The arena mascot pony?

[Mewtwofan1]

     (Apologies if someone asked this and I cannot find the thread)
     In the left side of the arena banner is a pony. A very strange looking pony. Does she have a name, or anything? She looks nice, and I was thinking of somehow making a blender rig of her as some modeling and rigging practice. But I do want to know if there are any details on her. She is the first thing when you come onto the arena after all.

[Griffin]

She doesn't have a name but is sometimes called Lady Arena. She was designed by Sirithfin.

Here are some previous threads discussing her:
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,364597.15.html
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,358866.0.html

Generally, you would need a permission to make artwork of her. I'm sure it's fine if it's only for practice and you're not intending to sell the piece or post it outside the Arena, but you may want to check with the admins.

She is a lovely pony!

[BlackCurtains]

I was making a custom of her years ago and an admin messaged me on Facebook and bit my head off about it. I was planning on keeping her for myself but was told I basically had to hide her under a rock, that I couldn't share photos of her or anything. She's still in a drawer half finished.

I gotta say, it's kinda funny that we can post all kinds of fanart on the forum and everyone loves the G1 bootlegs, but we can't make art of the site mascot because..?

Meh. Maybe I'm bitter because of the way I was harassed about it through my personal Facebook page, I dunno.

[Ragamuffin]

I didn't know there were rules about drawing fanart of her. I shared my art of her already here but I also shared it on my blog and deviantART. I can remove those if requested.

[Pony.Backpack]

She's pretty, I've never noticed her up there before!

[Mewtwofan1]

     Wow. I actually had no idea she had this much history and whatnot. I should probably check with admins soon, just to be safe. I would never use it for profit. More of a practice and “Hey arena, guess what I did as a fan project?” Kind of deal. Thank you for your responses! I like the sort of hidden lore we have here regarding our forum and it’s history

[Griffin]

I was making a custom of her years ago and an admin messaged me on Facebook and bit my head off about it. I was planning on keeping her for myself but was told I basically had to hide her under a rock, that I couldn't share photos of her or anything. She's still in a drawer half finished.

I gotta say, it's kinda funny that we can post all kinds of fanart on the forum and everyone loves the G1 bootlegs, but we can't make art of the site mascot because..?

Meh. Maybe I'm bitter because of the way I was harassed about it through my personal Facebook page, I dunno.

I'm sorry you had such a negative experience. I don't know who it was, and what was said, but I assume it must have been due to a misconception of how the copyright law works. Character designs are rarely protected by copyright, that's why fictional characters are often trademarked which prevents their commercial use by unauthorized third parties. Many are probably not aware of this. Of course, it is a polite move to respect artists and designers and treat their characters as if they were copyrighted.

When the mascot was first made in 2009, it was decided that the commercial use of the pony should be restricted so that all proceeds would go to the Arena. None of the old threads I was able to find in the archived Arena stated that you wouldn't be allowed to make fanart or customs for your personal collection.
We should remember that at the time, the market for custom ponies was thriving. When the design was published, several custom artists were instantly contacted with commission enquiries. That's why rules were quickly set in place as to how people were allowed to use the pony. I hope that clarifies some of the misconceptions around the mascot.

I've actually been discussing this with the admin and mod team as I thought it would be a good idea to feature the mascot in some kind of a spotlight - threads like this pop up from time to time and it would be nice to have some information about her, as well as guidelines for using the character, in one place for reference.

[Mewtwofan1]

I've actually been discussing this with the admin and mod team as I thought it would be a good idea to feature the mascot in some kind of a spotlight - threads like this pop up from time to time and it would be nice to have some information about her, as well as guidelines for using the character, in one place for reference.

     I agree with having information in one place. It would be convenient to know what we can or cannot do in one easy to locate thread. It’s a good idea, and one that I think the arena could use. With all the artists we have here, some very cool fan art could be made.

[Baby Primrose]

So I will not be allowed to make a custom of her? That's so not fair! 

[Griffin]

So I will not be allowed to make a custom of her? That's so not fair! 

As I wrote above, if it is for yourself, go ahead. But it is not fair for the community if people use the mascot for personal gain. Previous customs of her have been made for fundraising campaigns, to keep the forum up and running.

[BlackCurtains]

I'm sorry you had such a negative experience. I don't know who it was, and what was said, but I assume it must have been due to a misconception of how the copyright law works.

I went back and found the message. I knew it had happened several years ago but it was in 2011 - looooong time!

Anyway, what she said was basically that I couldn't post pictures on the forum because it might make other people think they can make art of her and sell it. Looking back, I guess that kind of makes sense. This person is still listed on the staff page as an admin but hasn't been around in a couple of years. Maybe things have changed since then?

It's a great idea to have a spotlight post about her

[achab1984]

I think she is just pretty and always have!