G3 concept artwork- including sea ponies

[achab1984]

WOW! Those are very good!

[LadyMoondancer]

Well, also keep in mind he's telling this story years after the fact, and people do tend to embellish / engage in hyperbole for comedic effect.  He may not have aaactually described it as a fetish pony to Hasbro. 

What I find really fascinating about this is that 1) Hasbro was thinking of doing high concept collector ponies and 2) Hasbro was actively asking the artist to "push the boundaries."

[Artemesia's Garden]

I love Edward Scissorhands Poneh

[Silver Glade]

What I find really fascinating about this is that 1) Hasbro was thinking of doing high concept collector ponies and 2) Hasbro was actively asking the artist to "push the boundaries."

Yeah, that's what I don't get.  If Hasbro asked the artist to make edgier designs for a collector line (which I'm assuming would be aimed at an older demographic), why did they balk when he offered them just that? 

I wonder what the execs meant when they said "edgy" or "push the boundaries."  Most people would default to thinking of sex and violence when they hear those terms - including this artist, apparently! 

[Al-1701]

I would think some bold color schemes and concepts not involving sex or violence.  Develop themes like music, weather, carnivorous plants.  Play around with different combinations of mane and coat color.  Create something that will catch a collector's eye but not through shock value.

[ponycake]

What I find really fascinating about this is that 1) Hasbro was thinking of doing high concept collector ponies and 2) Hasbro was actively asking the artist to "push the boundaries."

Yeah, that's what I don't get.  If Hasbro asked the artist to make edgier designs for a collector line (which I'm assuming would be aimed at an older demographic), why did they balk when he offered them just that? 

I wonder what the execs meant when they said "edgy" or "push the boundaries."  Most people would default to thinking of sex and violence when they hear those terms - including this artist, apparently! 

I bet they didn't have an idea in mind but wanted to inspire creativity by giving him free range. They wanted a really good idea, they just didn't know what, and were saying be creative, give us something that wows. But they shouldn't have to say "except sex." Or "except something that would cause uproar." Edgy doesn't just mean sex or punk. Still a children's toy company, nuff said there.

[LadyMoondancer]

I don't think they meant edgy as in "bold colors" because they reacted positively to Edward Scissorhands pony.  Apparently the only reason they didn't spring for it was legal reasons.  That pretty clearly means they meant edgy as in "slightly disturbing."

I guess they meant "macabre" edgy rather than "sexy" edgy. 

I wonder if this interest is what eventually led to The Pony Project.  It had a variety of custom ponies, including some edgy ones.  (And at least one sexy one, ha ha--the "school girl" pony.)

[ponycake]

I don't think they meant edgy as in "bold colors" because they reacted positively to Edward Scissorhands pony.  Apparently the only reason they didn't spring for it was legal reasons.  That pretty clearly means they meant edgy as in "slightly disturbing."

I guess they meant "macabre" edgy rather than "sexy" edgy. 

I wonder if this interest is what eventually led to The Pony Project.  It had a variety of custom ponies, including some edgy ones.

I don't think that means they 'clearly' want disturbing/macabre or else I'm sure they'd have just said dark and edgy (and why not go for the goth pony anyway? or make changes to it? or respond to that well?). I think they like the creative aspect of the Edward Scissorhands pony plus it's just well drawn and cool, they responded well to it because it's eye grabbing and people like the character. Liking The Edward Scissorhands pony doesn't mean they clearly wanted disturbing. I don't think it's at all clear what they wanted. Again, the guy said they 'raised eyebrows' at the goth pony. It wasn't well received like Edward Scissorhands, a beloved 80s character.

[Dreamer]

And what about a middle ground like the Zelfs? So far they've got a spider, a skeleton, a dark fairy, an imp and a thundercloud character, and they are a good mix of sweet and edgy. I would love to see that style translated into ponies.

[Esbayne]

Oooh man, I would have killed for G3 mers. Especially because we never got to see adult Merponies even in G1.
I miss the variety G1 had, I mean G3 and G4 have breezies at least outside of the regular 3 (unicorns, earthies and pegs) but after that it's like... Really plain when it comes to breeds.

[Artemesia's Garden]

carnivorous plants

Yes yes!!

[LunarEclipse]

I wonder if some of these concepts are what eventually became our G3 art ponies. Not that they look exactly the same, but it sounds like the design of  the art ponies and the concept of collector toys are what they were looking for at that time.

[Mermaid]

Interesting read!!

I think it's interesting that the sketch pose was used for two ponies! The original kimono pose and the butterscotch pose!

[Carcina]

*snerk*  I don't see this fetish pony,  I see a pony with roses and braided hair.... *rolls eyes*  If it truly had been a fetish pony, you could not have posted the pic to the Arena

Cute!  Thanks for sharing!  I looooooove the sea pony!

Her tail is a whip lol

[VanillaBean]

Firefly's colour scheme has always bothered me, so I LOVE this guy's design for her.  If only she'd been made in some form.
Looks like they took his advice about the hooves for G2, at least.