Lions and Ponies and Bears, OH MY! (HAPPY SPS!!!)

Welcome to the Sunday before Black Friday!!!! Which means HAPPY SELF-PROMOTION SUNDAY! As always, make sure you shop small on Small Business Saturday this upcoming weekend. We small business artists do appreciate all of the business you give us, even when we can't always get a chance to express is. To that end, I am going to have a Cyber Sale on my Etsy Store from Black Friday until the week before Christmas. From November 23rd until December December 16th, use the coupon code CYBERSALE to get 15% off your total order when you shop at my store! And make sure you check out the Mystery Print deal doing on!

As we get into the colder weather, my sculpting will be going down. I do not have a lot of places to sand, and I do not wish to sit outside on my cold balcony to use my power tool. Plus, my graduate class is coming to a close, and I need to prepare for the upcoming testing. So, I am sort of doing my best to furiously finish any sanding I might still have and putting any larger projects, like my Aurora Soldier on hold until the warmer weather arrives. To that end, let's show off the work in progress pieces first:

First up, I am working on a G4 Last Unicorn. My Last Unicorn dolls seem to be pretty popular, so I will continue to make these:

Next, I am working on a Kirin Queen from MLP. As we all know, the kirins made an appearance in the recent season. I am going to be starting an Autumn Blaze real soon, once the sculpting finishes on the queen. Thankfully, these two will not require much by way of sanding so I am not concerned about making them:

I'm slowly working on the Reindeer from the latest MLP holiday special. Again, these guys don't need much by way of sanding, so I am not concerned about much. And Rarity is coming along too, she just needs some spraying:

Lastly, I have a Mistmane that still needs some sanding. She is going to be more intense sanding, so she will take a bit:

Now, onto the latest pieces that are up for grabs:

First up, my holiday and seasonal Bears! I am going to be making more of these over time, but these are the ones that I have started with. I have a mini Christmas and St. Patrick's Day in the works. They got a good reception at NaugyCon last weekend, so we will see how things go with them:

Next up, a sweet little Deerling made from an old Bambi toy:

Also, I have up my Bowsette dolls on Etsy page and my Pink Lion will go up later this evening:

I am also working on a few custom pieces for a pony swap:

Happy SPS!

Happy SPS y'all! I'm finally back in the swing of things, just in time for the weather to get cold and the amount of work I do to cut down. I'll probably be starting to do more digital work as I finish up the stuff I got going on right now, and not doing too many more figurines for the winter. Because I sand down a lot, I have to go outside on my balcony to use my Dremel tool, but with the cold weather coming, I really don't feel like having my fingers freeze off! If something doesn't require sculpting, I will probably make it, but likely I will cut down for the winter.

Anyway, with that in mind, let's run down the list! First off, last con of the season will be next weekend, NaugyCon. If you happen to be in CT and anywhere near Naugatuck, CT, come check it out. It's a one-day con, so come support us! Here's the link: NaugyCon 2018

Also, I am currently confirmed for Hudson Valley ComiCon already for next season, and I am waiting to hear on CT Gamer Con. 


Now, let's get down to brass tax:

First, I got a mystery print deal going on over on Etsy! Need some stuff for the holidays? Get it done with one click of the keyboard! Check it out!: Print Deal!

I have been getting into some Care Bear stuff based on the kawaii bears I have been doing lately. You can check those out here. But here's the first bear done, my Sugar Skull Bear:

In the works are my three Halloween bears, and the Thanksgiving bear. Plus, I got some mini Bears working on as well:

Next up, my Bowsettes are looking FINE! I will have at least one of these girls at NaugyCon with me. I am loving how they look, I might have to do some of the other girls that came from this whole fan art thing like Chompette and Boosette:

There's a pink lion in the works from Steven Universe. I have sort of been wanting to do this one for a while, so I can kill off some pink minky fabric I got sitting around. So far, it's looking pretty good:

I've also been doing some more Pokemon. Currently got this little Deerling going on. It was originally supposed to be used for one of the deer from the current holiday MLP episode, but this one bait came with the other two and this one couldn't move, so I decided to do something else. And I think the Deerling with a little Butterfree on the tail will precious!:

