



First of all, this piece is an excellent example for using the amount of detail to help attract the eye to important parts of the piece. The background is rather abstract, with very large brush strokes, and very little detail. The ponies are much more detailed, which helps make them the focus. Also aiding this is the fact that the background is unified in its blue tone, making Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash stand out. Yes, the colors are excellent - by choosing very dark and very light shades of blue for the background, the bright, vibrant blue of RD stands out nicely, helped further by the shading, her red eyes and rainbow mane. All of this makes the ponies pop from the background and places them firmly in the foreground of the piece.





Next, the ponies themselves are excellent. Fluttershy's look of terror is completely believable, while RD's cocky grin is similarly completely in character. The body positioning is quite good and very original, with dash obviously taking care in maintaining her balance, and Fluttershy struggling to keep her snout above the waves. Making their personalities apparent in the drawing helps adds to the plausibility and realism of the scene.





Finally, the water effects are perfect. The spray in front of Fluttershy is extremely good, and the water trail by RD's hoof is also great. Even if this water is not photo-realistic, with the gradients and transparency, it feels like real water.





My one complaint is that my eye interprets the wave of water to be too far behind the surfing duo for RD to be able to be dragging her hoof in the water. This may be because of how light her hoof is shaded, or maybe how dark the wave is. This contrast of color makes them appear quite distant - I think if the hoof were shaded darker, it would look more like it was in the shadow of the wave, or possibly damp, and thus make the scene just a little bit more realistic. This is not a major problem at all, just a minor touch that stands out to my eye.





But regardless, this is an excellent piece of art. I do wonder whether Fluttershy caught RD doing something embarrassing, or if RD merely pressured her into this. I hope she does get to have some fun at the beach... Maybe RD can help her make a sand castle or something.

Great picture here!... and poor Fluttershy.