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Topics - Katika
31
« on: October 03, 2013, 09:37:31 AM »
I have a custom that has been on hold for... geez... almost a year now I think because she has some very, *very* delicate detail work that I've been too nervous to try to pull off. It's a bunch of tiny, interlocking octagons over a white base coat that are outlined in a very, very pale grey. I started by sketching them out with pencil and then realized that the pencil marks were a very close match to the color I wanted anyway, so was wondering if I could just seal over the top of it?
I'm afraid, though, that the softness of lead/graphite/whatever will cause the pattern to bleed or run, especially over time and really REALLY do not want to have to fix detail work this fine if it gets flawed. If it can be safely done without ruining the pony, I can have her done tonight, which would be super exciting for me, since I haven't finished a custom in about a year (yikes!). Has anyone ever tried this and know how the lead will behave under a sealant?
Thanks guys <3
32
« on: August 18, 2013, 07:14:54 PM »
I'm not big on collecting pony merchandise, but I was out antique hunting with my mom this weekend and found a blue portable radio/Walkman type thing that had who looked like was supposed to be G1 Sunbeam on it with an orange dial. Headphones were with it and it looked to be in pretty nice condition given it's age. I have no idea whether or not it worked, though. It was priced at either $12 or $14, can't remember which.
As I don't collect merchandise, I let it go, but then I started wondering if it might actually be worth something or sought after, as I'd never seen one before. The antique store it was at was roughly two hours away from where I live, but I do have several friends that live in the vicinity of it that could possibly go back and pick it up if it's worth the asking price or more. Anyone have any ideas if it'd be worth trying to get a hold of it after all?
33
« on: August 01, 2013, 09:33:16 AM »
I know adult sea ponies are supposed to have weights in their tails that can sometimes be missing, but as I was working on making an inventory of my collection, I realized that *none* of my baby sea ponies were weighted. Is that how they're supposed to be? Or am I just really unlucky with finding ones with missing weights?
34
« on: July 14, 2013, 02:30:07 PM »
Hi everyone! Due to means outside of my control, I've been out of the actively collecting side of Ponies for years now and have only been back on the boards on and off lately. However, I am now starting up collecting again and, to brush up on what's going on, I've been visiting Strawberry Reef's pony site to start building checklists of the past 2.5 generations (I'm assuming G1's and G2's haven't changed  ) Anyway, I thought I'd completed the G3 one, but then when I was searching for the few G3's that I still need on Ebay, I found two normal pony sized "Designer" ponies that were made after the ones that the artists made for charity during the Pony Project (at least I think that's how it went...). Strawberry Reef's site didn't mention these, so I'm wondering if they are actually legit ponies, and if they are, how many of them ended up being made? Thank you very much for your help!
35
« on: November 27, 2012, 12:08:36 PM »
I usually ask my husband for advice on this sort of thing, but this pony is a gift for him, so I can't  Anyway, this pony has a pretty complicated symbol of the heraldry of Warhammer 40k's Sisters of Battle: visitors can't see pics , please register or loginI have painted the circle on my pony and added the blue "antiquing" effect, then lightly outlined the other two circles inside of the circle with black, so I would have a better guide for the text and the fluer de lis lookin' thing. I then went and free handed the actual little icon thing and base coated it in white. I had full intentions of trying to paint the symbol to look exactly like the one in the picture, BUT having just that one coat of white over it makes it looke kind of aged and battered like a piece of armor or heraldry that has been out to the battlefield several times probably would actually look like. In other words, I kind of like it. Right now, I am missing the red outline on the emblem, the skull completely and the text. It's not nearly as crisp as the picture that I posted, but it's simple and just feels "battle aged." Part of me wants to go ahead and finish it, since that is what I intended to do from the start, but I really, really like this worn effect (even if it does look unfinished, especially up close). I'd include pics of the actual pony, but my lighting options aren't good enough for my camera to actually pick up what I'm talking about. So, should I be more determined to completely finish the emblem as it is "supposed" to be based on original artwork, or do you think I'd be better off leaving it at the point that I feel it's more "natural"? My husband will recognize it as close as it is, and he does seem to lean towards the "tried and true, weathered look" on things like this, so I might be safe. I guess I could always make him a cleaner, more accurate version later? I don't know what to do! I've never been this stumped on a symbol before! Help!