Speaking of ponies, we got lots going on there! I just finished this very basic Sombra. Now yes, I know the hair is not quite what he normally has, but I had this Shining Armor bait, and I couldn't figure out what to do with it, so I made like angsty teen Sombra. Very broody:

I've got his counterpart, a Radiant Hope from the comics, as a commission, in the works as well:

I'm also working on a younger Mistmane, one of the Pillars of Equestria (I've done Sonambula before):

There's also either a Luna or Celestia going to happen from this bait, but I'm not sure which yet. I personally am more of a Luna girl, but we will see. Plus, going to make some more Last Unicorn ponies as well:

A Rarity with butterfly type wings has been started (using some wings from the seapony toys):

Lastly, still working on this Aurora Knight doll. Yes, I know, she's been just sort of dragging on, but I REALLY want to get her finished and make her look epic. I'm actually quite proud of how she is turning out so far:

Happy Fluttershy Friday! (#106 and 107)

Wow! What a week! I am finally getting back into the swing of doing customs, after basically being down for the count for quite some time. But, all that will come on Sunday, for Self-Promotion Sunday. In the meantime, we are here for some FLUTTERSHY!

Well, since we have hit the 100 mark, the question becomes what the next milestone should be. Maybe 200, but that's just wishful thinking, so to speak. In the meantime, let me show you the new girls!


#106: McDonald's Cutie Mark Crew Fluttershy

So, while I am not COMPLETELY on board with this sort of chibi design, I had to grab this girl. I mean, it's McDonald's, and it's still kinda cute. I may use this for an base for some inspiration.

#107: Equestria Girls

Ok, this is one that I was searching for for a while and I LOVE HER! I had to order her from the UK because she's not available yet in the US. I sort of feel like the US gets the short end of the deal sometimes with some of the merch.

In the box

Out of box!

Bonus: PEZ!

My birthday was not too long ago, and as a belated gift, a good friend of mine got me a Fluttershy Pez Dispenser. I have not had Pez in AGES! This is awesome!

Bonus creepiness:

I was at Five Below today (which I should NEVER go in by myself btw, as an art teacher), and I found this (the stuff of NIGHTMARES!):

SPS Update!

So, I have been sick. Like real sick. Like flat on my back sick. I found out I had both a viral infection and a bacteria infection, which kept me out of work for a few days, and I felt like all I wanted to do was just roll over and die. It was horrible.

I am finally getting myself back together, but slowly. So I do not have much to show for this week except a few things that I have been working on. So, let me first promo saying that I will be at NaugyCon 2018 in about a week or so. Make sure you check me out. It's a small one day con, and perfect if you are local, especially to start getting some of those holiday gifts. Make sure you check me out for my last con of the season.

Now, the run down of what I'm working on:

So, first and foremost, I have been still working on this Aurora knight for some time. I need to do some sanding on her, but the next parts have been sculpted and she's starting to come a little further along. She's going to be a more difficult piece, but I am truly excited to see how she will turn out in the end.

Next, since I previewed my Kawaii Care Bears, I am working on a few more digital designs, but I am starting to make them into actual bears. I am interested to see how these will work out, and if they will be a success. Also, you will see I am working on ponies still. The grey pony is going to become a Sombra before he becomes King Sombra.

Lastly, as I said, I am still doing ponies. So here's what's going on in the picture below:  In the back, the two Equestria Girls are being turned into Bowsette's (yes, I am finally jumping on that band wagon). The pink guy on the right is becoming Pink Diamond's lion from Steven Universe, in an attempt to use up some pink minky fabric I have laying around. The purple pony is a commission for a client, while the Celestia may end up becoming a Luna, and the Rarity will becoming a Rarity with butterfly wings. I have been dying to do that one, but it's been taking a while for me to do it.

Anyway, that's it for now! I know I've been slow on trying to get new stuff, but the illness has taken it's toll. I am on the mend, so hopefully everything is going to be better soon.

HAPPY SPS!

