Found the portfolio of Kathy Carr, G3.5 storyboard artist. (Pic Heavy)

[Lore-Lei]

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Behind-the-scenes stuff like these are hidden treasures for me, and that especially applies to previous generations.

What really catches my eye in these pictures is how Kathy drew the ponies. They all have slightly smaller muzzles, and their heads are much more oval and less shapely than what we saw in early G3. The ears are much less 'fleshy' and more like those tiny ones after the style change. However, all their manes are the same, which is another thing that was common in the earlier design. The eyes are my favorites though, they're a perfect mixture of both, not too much curves for the early, but not overly spharical for late style as well.

Could it be that this was a proto-G3.5 design that was part of the big style change project of Hasbro?

Have some more pictures under the spoilers:
Storyboard for 'Dreams Do Come True' from Twinkle Wish Adventure

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Toola Roola:

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Rainbow Dash:

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[Violet CLM]

They all look so happy! Neat.

[MsMedley]

I love looking at stuff like this! Thanks for sharing

[ponyqueen]

Awesome! I LOVE concept art! These ponies are super cute in 2D, too bad the 3D execution left something to be desired!

Thanks for sharing!

[Malicieuse]

These are adorable! It would have been nice if the actual cartoons had caputered this style more.

[Flutterfan]

I saw the Castle in one of the pages. Was Celebration Castle supposed to be part of TWA but was scrapped?

[Koudoawaia]

These sketches are adorable, incredibly well done and actually make G3.5 look a lot more appealing

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Where did you find them?  they are adorable!

I'm really surprised that the artist has no issue with their work being uploaded to the Internet with no watermarks or anything....

[kestral_kitsune]

oh god i wish the g3.5's looked like this they were just so adorable

[Wardah]

Where did you find them?  they are adorable!

I'm really surprised that the artist has no issue with their work being uploaded to the Internet with no watermarks or anything....

The OP seems to have hotlinked the images from their online portfolio but didn't provide the link to the portfolio itself. So the artist uploaded it themselves. Portfolios don't usually use watermarks especially if it's contract work that they have already received payment for.

http://kathycarrtoons.blogspot.com/

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I really would have loved G3.5 SO MUCH MORE had it been this way... I'm just sayin'...

[brightberry]

These sketches are so sweet! 

I thought G3.5 cartoons had adorable art.  But the stories seemed to have been written for preschoolers.  And that's ok.  It was what was required of it at the time.

[LadyMoondancer]

I love seeing behind the scenes stuff like this!  Wish they'd stuck with her designs more, her art looks more streamlined than what they finally settled on.

[Lore-Lei]

I saw the Castle in one of the pages. Was Celebration Castle supposed to be part of TWA but was scrapped?

Oh, good find. For me it seems a bit like someone Photoshopped a coloring page into the background on that one. Anyhow, it apparently didn't make it into either intros. I still love the fact that they've thought about it, by the way, in earlier G3 releases, that bridge always lead to the Celebration Castle, so it'd have made sense to have it be there.

I thought G3.5 cartoons had adorable art.  But the stories seemed to have been written for preschoolers.  And that's ok.  It was what was required of it at the time.

A real shame though. I've also found the reference sheets of the Core7 on Dominique Shiels' portfolio, who was working in Design Lead as well (packages mainly): https://www.behance.net/gallery/PACKAGING-MY-LITTLE-PONY-STYLE-GUIDE/4400845

They all had very unique and well thought-out personalities with a couple virtues and flaws. That's not something you do when you directly aim for something to be so shallow as a couple five-minute shots, and Twinkle Wish Adventure just further proves that.

As for my two cents, I absolutely love both styles, to be honest.

[Deep Purple Crystal]

Seen these before (it was linked on TV Tropes) but it still doesn't excuse how cute these are.