36
« on: November 08, 2012, 04:01:32 PM »
Okay, I'm either stupid or blind, because I've just spent the better part of an hour searching (unsuccessfully) for the thread about the kinds of customs that most artists have made at least once. I don't remember who started it or who even replied to it, but it was a few months ago (I think), but if anyone could point me in its direction, I'd be super grateful! Super sorry if this is not the appropriate place to ask this
37
« on: October 31, 2012, 06:53:16 PM »
Tomorrow's the 10 in 30 kick-off! I am asking that those parties that are planning on attending reply to this thread, asap, so that we can get a solid list of those that are going to be working on this project. And, if I am allowed to do so, I'm going to ask that those that are not interested in participating in this challenge to hold off on replying to this thread until active participants hold their spot on the front page (see below). I would then like each participant, as they finish their customs, to update their first page thread with a pic and brief description (if necessary) of their custom. Of course, the customs all deserve their own separate posts, but I think it would be neat to "collect" all of this month's art in one thread that we can all look back on, come November 30th  By updating the first post you make in this thread will keep the pictures of the customs at the beginning, reducing the need for people to go clicking through pages of replies to find new customs. Check in days will happen every three days (So, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30), but if you finish before a check in day or extra ponies in between them, they can be posted at any time. I'm super stoked about this project, and hope you guys are still, too! I've got my first three challenges looking at me right now! November 3rd update for me! visitors can't see pics , please register or loginThese are the three horses that I've had (Star, chestnut gelding; Crystal, cremello mare; and Billers, my late palomino gelding) in pony form! I'd been meaning to make them for quite some time, so here they (finally!) are pics of them individually can be found on my DA page: http://customsbykatika.deviantart.com/
38
« on: October 13, 2012, 07:40:30 PM »
*Edited to add* Since there seems to be legitimate interest so far, I've updated the title of this post to alert anyone else that might be interested. For those that have not followed this thread up until now, I am proposing that a group of us set out to complete 10 customs in 30 days. These can be brand new concepts OR just finishing those customs that we've had lying around for longer than they deserve to. There are no prizes for completing this challenge, besides the satisfaction of doing so and getting to see your finished customs; this is being arranged for encouragement and moral support The details: 10 custom ponies finished during the month of November, with check-ins every three days to mark our progress (and hopefully show a new custom on those days!) If you complete more than 10 in this time, that's great, too! Hopefully, starting in November will allow ample time for supplies that have to be ordered to be obtained so that each artist participating can have what they need already on-hand. There are no limited spots in this challenge, though I will make an attempt to keep track of all artists that are confirming their participation. Regardless to whether or not you want each of your finished ponies to have their own post or not, I would really like to have one thread where we "collect" all of the ponies made during this challenge so we can see at a glance how much we accomplished as a community Confirmed Participants: *Katika *Maniah *Salli *Uninu *Kazzellin *Ellis1342 *TwistedRainbow Original Post: Somehow, I have managed to start a WHOLE mess of customs, but getting them actually completed is posing a huge problem for me. I keep trying to make a customizing schedule on who gets what part worked on each day, but somehow I either get distracted doing something else or (*gasp!*) find myself starting ANOTHER custom. So. Since I really love challenges (such as NaNoWriMo, which is coming up sooooo fast!!), I had a thought the other day of a "30 ponies in 30 days" challenge. I don't have to make one from complete scratch each day, just get one finished each day. All of my customs are FAR past the concept stage, so I don't really feel like I'd be rushing them and robbing them of any artistic significance; I just really need to sit down and get them finished! Does this sound too crazy? Would anyone want to join me on such a challenge? Has anyone done something like this before? I know that when I first started customizing when I was in college, there were some times where I was cranking out three customs a day (and that was with classes and a part time job), so logic tells me that I'm *capable* of finishing one each day for a month. It's just whether or not I'd be motivated enough to do it...
39
« on: September 19, 2012, 04:48:16 PM »
I usually do my sculptwork with Sculpey, and have never had any problems with it. However, the set of Mass Effect ponies that I've been working on have made it mandatory for me to do some "post baking" sculptwork. My husband's a gamer, so I have Green Stuff (2 part apoxie used on hard plastic and metal miniatures) on hand that I've been doing most of the extra work with, but it has the tendency to get these nasty, hard clumps in it that don't always behave for sanding out, and it gets really pretty sticky during its work time.
I'm working on a very delicate accessory (Tali's mask, for those who know the game) that will need sculpting done on it, but I know I can't bake the main part of it (since it's thin plastic that would melt), but I don't want to use Green Stuff, for the risk of messing up what I have so far with how sticky and clumpy it can get. I've been given the go-ahead to order some Apoxie Sculpt, but I want to make sure that it will actually behave in an appropriate manner before I order it. Does it have a texture similar to Sculpey or is it sticky, too? Does it sand down easily after it cures? Does it mix smoothly when adding the two parts together?
Thanks so much for your help, everyone!
40
« on: September 03, 2012, 10:44:58 AM »
Hey everyone!
I know we have a ton of animal nuts here, so thought I'd pitch my issue (I don't actually think this is WYP-worthy) to see if anyone else has experience or advice. I've worked professionally in the canine behavior field for the past 10 years (from vet teching, to rehabbing/socializing research dogs, to training rescues and military working dogs - this isn't my first rodeo, by any means) and consider myself relatively skilled at shaping canine behavior, however, what I'm dealing with from my puppy right now has me absolutely baffled.
