The New Neoshadow Zac and a rant on Artists

Hello,

So, a couple of days back, I was making some thingy to promote 'February is Boring' and I came to a part based on Neoshadow Zac's LP of Octodad. And I realised, I didn't know Zac's OC or what it looked like. So I asked him. It was this:

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Reasonably standard Pony Maker jobbie. Now! Don't get me wrong; I like the Character Creation tools you can find. Some are very comprehensive. I learned to colour the way I do now thanks to the Furry Whatsit Maker from Gen8Hedgehog.

Yes, my internet life started on the dark recesses of Bebo where these were abundant in the RP scene there. If you remember that place, I can only apologize for making you feel strangely old now as you read this.

Anyway, I think the Pony Maker is pretty good. It has poses, it has a wide variety of things to add and change about your character. For an artist, it's actually a pretty good tool for just experimenting with colour schemes or certain positions. From there, you just redraw the modelled pony with all the details you can't replicate in the flash doodah.

But I couldn't feel comfortable having a pony like that as my avatar. I'm kinda too DIY-happy for that. I like a bespoke image I've smithed myself to display my persona. I don't know why, I just do.

But I've rarely done an image I'm 90% proud of or even more. They've always had flaws or things that just doesn't seem to fit. Some things just not drawn correctly or anything like that. And I used to draw full on furry stuff which is pretty challenging. The maw could be awkward or two long or two short or the teeth didn't look right.

I remember the faces looking good but the clothes looking flat or the body proportions being wrong some how. It was all over the place.

Anyway, back to NSZ's OC.

Just before I added his OC in, I was struck with the bizarre notion that this thing was just simply wrong. That the colours weren't right. The wings didn't sit correctly. The jewelry didn't look right but I was convinced I could fix it, as arrogant as that sounds.

So, I did. Apparently, Neoshadow Zac is a 'Batpony' that is made of shadows. In fact, the 'Neoshadow' part of the name comes from a Heartless type in Kingdom Hearts II.

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They're also made of shadow and have certain characteristics that could make for a cooler, more visually interesting OC. Just little elements of this Neoshadow to make Zac more interesting beyond the limitations of the Pony Maker.

So, for some reason, I came up with this:

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Now, here's the thing: I really like this picture. I like the idea of him evaporating into the air. I like the idea of his mane and tail being so contrasting to break up the purples and blues. I like the ragged wings. I can't find much to complain about with this.

But why? The majority of artists I have ever met with a range of skills tend towards the opinion that there's always something wrong. The artist can always find mistakes or reasons to put the picture down in some fashion with their could-have-been's. It's kinda interesting. But why am I not doing that with this? I know there are some mistakes in here. I just don't dwell on them.

It feels a little odd to be this proud of a piece of work.

But, has anyone else made something they're super proud of? Does anyone else draw something and find a million and one flaws in it despite everypony around you going ape over it? Do I just know a lot of downer arty types? I'd kinda like to know what you think on this.