#if you didn't want autistic rambling then idk what you're doing in an mlp au tag XD

[shallowoak]

Design Chatter - MLP East Blue Crew!

>> Link to the art here! <<

I've seen some fellow MLP au artists talk through their design ideas, so I thought I'd share my two cents and ramble a bit! Fair warning this will be long and there will be spoilers!

I kept a few simple guidelines for myself in mind:

Keep it fun and surprising, in the spirit of the original!

I draw in the G4 style, but features from every gen and toy line are fair game

Anypony who appeared in the comics as a cameo is not immune and has been redesigned for my selfish needs

I love back card / blind bag style character blurbs. I live for crumbs of worldbuilding XD

I've purposefully not included cutie marks because I suck at drawing them and I'd never finish a piece if I had to draw them :v (maybe a post for another time?)

🌅 Luffy 🌅

In-universe:

"Friendship isn't so much magic but a mandate for those this pony captain likes! This joyful newbie who idolises Shanks, a fellow flightless Pegasus pirate. Though rubber wings are useless for flight, his ultra-lightweight body means he is still adept at aerial combat- falling slower and flinging faster. He passes the time between islands gliding by the mast with the gulls."

Design:

I'll level with you all; I'm not huge on red and black ponies. It's nothing personal to anyone who uses the scheme; it's just not my bag. The contrast is a bit harsh on my eyes. (And that every brony in 2015 slammed ponies with the scheme, forever ingraining that bias into me)

Rather, Luffy's scheme is based on his shorts! Light blue and white evoke the shoreline and sky, two limitless places where he spends a lot of time. A softer scheme allows me to draw his vest and hat without them becoming lost on his fur, and I feel it gels better with his light n' bright attitude to life. There's no way he's edgy enough for red and black-!

The swirls on his wings (and hoof fluff) are from the G3 depiction of Pegasi. It's such a gosh darn cute way to draw wings. It's also a fun little nod to the pattern on his fruit and Gear 5 form later on. Ponies are always skirting around the idea of destiny. For him to be a Pegasus was an easy pick for me, the wings symbolising both freedom of movement and spirit!

💚 Zoro 💚

In-universe:

"This aloof Zebra spends all year saving for Apple cider season, where he promptly blows all his bits in under a week. He often unknowingly intimidates those he meets; a bias unaided by the three swords he wields with magnets embedded into his front hooves."

Design:

I'm weak. I couldn't resist the alliteration of Zebra Zoro. You can blame Zecora for starting that. You can also blame her for the parallel of people misunderstanding Zoro's personality based on first impressions. I Pinkie-promise he's a big softie really.

Before I'm bashed, I'm well aware Zoro is Asian. In this instance, you can view that his being a Zebra just connotes that his ancestry lies outside of the East Blue rather than drawing any real-world correlation.

It's the little things that make this version uniquely Zoro, though. His stripes are sword-shaped, come in threes and neatly avoid his back. Hoof magnets were a popular play feature of G3 ponies before kids kept eating them 😶 But I think it's a fun way for Zoro to retain that Earth Pony-adjacent strength whilst still being able to hold all three swords. His stance has always looked weird, anyway.

🍊 Nami 🍊

In-universe:

"A light-footed, citrus-scented Pegasus who gambles with the best in Klugetown. Nothing escapes her- not even the bits from your purse! After a decade of being on high alert, she's more in tune with the weather than even other Pegasi. The sight of rainbows stretching across the sky makes her think of home."

Design:

Honestly, it's nice that we don't know anything about Nami's birth family. When she was adopted, she was just a baby, even younger than Sanji. Belle-Mere (Mare…) and Nojiko shaped her entire life. To that end, I wanted her design to be free of speculation and to focus on what we know for sure.

Her being a Pegasus was influenced by a few things. In G4, Pegasi often have an affinity for the weather and sky. Like Luffy, her wings symbolise the emphasis on freedom in her story. Farming is traditionally an Earth Pony job, so it also shows the disconnect between her passions and current situation.

In this case, the clipping of her wings doesn't stop her from sailing away any more than it does in canon. But it adds to the feeling of control Arlong holds over her, another physical reminder of her duty and self-sacrifice.

Despite what the timeskip art style wants us to believe, Nami is pretty but also really... normal. Normal proportions, face, hair, profession. She's weird for an OP character in that way. To reflect that, I decided that her coat should reflect the colour of the maps she creates. Unique from the pastels around her, but not super stand out, much like her orange mane. The darkened ends of her fur walk the line between showing hard graft and dirtied hooves 🥲 I expanded her tattoo to be a full leg design- 'cuz why shouldn't she show off the symbol of her life truly beginning!?

🎱 Usopp 🎱

In-universe:

"A young, apprehensive Changeling who often lives disguised as a Pony. He uses his transformations to bring stories to life and dazzle those he meets! When danger arises, he shifts into the form of a smaller animal and hides..."

Design:

The choice to make Usopp a Changeling speaks to insecurity as a character. Why present yourself as a village foal when you could be a great pony of the sea? Or anyone else you could dream up? It also speaks to my own insecurity as an artist, not touching the idea of drawing his nose on a horse face with a 10-foot pole. It's not happening, nuh-uh. It's a horn now for a reason, trust me!

But it also allows for some very literal metamorphosis as he grows throughout the series. His horns grow larger and change shape as the slingshots he uses evolve. (Yes, he absolutely does use his horns to fire things from!) In Pony form, his cutie mark changes to reflect which part of himself he identifies with -or has the most faith in- at any one moment. As an artist, I bet he has great fun drawing up new marks to use.

Rather than becoming a muscly bug after the skip, his wings literally break out from his shell. It isn't the end of his development, but it signifies his change in outlook and newfound faith in himself. Followers of God Usopp view his Pony form as one they, as "common folk" can easily comprehend, rather than his true nature.

He's the only one I drew as his timeskip design, just because it was the most interesting to me. Hyperfixation does strange things to a man.

🍥 Sanji 🍥

In-universe:

"A hot-headed Unicorn who breaks expectations, he fights rude customers with kicks that match the strength of a true Earth Pony! His unusual tail is a hot topic of speculation for off-duty chefs at the Baratie- but he won't speak a word about his past. Maybe try asking about his specials instead?"

Design:

Classic Unicorns are calm, refined and beautiful. Everything that Sanji is... on the surface. I love how Sanji constantly plays with our expectations; who says a creative can't kick ass? Further to that, Sanji's magic skills are wholly unimpressive, with a repertoire of a grand two spells. It helps separate him from Robin, the actual magic scholar on board. As an Earth Pony unable to teach him, Zeff has always felt guilty.

His blue coat reflects the shirts he often wears, sure, but blue feels so appropriate for someone who loves the sea so much. It also allows for his fluffy black socks to stand out, coining his epithet. (If horse Sanji wore pants, would he wear them like this? Or like t h i s?) Not naming any names, Luffy he's the only fighter sensible enough to wear horseshoes to protect his feet and often visits Farriers when they make port.

His tail isn't hairless, but is covered in a thin layer of fur like his body until it reaches the tip. It's useful for working in the kitchen as it's easy to wrestle into a hair net. In the Baratie, he's often seen with a red bow decorating it, warning customers that he'll kick if provoked. This style of tail is a largely lost trait of old Unicorns, now most commonly seen in nobility who care a little too much about bloodlines. It's not a feature he's proud of, especially when it calls into question the nature of his relationship to Zeff- a pony he otherwise closely resembles.