Kurz is an 8 month old GSD/lab/Bull mastiff pup, castrated male. He's easily trainable, but I'd still call him "simple." He has some confidence issues that we are working on. All of this, I know how to deal with. Two mornings ago, I woke up to find that he had started eating part of one of my couches - the wooden part of the arm. He's got it pretty well gnawed up, but of course once I found it, he had no idea that it had even happened. I decided to let it go and just watch him like a hawk.
It took me a day to catch him doing it again, but here's the catch - he does it in his sleep (and yes, I'm certain he's actually asleep when it's happening), which dually explains why he had no idea he'd done it the first time I noticed it. I've also caught him chewing *on the carpet* in his sleep yesterday. My question is: How the heck am I supposed to correct a behavior that is happening when the dog isn't even awake? I've been quietly waking him up when I see him doing these things, but he still doesn't realize what happened, so I don't think it's actually being corrected. He's far past the teething stage, and should have lost the nursing instinct quite a while ago, so I'm stumped.
Any thoughts?
41
« on: August 30, 2012, 03:35:38 PM »
I haven't been getting much sleep lately, so I've been thinking up new custom ideas (lol), and came up with a cute idea for a pony that I want in a seated position. As a general rule, I don't like to customize non-current generations (I have nothing against doing it, I just prefer the accessibility of current ponies and try to preserve older ponies). I know I've seen people repose G1s and G3s, and it seems like it would be easy to do, considering how much body they have. Has anyone reposed a G4, though? Looking at their tiny bodies, I'm scared to give it a try, as I don't think there's very much room to reposition their limbs.
42
« on: August 27, 2012, 05:38:03 PM »
I've been working on these guys on and off since about a month before ME3 came out, with progress being delayed several times due to sculpting frustrations and life issues. This project is hopefully going to cover most of the "important" characters in the ME universe, but it's going to take some time. What started as an innocent suggestion from my husband to "make a Garrus pony" turned into this: Garrus: visitors can't see pics , please register or loginWrex: visitors can't see pics , please register or loginJoker: visitors can't see pics , please register or loginFemShep, MShep and EDI are currently in the makes, with Liara, Samara and Thane pending soon after. Everyone is sculpted at least 95% with Sculpey, with a few accents done with Green Stuff. All painting was done with acrylics, all rehairing done with Dollyhair's MLP hair. Joker's beard was flocked and paint-dyed. Hope you guys enjoy them! I haven't posted any customs in ages!
43
« on: August 27, 2012, 05:09:45 PM »
Ok, after years and years of debating it, I finally took the plunge and started my own DeviantART page. I know several of the Arena members have them, so I'm hoping that someone can help me with this silly-sounding question. How do you open a picture into its own window with its own url? I know how to open each picture onto its page, but I'm trying to post a couple of pictures into a forum (not here yet; I was told before that the Arena only supports Photobucket pics, but don't know if that's true? I could have sworn that I've seen people post DeviantART pics here before. Any insight on this would be great, too ), but can't figure out how to get it to just the picture. I hope that makes sense. I know pretty much nothing about computers and how to make them do what I want :/ Anyway, any help from more experienced DA members would be greatly, greatly appreciated!
44
« on: August 20, 2012, 09:56:39 AM »
Has anyone made any customs based off female characters with erm... noticeable breasts? I'm working on a couple customs of this type and while my instincts are telling me "just sculpt the pony and forget about the breasts", the clothing that they will be wearing (I sculpt my clothing) kind of lend themselves to saying "Look! Boobies!" Pretty much, I'm asking for any insight or advice that any of you have had in the past. I really don't like the idea of sculpting breasts (it's not a modesty thing - I'm just pretty sure a pony with "chesticles" would look ridiculous), but am not sure on the best route around doing so. Sorry if this topic is inappropriate, but all of the people IRL that I've talked to think I'm nuts for even wondering about this kind of thing. Any help or suggestions would be great
45
« on: August 06, 2012, 11:05:41 AM »
Here's the scoop. I'm going to be competeing in Warrior Dash next month and want to wear my face painted a la a popular video game character. I know NOTHING about dolling myself up, though, not makeup, not Cosplay, NOTHING. This is a 5k with about a dozen obstacles to negotiate, and I'll need something that will be relatively resiliant against sweat and muddy water. I thought about using acrylics (since I have them already), but was afraid that when it dried, it would tug on my skin and then crack when I changed my expression. Does anyone out in the pony world have any advice on a durable way to do this? I know kids get their faces painted at fairs and theme parks and it seems to hold up well - any idea what the "pros" use? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated
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