Now to bring the whole group of the Crystal Gems as ponies together. I am not overly happy with Garnet and Amethyst, but their designs don't translate as well as Pearl and Rose Quartz.
Garnet's cutie mark is Ruby and Sapphire's gems with swirls to show them fusing. I made Garnet a unicorn to fit her "magical" ability to see into the future.
Amethyst's cutie mark is her whip. I wanted to give her a more personal one but not related to food or being messy, ultimately I stuck with the whip to keep it a cutie mark that isn't gross or weird. I made amethyst an earth pony since she was born on earth and she can easily look like a unicorn or pegasus if she wanted.
Pearl's cutie mark consists of her spear, her sword, and her (very poorly drawn) violin. I chose a pegasus for her because of her graceful movements.
Rose Quartz's cutie mark is the symbol on her flag which represented her shield. I made her a princess because I see her as being an extremely powerful gem and was the leader of the Crystal Gems.
This is part of a set which started with Rose Quartz. This is Pearl from Steven Universe as a pony. I saw many versions of her as a unicorn, but I chose a pegasus because of her graceful movements. Her cutie mark consists of her spear, her sword, and her (very poorly drawn) violin.
I will probably do the other Crystal Gems and maybe even the home world gems or fusions. I will probably not do Steven or any of the humans, just because their color schemes won't translate as well as the gems.
This time I decided to draw my favorite character from Steven Universe as a pony, combining two shows I really like (that and ponies are fun and easy to draw). I tried to capture her fuller figure without making her look pregnant here, as this was supposed to be her when she was leading the gems during the war. Her cutie mark is the symbol on her flag. I made her a princess because I see her as being an extremely powerful gem and was the leader of the Crystal Gems. I love how her mane and tail look and overall I am satisfied with this drawing that only took 30 min.
A drawing I did freehand while watching tv shows. I didn't get to work on it as much as I wanted, but since I did all of it in pen only, I am impressed by the end result.
Today I chose a piece I drew almost 3 years ago, the MLP:FIM main cast as humans of different races. This was my first time trying to draw different ethnicities in a style I used to have. Twilight Sparkle: African American Pinkie Pie: Japanese (I was trying to be more specific than just Asian, but I don't think I could draw the differences well enough in this style) Rainbow Dash: Non-Hispanic White Apple Jack : Non-Hispanic White (really the only choice for this character though an Argentinian version could be interesting) Rarity: Hispanic White (again, features don't show up well in this style) Fluttershy: Middle Eastern, based off of another fan art I saw.
The next piece was a quick tattoo design I did for a character in one of my roleplays. It isn't a polished work, just enough to convey the idea.
This is an ink dot work raven picture that I spent almost 18 hours working on (including short breaks for my hand). It is based on a tattoo I saw on Pinterest (the link was bad so I can't credit the original artist but their work is truly amazing!). I am extremely proud of how it turned out. I am trying to draw more often since I am still jobless to stay productive. I am willing to take commissions to help fund me getting out of my abusive home and with my fiance. I draw a lot of different things and most of my drawings on here are just quick sketches since it has been years since I have done more than just sketch work. But I can do small watercolor pictures or color pencil drawings. Usually I use ink pens and color pencils for drawing characters for people.
So in my free time I get obsessed with tv shows. One that I got into is Steven Universe, created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network.
The series about the Crystal Gems, Garnet, Amethyst,and Pearl, and Steven, a young half-human, half-Gem boy whose gemstone is from his mother, Rose Quartz. It is set in Beach City where the Crystal Gems live in an temple, protecting the world from evil. Most episodes focus on Steven's days with his human father Greg, his friend Connie, other people in Beach City, or the Gems. The episodes are short making the slice of life style appropriate, but some episodes give tastes of a deeper plot. Whether it is showing us fusions, the ability of Gems to temporarily merge to form a new and more powerful person, the kindergarten, where gems were grown on earth for the past war they hint at, or Rose Quartz's past as leader of the Gems and her relationship with Greg.
