Greetings. This was the pic that most grabbed me from today's Drawfriend on EquestriaDaily. There are some pictures you see that are just simple and fun while at the same time projecting a thorough understanding of core artistic concepts, and this is one of those pics. This picture starts strong by establishing a clear series of symbols that give the picture its context. Sunset's legs dip into a pool, she's holding a popsicle to her right, she's surrounded by some tropical foliage, and there's a bright cloudy sky hanging out behind her. Throw in the bathing suit she's wearing, and the theme of summertime pool fun is overtly apparent.



Add on to the simple fun imagery the simple fun shapes. The shape of Sunset's tail, legs, hair, hooves, body, ear, popsicle, all of these are composed of simple shapes that offer enough variance from your standard polygons that keep the visuals interesting without getting into any real shape complexity. Add on top of that the shading, and we have the secret formula for what makes this picture pop. This picture has the best kind of shading I know, the kind that looks unintuitive to draw but looks very natural once rendered. The effect is particularly impressive when it comes to the bathing suit. The tinting provides not only a sense of texture for the clothing, but the way it fits around the body creates a sense of how tight the clothing fits on the character. It creates a sense of weight to the suit that gives it that feeling of believability.



Where the pic falls a little flat for me is in the character expression. Though it's likely the tone you were going for, her face is very low-key, and she appears to be sporting a pretty heavy blush. Her expression reads like one who is rather uncomfortable despite being surrounded by so much fun. There's not even a small smile on her face. It's clear that she's focused on the viewer and feeling a little uncomfortable, but the emotion has consumed her face so much that I don't even get the impression she would be enjoying herself if the viewer was absent. To put it simply, she's kind of a buzzkill in this otherwise cheerful scene.



Still, I know quality art when I see it, and I like to call it out when I do. The effect of her dipping those hooves in the water as well as the blur effect on the palm trees are both excellent effects, and the background was very well painted to support the overall theme of summer. Her tail might look a little tiny since her front hoof is blocking most of it, but I really like the particular colors you used for the two-toned mane. This is a summer character in a summer location. All she needed from my perspective was a sunny expression to go with it. Make the most!