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In mid-2019 I joined another pony game dev group called Valiant Studios. Created by people who left Ambient.White, I thought lessons would have been learned, but I was wrong. I left after a few months, after none of my designs were deemed good enough (thanks to lack of direction and communication), and I've only just got around to sharing them. Again this is a game that I can't see ever being finished, and as all my work was rejected, nothing I share is representative of the group's work. Consent to use my work was revoked when I left the group.

I was tasked with drawing a map of Canterlot based on a rough layout, a reference image , and basic lore (such as this not being a canonical/copyrighted version of Equestria). First on the list was to get a feel for the new design elements of this Canterlot, at the core of which is, of course, the castle. All shapes, colours, and designs were left entirely up to me, which perhaps shouldn't have been the case considering they were all rejected? Still, I'm quite happy with them myself, and feel they capture the essence of an off-brand Canterlot.

Changes from the WIP include:

Based on feedback, Canterlot is no longer built into the side of the mountain, so the wall is a full circle (more or less), requiring the scope to be increased.

Based on feedback, Canterlot is no longer tiered, instead being all ground-level with high walls. This removes the aqueduct and internal waterfalls.

Based on feedback, Canterlot Castle is now rotated some ninety-degrees left, to look over Ponyville.

Based on feedback, the giant airship has been removed.

The train station is no longer outside the city walls (because it is all ground-level), now extending from central Canterlot.

The three floor-based motifs in central Canterlot have been vectored, with Luna's being make more unique than just a moon, accompanied by statues of the Princesses where the geysers were.

Various sections of the landscape have been made more interesting to accommodate the flat design, such as an underground waterfall to the left, a new lake to the top, and more definition to the lower castle area.

There is certainly more I could have done, but considering this map was to be used as a plan for the game's layout, I saw no reason to draw anything more complex than boxes and streets. There is no need to pin-point every single tree, and I was not about to design unique houses for every single building in town, but this was not good enough and I was apparently expected to draw/paint something to the quality and detail of the reference image, which I was not prepared (or frankly capable) of doing, so I left the group having been duped into more unpaid work.

All locations were of my own design, without any direction on what should be included.

Description

Click for clean version

In mid-2019 I joined another pony game dev group called Valiant Studios. Created by people who left Ambient.White, I thought lessons would have been learned, but I was wrong. I left after a few months, after none of my designs were deemed good enough (thanks to lack of direction and communication), and I've only just got around to sharing them. Again this is a game that I can't see ever being finished, and as all my work was rejected, nothing I share is representative of the group's work. Consent to use my work was revoked when I left the group.

I was tasked with drawing a map of Canterlot based on a rough layout, a reference image , and basic lore (such as this not being a canonical/copyrighted version of Equestria). First on the list was to get a feel for the new design elements of this Canterlot, at the core of which is, of course, the castle. All shapes, colours, and designs were left entirely up to me, which perhaps shouldn't have been the case considering they were all rejected? Still, I'm quite happy with them myself, and feel they capture the essence of an off-brand Canterlot.

Changes from the WIP include:

Based on feedback, Canterlot is no longer built into the side of the mountain, so the wall is a full circle (more or less), requiring the scope to be increased.

Based on feedback, Canterlot is no longer tiered, instead being all ground-level with high walls. This removes the aqueduct and internal waterfalls.

Based on feedback, Canterlot Castle is now rotated some ninety-degrees left, to look over Ponyville.

Based on feedback, the giant airship has been removed.

The train station is no longer outside the city walls (because it is all ground-level), now extending from central Canterlot.

The three floor-based motifs in central Canterlot have been vectored, with Luna's being make more unique than just a moon, accompanied by statues of the Princesses where the geysers were.

Various sections of the landscape have been made more interesting to accommodate the flat design, such as an underground waterfall to the left, a new lake to the top, and more definition to the lower castle area.

There is certainly more I could have done, but considering this map was to be used as a plan for the game's layout, I saw no reason to draw anything more complex than boxes and streets. There is no need to pin-point every single tree, and I was not about to design unique houses for every single building in town, but this was not good enough and I was apparently expected to draw/paint something to the quality and detail of the reference image, which I was not prepared (or frankly capable) of doing, so I left the group having been duped into more unpaid work.

All locations were of my own design, without any direction on what should be included.