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tearsofthunder In reply to Duskywing [2004-05-17 02:42:28 +0000 UTC]

thank you for taking the time to comment. Its very helpful

to be completely honest, I don't feel the ear thing is very relevant to a lot of my pictures, I wish it were, because your right, it does add a lot of expression. Like if a pony was fighting or something thier ears may lay flat but other than that...

please come again ok? Your comment was an eye opener!

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Duskywing In reply to tearsofthunder [2004-05-17 04:05:02 +0000 UTC]

*laughs* No worries. I need to get into commenting more, I tend to be a spammer when I write. It's all at once, or I forget and just wander around bumping into walls.


Yeah, the ear thing really is one of those subtle unnecessary tweaks. Thing is, I get into that stuff, I love the little details that catch your subconscious. Now, I'm no expert, I swear! But this is one of those things that I feel strongly about, simply because it's just a viewpoint in this medium. Humans don't have pointy ears that stick out, but we have faces that allow us to emote very clearly. Our lips, cheeks, eyes, eyebrows, and foreheads are our facial expressions. Horses don't have that luxury, so they rely mainly on body posture, the flash of their teeth, widening or narrowing of eyes, and their ears. The cartoon universe lets us give them facial expressions they normally wouldn't have, and it tends to draw people away from the animal's natural expressive quality...which is incredibly powerful on an instinctive level that we don't even fully realize unless we stop and look at it.

Ears don't get pinned back just when there's a fight. They pin back when they're running so the wind doesn't deafen them. They flatten out to the sides when they're especially upset, worried, or scared. They tilt back when they're relaxed or even sad, or swivel around one ear at a time to listen to something. They perk forward like radar dishes when they're excited or watchful. When playing, an animal will flatten it's ears like it's trying to be all tough and intimidating, but it's just a game. The rest of their body language tells you that, and the ears add the playful nature of the game.

*scratches her head* Okay, now I'm officially ranting. Sorry. It's a strange concept to grasp, showing emotion through your ears, but it's one of the few ways that animals have to express themselves. I guess that's the best way I can describe it.

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tearsofthunder In reply to Duskywing [2004-05-17 15:50:35 +0000 UTC]

*laughs* it's not a strange concept to grasp at all hun! It's just, as you said, an area thats often overlooked! I'll definately keep this in mind while I'm working on my mlp manga! It'll be very helpful and add life to the pictures. I've always relied a lot on other features to express the ponies emotions, like thier posture and body language, positioning of thier feet and obviously facial expressions. THe ears, as you said, I seem to have overlooked. I remember vaguely experimenting with it a while back but kind of said to myself it was a feature more feline than anything else., and you most certainly have prooved me wrong! I will certainly take the thought more seriously! Thanks again, and please keep in touch! I love your comments! In fact, I have a piece I would like your opinion on! Its called teleport Jupiter, in my gallery. If you can spare a moment I would love some feedback!

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Duskywing In reply to tearsofthunder [2004-05-22 22:04:37 +0000 UTC]

Sorry this took so long to respond, it's been a crazy week.

*nods* Cats do tend to be a little more expressive with their ears, where horses are a bit more on the subtle side. It's almost like a quirky tweak because they don't have the larger ears in relation to their faces like cats do, which is most likely why people brush by it. It's not as necessary to evoke emotion by moving a horse's ears as it is a cat's. And you have body language and facial expressions pinned down, it's wonderful. I love the way you position their heads and arch their necks, as well as their feet, they're the big emotional tells. If you haven't seen the movie Seabiscuit yet, I highly recomend it, if only because it's a beautiful movie. But there's a lot of different horses portrayed in it, and it's also a good movie to watch their expressions if you want to.

Wow, thanks! ^_^ And sure, I'll head over right now. *laughs* I don't usually get asked for this specifically, it's kind of weird. But I'm honored, thanks! I like the discussion you generate with your replies, it's mutual feedback. Yummy stuff!

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tearsofthunder In reply to Duskywing [2004-05-24 03:27:09 +0000 UTC]

*laughs* its a pleasure to have some one to have these feedbacks with! I'll be sure to watch that movie, thanks for the heads up!

*doesn't have much to say somehow*

*blushes* later hun!

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tearsofthunder In reply to aquilla [2003-08-31 01:37:54 +0000 UTC]

I'll post the comic and get going on it if enough people want to see it....

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aquilla In reply to tearsofthunder [2003-08-31 07:52:34 +0000 UTC]

Ohhhh I hope enough people do want to see it.

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tearsofthunder In reply to lilly-dear [2003-08-30 00:45:02 +0000 UTC]

*blushes* I'm SO sorry about that *hides her blushing face*

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lilly-dear In reply to tearsofthunder [2003-08-30 00:46:55 +0000 UTC]

You shouldn't be, its still a wonderful pic *nods*

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