#maraquan

[rumwik]

Some maraquan neopokes, because why not!

[artsyaxolotl]

Neopets commission for RainbowFrosting over on Reddit! I'm so stoked that I got to draw someone's pet and I'm so happy with how it came out!! Thanks so much!

[theneotrash]

I decided my first neopets art of 2024 would be a remake of my Maraquan Peophin because the first one I did was super ugly lol

Maraquan Peophin based on the leafy sea dragon. Video is a mockup of how it could look on the site and second is the actual drawing along with the ref and palette. My next piece will be the Burlap Cybunny, and if anyone has suggestions for other pets lemme know

[xispoint]

"I'll get ya!"

[rando-posts]

[nudesfornp]

i just don't like him

[mutantmorphingpotions]

THE NOISE I MADE WAS UNGODLY AND UPSETTED ALL THE ANIMALS WITHIN MY LOCALIZED AREA

[ninebaalart]

Maraquan Lilligant

they go down to the coral to feel pretty and attract prey to eat

[dimetrodone]

Still taking offers for this fella. If anyone has a decent paintbrush or want to do a pet trade I’m open.

[adobe-outdesign]

Will you review the Maraquan pets? I think Buzz is my favorite based on design, and there are so many really creative/punny ones. Personally, I’ve never liked Wocky.

Maraqua is probably one of Neopets' most distinct lands given that it's, you know, underwater. The idea of making a color that fits with the Atlantis-esq aesthetic just makes logical sense, and the actual designs tend to be pretty cool. I like how there's actual thought put into how [X] Neopet would function if it was adapted to life underwater, with the bubbling pit area vaguely implying it might be a natural mutation (given the amount of "painted" Maraquan pets we see in Maraqua).

Maraquan also didn't do too badly with customization, mostly because they're not compatible with normal clothing anyway so the poses are at least somewhat distinct. That said, it is weird that they changed the poses at all; they already have to have clothing drawn specifically for them, so why force things like fists onto some of them? It's so weird.

Even weirder is the seemingly arbitrary decisions regarding which ones got UC versions; Maraquan Chombys barely changed at all yet somehow got a UC, while Maraquan Zafaras changed drastically but never got a UC. What gives?

(I can't count it on the favorites list because there are too many good still-obtainable Maraquan pets, but shoutout to the unconverted Maraquan Zafara for being one of my favorite Maraquan pets. Shame it's no more.)

Favorite Species:

Gelert: While the unconverted Maraquan Zafara is my all-time favorite Maraquan pet, the Maraquan Gelert is a very close second, and is definitely my fav if we're talking pets that are still obtainable. I love Maraquan pets where the design is just abstract, taking cues from various sea creatures without being a 1:1 parallel of them, and the Gelert is particularly beautiful in this respect. It plays with the Gelert's long ears and tails by making it vaguely eel-ish—adding in a back fin, a few spots, and a lovely green and purple color scheme.

The UC version is particularly gorgeous, having this lovely flow that curves back from the head and leads straight into the curled tail. The converted version is still fine, as it's a fairly accurate recreation all things considered, but the pose is much more awkward (the body suggests an S shape, but the paws and ears are going opposite directions and the chest sticks out too much).

It does, however, at least fix the shading; for some reason the UC Maraquan Gelert has one layer of shading with no highlights or shadows to speak of, which is really weird. (See the above, which is an edit I made years ago that just adds the layers of shading that the actual UC is missing. The lineart should also probably be thinner but I digress.) Anyway, the point is that both are beautiful designs.

Uni: Maraquan Uni are also really beautiful. Similar to a Peophin (arguably too much so, but hey, there's no Maraquan Peophin at the time of writing anyway), they've swapped their legs for a tail and their wings and mane have become fins themselves, with a pretty curved horn and some subtle striping to boot. Even better, the converted version is basically the same as the old art, so there's no difficulty in obtaining one (other than the PB cost, of course).

Lutari: While there are still a lot of great abstract Maraquan designs that I love (Eyrie, Draik, etc.), I have to give a shoutout to the Lutari for being a really great design based off of an obvious animal (in this case, an axolotl). The cream and pink color scheme is lovely, and I love the subtle mottle gradients on its limbs. The multiple sets of ears forming the gills is fantastic, the tail is pretty, the black claws add contrast, and it still reads really clearly as a Lutari despite the animal influence. Really good stuff.

Least Favorite Species:

Kacheek: The Maraquan Kacheek just looks incredibly uncanny to me. The best Maraquan pets are either ambiguous or choose an animal that fits the Neopet, but here they just... took a Kacheek head and slapped it on a goldfish body??? Don't like that at all. The head in isolation isn't terrible and I could see it working on a more Kacheek-ish torso, but this... no. At least it's nicely drawn on a technical level, I suppose?

[plushie-neopet]

Kuro is diving for treasure on your blog!

[sevilai]

I am absolutely still playing Neopets at the age of 27 and I am flourishing

[artsyaxolotl]

Tolosh and his surzard, Pringle! and a pinchit c:

[flannelshirtandjeans]

Big and smol file for different uses BUT!

@keycchan traded me a Maraquan Lutari on Neopets and I HAD to paint him! He's my super duper dreamie!

His name is Tzji, he's a petpet vet who in his free time wrestles, and enthuses about tea and tea cups and teapots. Despite being aquatic, he isn't a very strong swimmer due to some spine or tail problems. And clearly his lil reverse aquarium helmet for going on land is way too small for him head. xD

The lil creature on his head is Itsy.

[nukedopus]

After 15 years away, I came back and finally got my girl painted the color I always wanted. (She's cannonically trans by virtue of her gender getting transed by the lab ray)

[oolongnoon]

find me under the sea - maraquan draik