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AssasinMonkey — Sanction 'Cycl' Sever
Published: 2014-04-04 03:14:41 +0000 UTC; Views: 14733; Favourites: 555; Downloads: 389
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" "Target prepared for assimilation. Sanction out." - Sanction 'Cycl' Sever
Equines, in general, share a common affiliation towards special talents but sometimes the ponies amongst them excel in performing them with extreme dedication. It's that behaviour why most claim they are the primary leading force within the Equine Empire. Even going as far as saying their cutie marks are a sign of status, which not all equines bear.
Cycl, aka Sanction, has shown this more than enough. Performing her tasks with surgical precision. Striking opposing forces in critical locations, often helping to divide and conquer. Even after losing one of her eyes she continues her efforts, perhaps with even higher vigour. Over time she has become a beacon of inspiration to those around her. Although young, because of the sheer amount of operations she has done many consider her a veteran of sort and she has shown no signs of slowing down.
This determination can however make her very closed off from the world around her. Gaining extreme focus in action, even to the point of disregarding her already few close friends. Which has become a vicious cycle as she seeks out tasks to clear her mind from issues. Those who know her very well only seen glimpses of this darker side to her life, but given she has come as far as she has it only becomes harder to see."
Took me some weeks, but finally a new addition, a "veteran / legendary" Equine, character for my 'First Contact War'.
'First Contact War' ( Is a fictional universe I've been creating set within the MLP universe. A time where 2 highly evolved civilizations meet each other for the first time. The Equines and the Gryphons.
I've been building this universe through the creation of artpieces, which you can find here: assasinmonkey.deviantart.com/g…
Started out named as Swirl Sever, mostly because of the key line I had in mind for her backstory. Her special operations being focused on weakening and sometimes also severing opposing forces (on any scale) to be prepared for the Equine behaviour of "Join under our conditions or be a threat and exterminated as result".
The Swirl part came a bit from her mane. Wanted to do something fresh with hair, a new take on it. Plus the composition altered, kinda like those character illustrations you might see for games I guess. Also armour hehe.
Almost lost motivation at the first, shading her face especially. Which ended up being completely redesigned and some other parts as well. Ending up getting progressing nicely, kept going... and going... and brushing...
Not sure about her nickname yet, though.
Approx Time: 10,5 hours
Made while livestreaming, you can check out my stream channel here: www.livestream.com/assasinmonk…
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Comments: 32
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Glad to see more of ponies in armour from you.
Let's start of with the positives: I really like the armour design,looks like some serious thought went into that. The background looks awesome as well, very powerful.
So, the nice part is done, let's get to the other:
-the hairline's curvature makes it look like Cycl's hair is receding (the same thing tends to happen with Rarity) making the hairline a triangle with straight edges, ending at the ears and where a unicorn's horn would sit, can prevent that.
-her neck seems a bit long and thin, especially considering she's a soldier
-her armour seems a bit plain for her status, maybe add some rank markings or ornamentation. Of course this could be deliberate, in which case feel free to ignore this
-Exactly what kind of light source is illuminating her right side?
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Horse manes tend to do that receding yea heh, given they have a fairly defined line. A bit wilder mane a the base wouldn't have hurt I guess. (I also noticed it's slightly off center now lol, you saw nothing!)
I had Fleur De Lis and Cadance's length in mind a bit. Though her shoulders came out a bit thin compared to them. It indeed came a out slightly long in between Celestia and Cadance almost.
Hehe, the armour is indeed kept relatively straight forward, almost all of it being more for function. I decided to keep her renown separate from her military function. Keeping the armour tied to her job and tasks at hoof.
Not sure what the light source exactly is, I guess it was more for visual aesthetic, slight storytelling here and there just in the end result.
Could try to explain it with magic or lights there or something but I can't say I had anything in mind during the making XD
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Your design choices seem very much deliberate; I would agree that the neck seems bit spindly, but I suppose you were going for elegance and so it can be dismissed fairly easily. Too much armor design would clutter up the piece, though of course it might help bring the armor out from the background.
As for the backlight, it is crucial for color balance and for the rim lighting responsible for defining her left side. It creates a beautiful read from cool to warm across the piece. Of course, if you establish a source for it, bonus points all over the place.
Overall this is a very nice piece, very pleasant to look at, but if I could give a bit of advice, it would be to add something to lead my eye about the environment. Detail seems to be compacted a bit onto her face, and the wood debris on the right is either in front of her or tangent to the curl of the tail. If it is indeed in front of her (which I hope it is), some sharpening to bring it forward would help the composition out by activating the right side.
Your work is brilliant mate, well done.
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Holy crap
I think there were supposed to be words typing out of my fingers right now, but they all flew away. Too much praise.
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Aw man she looks so badass. 
I see she lost her eye halfway through the process work. XD Battle with the pen?
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if your squint her face looks like a real 3d object, cool
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Yeah, this is pretty great, Assassin, especially that armor. I really like this lore stuff you've got goin on.
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Very nice piece. The mane and eyes are what really catch your attention, at least for me it does.
And I like how once you look at the eyes, then mane, your gaze goes to the right half of the background to watch the devastation in it.
Just a pretty good piece all around, and for the time invested, it definitely shows.
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Can you smell this? It smells like... a badass.
I was looking forward to seeing more famous Equestrian figures from you, and you did not disappoint! The look you gave her makes her all kinds of awesome... and the armor... you're terrific!
By the way, if her name is "Cycl Sever" and her nickname is "Sanction", shouldn't her full name be written "Cycl 'Sanction' Sever"? Isn't that how it works?
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Hehe thanks!
As for the name, her Nickname is actually the 'Cycl' part
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Oh, I guess I was confused then! Sorry about that, and keep the good stuff coming!
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Amazing! I love the flow of her hair, her eyes and the armor/outfit looks really awesome.
I kind of envy how productive you are at art, I'm always so...stuck. Plently of ideas, but never getting them down.
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Hehe, I sometimes get stuck as well. Scrapped a few Equine Legend pieces that came before this one that just didn't want to work. So I started over and this happened!
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Oh, I see. But you got some great result here so in my opinion that's worth it.
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I'm really liking your First Contact War pictures. Are there any associated fanfictions by any chance?
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Glad you're liking it! 
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Darn, I would have loved to read the story. First Contact is a trope I can never resist, and this one is particularly awesome.
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Saw you working on this. Let's just say I'm very happy with how it turned out. Great job as usual!
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