So I have been as sick as a dog. Not sick like you think. The sudden change in the weather has made me just cough non-stop. Honestly non-stop. It sucks. I have next to no voice. I ache all over. It's been exhausting, so I have not been feeling so hot. I am doing a little bit of sculpting, but nothing to show off. However, I have been also doing something cute and new, some holiday kawaii Care Bear type bears! Honestly, I have never really seen holiday Care Bears, and even though the line flopped, I thought the kawaii Care Bears that Hot Topic did were adorable. So I decided to try my hand at a few! Here are the first three and I have put them up on my RedBubble, which you can get in time for Halloween!!

Candy Corn Bear

Witch Bear

Pumpkin Bear

RedBubble Shop: https://www.redbubble.com/people/TrotLOeilArt/shop?asc=u

HAPPY FLUTTERSHY FRIDAY!!! #104 and #105 (Birthday Post!)

Yup! You read that right! Happy birthday to me!!! So this is a special Fluttershy Friday Birthday post! I treated myself and got two new Fluttershys! So we are now on #104 and #105. Let's check them out! And no, they are not customs at the moment. Right now, I need to restrict what I get in terms of Fluttershys because I got a new job that is pretty much like two in one, and I am having to get like two sets of everything for my jobs. It's kind of crazy. But for now, let's check out the new Flutters!

So, for #104, I decided to get the alternate version of the story side Fluttershy. Now, I know these were originally not getting much love. However, I think these are kind of cool. So here's what the original was:

And this is what I just got:

Now, #105 was something I was actually searching for for a long time, like pretty much since the MLP movie came out. I thought the pirate scene was epic, and I was so excited to see the Guardians of Harmony line including all the Mane 6 in pirate garb. It took so long to find this, so I am so glad I finally did! Isn't she fabulous???:

Way Too Long (NYCC Recap)

So, I have been a horrible blogger lately, due to the new schools, adapting to all that, off and on sick, and so much more. I haven't done much lately in terms of art because I have been busy with playing catch-up on trying to grade stuff for my schools, because they finally gave me a break down on how things should get graded (or thereabouts). I have a lot more this weekend to do, so I am making this blog tonight. Hopefully, I will get to do some sculpting this week, though. I would love to finish up the Pink Lion from Steven Universe that I am making, as well as the soldier Aurora too.

But, in the meantime, I can at least give a recap of my time at NYCC this year. This year was a first for me, as I did more than just one day. Normally, I do only Thursday, when all the education stuff is happening. But this year, I did Saturday and Sunday as well. Over the course of these three days, I went to a whole lot of panels, many of which were very informative about how to create a more inclusive library in a school (I am starting the library club at one of the schools I am working at, so this seemed relevant). I also got to go to the Star Talk panel that was on the first day thanks to winning my lottery slot, and I got to go to Twisted Toonz, although that was cut short due to a fire in the back of the main stage area. Which was very weird, because no alarm went off. But in a way, I am glad an alarm didn't go off. Can you imagine the entire Javits center getting evacuated? No thanks! My biggest complaint was that the 5th Ave NYC Library (where the education stuff took place on Thursday) is way too far from the Javits center, and there was no shuttle to get from Javits and back that the con provided. As someone who has a very bad knee, the thought of going up and down the subway stairs all day just made my knee ache. Honestly, there should have been a shuttle for those of us who wanted to be a part of both the Library and Javits panels.

Now, with all this said, I will say that the new Anime fest that NYCC put on was a complete waste, honestly. First of all, the biggest issue was it was SO FAR AWAY from the actual con, with NO direct transportation until Saturday at LEAST. Also, it doesn't help that the Anime fest was a separate fee, and there were no panels that held more interest than the anime panels at the main con. I felt like Anime was just one giant artist alley, which is not a bad thing. The main problem at Javits is Artist Alley is almost all reserved for comic book artists, not really anyone who does stuff like me--more 3D art. At Anime, it felt more like an artist alley that I would be a part of, if there was better traffic. That was another problem--no signage ANYWHERE. When I arrived at the location, I felt like I was at the wrong location. It honestly felt very slapdash.  However, the staff seemed helpful, and the variety of artists selling was very wide.

I got some epic photos and autographs, and the actors seemed to like the prints I made for them. Check them out below! I also am starting to look at which cons to do next year. Hopefully, I will have some lists soon.