Creativity Hour works thread

[c_nordlander]

Thanks for the heads-up, hope you won't be too late.

[c_nordlander]

In honour of belated Star Wars Day:

(she was supposed to wear her pacifier on a necklace, but her arm is obscuring it)

[Nidotamer]

GOt some vague fragment of a script thing I guess? Not that I didn't start well before the hour but still.

[Meteorite]

Meteorite and Rarity spend the day together and absolutely nothing happens.*





* Pst, I'm lying.

[c_nordlander]

@May: you've given the brothers a very distinctive voice, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll do with them. The regulars are funny and perfectly in character. You have a good sense of comic timing; I could totally imagine this being the start of an episode.

@Alex: this continues with good characterisation (I like how you've struck the balance between Rarity's sense of delicacy and genuine urge to help), and there are some gems in terms of writing. Cheerilee is funny and sympathetic in her appearance. My only slight dislike (and this is as much a taste thing as anything) is that *man* is this relationship developing slowly. I was happy when Rarity

Spoiler

decided to press matters,

but then we got another round of "oh, I don't want to risk our friendship"/"I can't let her know that I know that she fancies me". Not a big problem at all, mainly because

Spoiler

it passes, and by the end of the chapter things are actually progressing again,

(and Rarity actually has a character-appropriate reason not to reveal that she knows about Meteorite's feelings for her) but it still felt like a bit of well-trodden ground. The rest of the fic is really fresh, though, or I wouldn't be complaining so much about a minor point.

[Meteorite]

Thank you Chris. I do want to touch on a couple things, in particular that I find it interesting that you say the relationship is developing slowly because for me, throughout the story from the beginning (well, the beginning of Rarity's quest to understand Meteorite more) I've personally felt it's been careening out of control, and I've been desperately pulling the emergency brake on it just to slow it down any way I can, just to keep things on track.

Spoiler

But that said, from that beginning, the story has been driving towards this part in particular which has been in my mind for ages, and is the point where I just let go of the brake because we're almost done.

I do apologise for the 'fake out' though; it wasn't intentional, at least in the sense of 'haha, got ya!'

Spoiler

Meteorite just honestly believes there's absolutely no way Rarity would feel the same way back about her, so she's just taking what she has now. So it was less fake out, and more a barrier I had to get around which, ultimately, I didn't need to worry about since I knew the 'tipping point' for Rarity to push even harder was coming up. Chalk it up to Meteorite subconsciously trying to ruin my story. (but, y'know, it's not her fault, she's just scared)

But in any case, thank you once again. It helps knowing what you like and what you feel is off.

[SirMustapha]

I must say I understand both of you. I think the "slowness" is justified by the position the characters are in, but we're rooting so much for them, it feels like it's taking forever.

But then again, my characters fall in love the day after they meet, so what standards do I even have?

[c_nordlander]

You're totally right, Alex, and I want to reiterate that it's an issue of my taste, not something objectively wrong.

I don't object to the slowness as such (though I think the "careening out of control" is all in your mind ), just that one fake-out. It reminded me of cliché Hollywood romance movies where the leads simply CANNOT SPIT IT OUT until the time's up. And that's on the level of "they break up because of a misunderstanding" in terms of artificially extending the run-time, in my opinion. But if it's in character for Meteorite, that's what matters, plus the story does still progress in this chapter.

Do take as much time with this as you like: this is a very important part of the plot, and I'm enjoying it a lot so far.

EDIT: To be clear, I never thought you were pulling a "gotcha" on the readers, so no need to worry about that.

[Meteorite]

I totally agree, and I feel if Meteorite knew she was (unintentionally) pulling that cliché, she'd be aghast with herself, just as I am with myself because I'd probably do the exact same thing.

But yes, fortunately the story goes on, where it can safely careen off a cliff.

[c_nordlander]

Now that we've got the scanner set up again, here's my backlog of things I've drawn for Creativity Hour that I haven't been able to post until now.

A dapper lion and one of his wives. Drawn in about fifteen minutes after I choked on the main thing I wanted to do, so I think at least the male lion came out pretty well. Apologies for awful quality (I drew it in ballpoint pen, and apparently the printer doesn't like that).

One of those art evolution things: me when I'd just started drawing vs. me a month ago. The woman is Rebecca from the musical Tanz der Vampire.

Link wearing female clothing seems to be popular for some reason. Here's the rare Glamorous Chanteuse Link. (I based the dress on the one Willie was wearing at the start of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.) Think it ended up okay, aside from the hands and misaligned eyes.

As usual, if you have any constructive criticism, you're welcome to give it.

[SirMustapha]

That's a classy, classy lion. I like him. I think it came quite well, especially since you were drawing so quickly and with ballpoint. The portrait is particularly impressive; the position of the eyes is a bit off, but the features look nice, and it shows you're going on the right track. Glam Link looks good in that dress! The arms are a little awkward, probably because of the difficult angles, and I applaud you for trying something so tricky. Excellent effort!

[c_nordlander]

Thank you very much! I'm still a complete noob when it comes to full-figure drawing, but I keep on trying.

[SirMustapha]

Just to let you guys know that I'll be visiting my family this Sunday and won't be on chat in time for creativity. I might get in later on, and I'm looking forwards to see what you folks will come up with.

[c_nordlander]

Remember, you can always use some other hour.

Also, have fun!

[c_nordlander]

New instalment of "Earth Guys Are Sleazy":

First instalment

Second instalment

Third instalment

Previously: Attempts to save Fry are stymied when Leela and Amy are both quarantined with an infectious disease (not like that you pervs), leaving Planet Express pilot-less. Meanwhile, on Frazetta, Fry grows restless and sets out on his own.

EDIT: Fixed a persistent misspelling and shaped up one line.

link to part 5