I'm honestly just so relieved to have these two be out in the open. There's a lot that happened during the process that made designing these characters more difficult than you'd think, but everybody really pulled together in the end to overcome some VERY split opinions and make a sibling combo that we can be proud of. These mascots hopefully represent a renewed commitment from EqD to not only highlight great content from the community, but also to do its best to stand out and produce some for itself. If they (and we) can make you smile, then everything will have been worth it.

Also, PhoexSpotlight OTP. Just sayin'.

Hey guys. This is your moment and I don't want to detract from it too much, but I did want to apologize for not being anywhere remotely near as available as I have been in the past or as you guys deserve. I tried my best to stay involved and commenting on as much as I could, but life piled on and things spun out of control and in the end I don't think I was really here for you guys at all. Being the one to post this final gallery was a really emotional moment that I'm not sure I really deserved.

I promise you though, I looked at every single one of these nearly 3,000 pictures. I don't mean that I glanced at it like a parent before declaring it should go on my fridge, I took my time and tried my best to soak every single one of them in. This has been my favorite thing on EqD for years and I have been wonderfully privileged to bring it to you all and try my little pony best to encourage even a few of you to become artists, but I am starting to wonder if maybe we've reached the limits of what we can achieve on this website.

I just want to say thank you to everybody who has continued to make these events a success. It's been an incredible ride. I've yet to make it through one of these posts without crying.

As they say, draw from life! =D

So long as you can upload your art somewhere on the internet to link to on the submitter, that's all you need.

For the record? I thought your entry tonight was gorgeous.

Interesting perspective. Unfortunately it's very difficult to solicit feedback for every artist on every day when there are so many. I do my best to leave comments when and where I can, but administrating the event takes up a lot of my time and energy and I don't get to do it anywhere near as much as I'd like (or should). I would love to try to find ways to wrap more "teaching" into the event and you can rest assured I'll spend my little break doing my best with it.

But with that said, the real point and purpose of the ATG has never been to instruct and help perfect. It's a starting platform, a little shove to get people started or trying something new that they can carry on. You said you can walk away from your drawings now with a smile and that you couldn't before. You also said it was your accomplishment. Precisely the point! I'm only really here to prove to you that persistence and desire pay off. You are the one who makes the effort, and you are the one who gets to feel accomplished. I don't want to create an event that gets too tied down in the minutiae either, or I'll lose a lot of that magic.

I promise that I will always care enough about the integrity of this event to never think it's perfect and just sit around never changing with it, but neither will I turn it into an art class. The kick I'm here to give is about (temporarily) eschewing those kinds of resources. But again, we can do better on making it less intimidating than just a pile of tutorials on Day 1. I appreciate your feedback, and thanks for participating this year. :)

We'll be doing another one this summer. I'm sorry I can't promise anything sooner than that; the community as a whole needs a break from it or else the whole thing becomes infinitely less special. But even though the event is over, you should try to follow along with it from the past. Do your own 15 days of pony and see where that takes you. Find some friends or online aquaintences to challenge themselves with you, it makes it much more fun!

Sorry to hear you got that sick, what terrible timing! :<

But I'm glad you were able to participate at least a little bit, and I'm looking forward to seeing you back this summer. Keep an eye out!

To put things in perspective, folks, last year we had 10,215 images in an event twice as long as this one. You knocked it out of the park this time. There aren't words to express how amazed I am by everyone. Not just the sheer numbers, but the passion and the dedication. Your comments were jubilant, hopeful, determined, and many other things. Your growth in just two weeks was extraordinary. I keep saying it because it's true, but you. Are. Awesome.

Thank you.