G1 reboot that could have been

[Bekuno]

I found something interesting while looking at pony art!  One of my favorite artists, Brianne Drouhard (potatofarmgirl), a storyboard artist and character designer, creator of Billie the Unicorn, Harpy Gee, director of Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld, and an animator for Nickelodeon, did some G1 pony art.. that was apparently used in a presentation to reboot the G1 series!

This tweet here claims it was used in a presentation: https://twitter.com/potatofarmgirl/status/715741785398464512
I also found an old blogspot that says she drew them in 2006 for "whatever reason" and talked a bit about her old ponies. You can check that out here: http://potatofarmgirl.blogspot.com/2009/07/ponehs.html

Check this art out!

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What do you guys think? I love it personally.

[LadyMoondancer]

Oooo, how interesting!

I love some of her concepts, but I really really REALLY do not like humans hanging out with MLPs.  So I guess I would say . . . I'm glad this never got picked up "officially", but am happy to look at it as adorable fanart. 

Do we actually know that they were drawn for a presentation? They might have been nostalgic doodles for the sake of doodling?

[ghouldilocks]

Spike looks super weird to me in this, haha, but the ponies look really cute! I think they're a bit closer to pony-like to me than actual G4. 

[Bekuno]

The only proof of a presentation was what she stated in the tweet I linked. I don't know anything else :/ I'm sure she's worked in the industry for some time, so it's certainly possible.

[Al-1701]

I love some of her concepts, but I really really REALLY do not like humans hanging out with MLPs. 

I know you've said multiple you don't like humans with ponies, and Megan was a very badly handled case.  Why are you so against the concept completely?  There has to be a way to do human/pony relations right.

I think I've seen these sketches before.  That Spike is freaking creepy.  The feet and nose make we think of a bat more than a reptile of any kind.

[Leave a Whisper]

Eh, don't really like it.

[LadyMoondancer]

I love some of her concepts, but I really really REALLY do not like humans hanging out with MLPs. 

I know you've said multiple you don't like humans with ponies, and Megan was a very badly handled case.  Why are you so against the concept completely?  There has to be a way to do human/pony relations right.

I don't really care about human-pony relations though, lol.  I view human characters in Ponyland as awkward and unnecessary at best.  Any personality you could give to a human, you could give to a pony instead. So why not do that?  Give me another pony toy to buy.

Usually the reason human kids are added to shows like this is because the executives believe that kids will only relate to kid characters.  But I don't think that's true.  I think most kids would rather pretend to be Optimus Prime over Spike Witwicky.  If the kids aren't relating to robot characters or pony characters or whatnot, the problem isn't "they aren't human", the problem is "poor writing."

[Al-1701]

I can agree the belief you need a human character for the kids to relate is lazy.  However, a human character could serve a purpose.  They would bring an outsider's perspective to the ponies world, and show how different from human the ponies are.  They would have a character arc of becoming a part of a community who are radically different from their own.  They just need to be important use while not overshadowing the ponies.

[Wardah]

I love some of her concepts, but I really really REALLY do not like humans hanging out with MLPs. 

I know you've said multiple you don't like humans with ponies, and Megan was a very badly handled case.  Why are you so against the concept completely?  There has to be a way to do human/pony relations right.

Usually the reason human kids are added to shows like this is because the executives believe that kids will only relate to kid characters.

I thought it was to sell dolls. At least with Megan that's what the case seemed to be. Horse riding play is classic and I'm sure before Megan came out lots of kids were using either Mattel's Kelly or Kenner's Strawberry Shortcake dolls to ride their ponies

[LadyMoondancer]

I can agree the belief you need a human character for the kids to relate is lazy.  However, a human character could serve a purpose.  They would bring an outsider's perspective to the ponies world, and show how different from human the ponies are.  They would have a character arc of becoming a part of a community who are radically different from their own.  They just need to be important use while not overshadowing the ponies.

We'll have to agree to disagree.  They use that trope with the Autobots all the time and it drives me nuts, lol.

Wardah, that's a good point about selling dolls!

[Al-1701]

The doll thing also important to consider.

Something I was thinking but didn't articulate, was the human character could also enter a story arc of being something more.  I had the idea of Megan becoming the Weather Witch's apprentice so she would have magic power alongside the ponies.  It would be her arc as she learned and honed her skills, having her stumbles and need for comfort from her pony friends.  She was also be doing more than just bossing the ponies around as the uber wunderkind.

And we cannot ignore the incredible superpower of opposable thumbs.

[sd_dreamcrystal]

I'll be honest, I'm not really a fan of the art style xD

[WingsOfMasquerade]

This is interesting to see!
Its always fascinating for me to see concepts, production sketches & ideas. It lets people see a progression of ideas and speculate on what got used / what didn't get used & why.

I see dates here of 2006 and 2009 on them.

But, it makes me ask a question that G4 continues to raise (These are surprisingly G4'ish in their style for something Pre G3)

Why can't the ponies be PRETTY any more?
Why do the 're invision ers' always go with wacky cutie woodland bunny designs than "pretty horses"?
No one's looking (probably) for The Last Unicorn twig-thin Amalthea design.
They have very spherical heads, pig* snouts/tiny Chihuahua tacked-on snouts and these have piggy front nostrils. The head is a ball with a tiny muzzle pinned to it so you can see both eyes at once all the time. (G4 will literally flounder the eyes to accomplish this in the animation--rotating an eye a third way round someone's head to keep it visible in profile)

What's so wrong with being pretty, elegant AND fun? G1 toys...they were gorgeous.
G2 was elegant-ish in its own way. G3 were horsey as well.
G4 is fun. G4 is cute. G4 can be funny & silly and appealing. All good qualities, as is expressiveness (though the G4 toys aren't, they're very static and for the most part lack all expression except for blindbags) G3 had their fun too, while the ponies were ponylike & the animation was ok even if the plots weren't up to G4 level and the show was slice of life-ey a good bit.

There was that other earlier 'redesign' or whatever of like G3 Edward Scissorpony & Cat o' 9tails whipping pony with ever-increasing eye sizes and head roundness as well. I guess I just find it odd that every (seemingly) designer who takes the word "Pony" seems to go directly to round headed chipmunks and little poodles with ginormous eyes.

What about ACTUAL PONIES is so un-appealing to these people?
Obviously the designs "win" and get brought up over and over but it seems like they're all intensely avoiding all horse-like-ness on purpose, and making 4 legged somethings in its stead. That's the part I don't get.

*Not that pigs or pig like things are bad or un-cute, it's just that pigs and little toy breed dogs aren't at all "pony or horse like" in their face structure

[Twilight Pink]

I'll be honest, I'm not really a fan of the art style xD

Thank god it wasn't just me thinking that...took me awhile to figure out what the heck Spike was. He looks like a penguin with a piggy nose wearing a dragon costume!

Also the pony's chests are too pointy for my taste :s

[Bekuno]

I think that mainly has to do with how art styles, especially in animated shows, change over the years.

If you watch cartoons at the peak of their decades, you'll notice a repeating pattern in art style. Things just change with the times. This artist just has this particular style, it's in a lot of her work (not that she can't draw unicorns in other shapes, she has!).

Lately cutesy stuff with big eyes is what sells in the toy market. Think about how well stuff like shopkins is doing.