seem to be few and far between, which is a real shame because younglings are always so adorable!”
“Unfortunately, of course, being so young also means that they’re impressionable too.”
“And her being so impressionable can lead her to get in to some trouble…”
“Seriously kids, don’t listen to those Anons! They like to get people in trouble or curse them with their weird Anon magic!”
"Now what do we usually do at this time? That’s right! We take a look at the artistic style! Now, it’s noticeably hand drawn, and while there may be a few bumps here or some things that could use a few smoother lines, the artist has been improving over time and has gotten a lot better since the beginning of the blog, and all in all it’s not really a blog that calls for masterpiece artists and high definition attention to detail. A blog’s artistic style usually ends up suiting the blog’s needs, as it does here very well.“
"But what about the character of Itty Bit herself? Well, as you could guess she’s innocent and naive, but impressionable. Highly imaginative, but easily distracted, the way you think a baby filly would act. She’s very kind and fun to watch, but she can also be a bit rather spiteful too…”
“And yes, of course I have to mention, she’s extremely adorable! I mean, of course it’s what you expect though from a blog about a baby! There’s not any drama because there doesn’t NEED to be a huge amount a drama. She’s a baby after all. Of course, there’s the usual teasing younglings can do sometimes, but nothing horrible or harsh, and it’s very rare to happen. Mainly, it’s just the innocent followings of a young baby foal, which is definitely enough to keep your interest and humor you.”
“So what’s my final verdict on the blog? All in all, it makes it sort of a nice fun little romp through the daily life and activities that a baby might go through (Sort of like the Rugrats, but ponified!). It’s adorable and cute, and certainly deserves a follow. Anyone can enjoy the fun and innocence of Itty Bit, from playing pretend with other foals or dealing with innocuous situations, you’ll be happy that you followed this blog.”
“Well, that’s all for now! Look forward to our next review coming soon! Real soon since we took such a long break!”
“And as for me…”
“Seriously guys, give me a break! My heart can only take so much 'Hnng’ cuteness!”
Interview With Saturn! Artist of Clockwise Whooves! -
Interview With Saturn! Artist of Clockwise Whooves! [3/27/2013 8: 40:21 PM] Spotlight Heart: Alright Folks. Spotlight Heart here with the one and only Saturn, artist towards one of the newest, and…
Thank you to our dear artist for making this pic. :D
You can follow our artist’s own ask blog here.
http://theonlycottoncandy.tumblr.com/
“Well hello friends, it’s your ever lovable host Spotlight Heart here! Now I know what you’re all thinking, and yes, Clockwise Whooves isn’t exactly a lesser known blog. But then again, there’s a lot to learn from it for those of you who have big aspirations, and for others it is a great blog that truly represents the fandom in an amazing way.”
“So after getting a couple messages like this one…”
“…we’re taking a look at a much beloved blog, Clockwise Whooves!”
“So how do we begin taking a look at this? Well, we can’t talk about a blog without taking a look at the artist behind it. The artist, who goes by the name ‘Saturn’, has been making a name for themselves and garnering attention on DeviantArt for years, but gained fame amongst the MLP Fandom for her 'Celestial Crevice’ piece.”
“Truly a masterpiece to behold. There really are no words!”
“Yes, It was easy for many to see the talent of this artist, and if fans came for the art, then you could certainly say they stayed for the style, for it was not only the quality of the artwork and precise attention to detail that made this artist and her blog so popular.”
“Remember folks! It’s best to be creative, rather than rely primarily on detail! And this artist has certainly delivered! We’ve all fallen in love with the subject matter of her art, which can only be described as 'Futuristic Steampunk’. And now after starting this blog only a couple of months ago, we have all fallen in love with their rendition of the ever popular Doctor Whooves.”
“So what’s the story then? Well, out of all the Doctor Whooves blogs that deal with him actually being a time traveller (Yes, some have him as Time Turner), this is one that has some very best potentional. This Doctor seems to have quite the extensive family and company, as he not only has Derpy Whooves as his traditional companion, but also as his lovely wife. Along with her, he also travels with their two daughters, Dinky and Sparkler, as well the always popular Captain Jack Harkness.”
“You know, if you’re thinking that him being the great Captain Jack and all would earn him some respect….well…then you’d be wrong. They basically treat him like their personal errand boy.”
“And yes, on that note, this blog does deal with a great deal of comedy. Of course, there are some story elements at work, but the artist knows how to definently keep it light-hearted enough to be comical, while also having just enough story to keep you interested. This great balance is aided by breaks in the story dealing with just answering questions and dealing with comical situations. Though, to be honest, it could be said that these may slow the progress of the story and interupt the flow of the narrative and plot, but yet they still prove to be quite entertaining, and provides some interesting looks at the characters.”
“Who ever knew little old Derpy could be intimidating right?”
“You have to love the shading that the artist gives to her works, as well as the attention to detail for backgrounds, and what other blog do you know of that has all the ponies dressed in outfits that would make Rarity drool. And even the coloring and hues used in her artwork can be simply beautiful at times in their simplicity.”
“In fact, aside from the breaks with the story’s plot, the only other complaint one could make about the blog would perhaps be that the artist has a tiny touch of yaoi fangirl in them, though this isn’t shoved in your face and is actually pretty subtle (for the most part).”
“In conclusion, this blog isn’t just any other blog. It is the very representation of the fandom! It has the dedication to artwork and detail, it has love of background characters and fancanon, it has crossover and references abound, it has comedy and even a small hint of perversion here and there, it’s beautiful, it’s wonderful, and if you were to have someone ask me what would be the best of the best in our fandom and what would represent it the most? It wouldn’t be Ask Molestia, it wouldn’t be Hot Blooded Pinkie Pie, it wouldn’t be sites like Equestria Daily or FimFiction. I would say that everything you could ever hope to appreciate and learn about our fandom can be found right her in this blog and in this artist’s work.”
“If you aren’t following this blog yet you’ve been missing out. As for the rest of you, there’s something we can all appreciate and take away from this blog!”
“As for me? Well, I’m going to sit back and enjoy the best thing that Doctor and Derpy have given to the Universe…”
“What can I say? I’m a romantic.”
http://askclockwisewhooves.tumblr.com/
((Stay Tuned For Our Interview With The Artist Tomorrow!))