So far there are two seasons, the second still ongoing right now and while I love learning about the history of the Gems and the war that happened, my favorite part of this show is actually the episodes dealing with some of the unconventional family things. Steven grew up without a mother and his father is around, but it is likely the remaining Gems raised Steven after Rose Quartz sacrificed herself to have Steven. He has three aunts/mother figures (gems aren't actually female they just have female forms) and a dad who was once a musician and lives out of a van. Strangely my favorite character is Greg. When he first appeared, I thought it would be a story about Steven trying to please his deadbeat dad, but that isn't what happened. It is likely Greg gave Steven to the Gems so he would be safe and have a real home. That is a very selfless thing to do, especially after losing Rose Quartz. And Greg's relationship with Rose Quartz is wonderful to watch.
Now for the animation and music, well animation has improved as the show goes on and gains more funding. It is overall very pleasing to the eye and while obviously cartoony, there are a lot of soft shapes and interesting body types. The color palates all fit the scenes wonderfully and help set the tone for each place (compare the Kindergarten and the beach in front of the temple for example). Just like the animation, the songs have gotten better and better over time. My favorite ones are most of the recent ones with a few from the first season (any sung by Greg especially). Most use the guitar or ukelele as that is what Greg and Steven play respectfully. There are a few exceptions, Pearl's songs have violin sounds and Garnet's are more edgier, but considering Estelle voices her, it makes sense.
If there is one thing I do have to say negative about it, the Uncle Grandpa episode is a waste of money and effort. Skip it because it is non-canon, junk. (I blame all of that on Uncle Grandpa because of the dumb tone of that show.)
I would suggest everyone give the show a watch, it is really quirky but fun and heartwarming with some action thrown in. If it isn't your thing, that is cool. I personally don't like Adventure Time (which Rebecca Sugar also worked on) but I admit it is a good show.
So this is why I try not to share with my fiance, she called me on her break sobbing uncontrollably because she feels like it is her fault that we can't afford an apartment and that I am in this abusive situation. I tried to tell her it isn't her fault but when she has one of these spells it takes a lot (it didn't help that I was still upset from earlier). There is something wrong with the fact that she, and also her coworkers, can't afford a one bedroom apartment on their salary (and they are paid above minimum wage and aren't looking in the city!). Some of them even have children they are trying to support on their salary which makes getting roommates impossible. When my fiance talked to her parents about moving out (so that we can live together and I won't be homeless) they laughed at her instead of listening or giving calm advice. I would gladly try to sell artwork to make a living, but that never seems to work because people want hours of my time for nothing. If I actually had followers I would look into patreon or something similar to help us get on our feet.
Now most people are going to look over this post, that is fine. I have no followers and my only posts that gain attention have to do with God/Goddesses or cats. It feels pretty similar to my life. As long as I talk about or say what people like, I am listened to. But none of them care to know me really. I am trapped in an abusive situation with my homophobic, transphobic, racist, conservative christian family, yet when I ask for help, I get vague "sure you could sleep on my couch". I feel like everyone avoids the harsh truths of the situation. I can't even get to their homes because my family barely lets me out of town. I would need help moving my things to storage, finding a place to stay, and getting a job so that I could get an apartment. But everyone seems to think that someone else will help. I can't look them in the eyes and ask for help because I am 200 miles away.
My parents want to punish me in some sick way by making it impossible for me to succeed in life because evidently I could never please them. For those who think I am over dramatic, I cooked for them one night, trying to be nice and show that I am useful. All I heard that night was how bad my food was and I had to throw it away and clean it all up on my own. They then said I was too sensitive for being upset by their comments. I knew the food wasn't that good, but I didn't even get a thank you for trying. This is how my life has been my entire life. I can never do anything good enough, or I am not reading their minds to know what they want me to do. My siblings get praise and love all the time, I get to hear it. I only get a shrug and a "So what do you plan to do with your life? You are so useless and worthless" tirade. I am so tempted to say that I plan to kill myself, just to see if they even care. If they do it will probably be because of their precious social image, not because of me, because they have made it very clear that they don't love me. Now I am left wondering if anyone does.
(I know my fiance does, but I hate putting all my problems on her when she actually has depression and is struggling enough with her own life.)
