Comm: Applejack to Canterlot - The Clopping Dead

Wow, nothing like a blizzard to tap the brakes on productivity. Then again, there is nothing like two blizzards to blow out your back shoveling snow. I swear I haven’t seen the street in front of my house in weeks. Nothing but a wall of white.

Anyway, I did manage to take some time away from my trusty snow shovel sidearm long enough to finish up the first Next Level commission on my To Do List. This one was ordered up by my good pal

He seems content to bury me under a tidal wave of commissions, so I guess its sink or swim time lol.

So let’s talk about this one. I didn’t have to do much planning for it. For the most part, this is a thematic re-creation of sorts of a promotional poster for the popular Walking Dead TV series. Lone horseman, riding off into an eerily calm cityscape, where something just feels off. It’s all very dramatic.

Canterlot, in all of its former glory anyway, is desolate and a shell of what you would expect out of a place built out of sunshine and rainbows. It was a nice little challenge to take something cheery and turn it into something devoid of its charms. It’s still got its trademark colors and design, however with a few cracks here and a small fire there, it’s just a whole different environment.

A little bit of research helped me out too. I found that MLP inspired train from some screenshots, so it was a nice set piece to use for the side of this image. I’m no stranger to damage models, so some pot holes and cracks in the pavement help sell the abandoned motif and bring it all together.

I put a lot into the characters for these high end commissions, and even though she appears rather tiny here, Applejack is no exception. I actually drew her quite large and shrunk her down to fit into the final copy. If you squint, you can see a good bit of the detail work I crammed in there. She’s got her apocalypse ready leather chaps (a must if you ask me) and a branded Shotgun on her back. Throw in the trademark hat and she’s looking really good.

I feel kinda weird about putting all that work into her and not showing off the end result. So I think I’ll just asset dump a larger version for you guys to look at. Someone will enjoy it I hope. ^^

All and all it came together pretty well. This picture is actually a bit of an edit to the commission I was asked to do. The real deal has a much bleaker, more depressing tone to the sky. I simply wanted to show off something a bit more traditional on my account.

Okay, another thank you is in order to Darthmind. I really do appreciate the repeat business and I’m glad I can keep doing right by ya.

As for anyone else mulling a commission from yours truly, feel free to check out my commission price chart and send me a line. I’d love to hear from you. ^^