Hey, everybody! We're here! This is it: the dawn of our very last day of art! Everyone, you've all come so far, run such a long race. And you're here now, so congratulations! Crossing the line tonight is a herd that's 237 ponies strong, blowing past the line with style and creating a grand total of 9864 images. My gosh, look how close we are! You're all A's in my book!
Tomorrow marks our closing ceremonies. We'll have one last gallery to look at, some goodbyes to say, and we'll go our separate ways once again to pursue our dreams in the way we see fit. And I won't lie, it's a bittersweet feeling. I am so immensely proud of everyone that my heart feels like it could burst. But we can't keep this up forever, and I can't keep you from bigger and better things just to make some image totals climb a little bit higher. We're coming round the final bend, everyone. One more day, and you are officially graduates of the Newbie Artist Training Grounds. Puff out your chests, and feel that pride.
I think it's just incredible how big every gallery remains so stunningly huge, even through 29 days of toil and grind. You know there's not been a single day in this event so far that's dropped below 200 entries? Not one! And I just... I can't think of any way to say it that's more wonderful than that. Look at what you guys can do. Can you hear the thundering sound of hooves, racing for the goal line? Can you see the tired smiles, the blood and sweat and tears that mark a hard won and well deserved victory? Well, pull up a chair and check it out for yourself. 'Cause it's a race. It's a chase. So go ahead and feed your... um... eyes. I lost that one at the end.
I can hear your hearts pounding. I know what you clamor for! "A theme, a theme, my kingdom for one last theme! And also a horse!" Well, pony. Richard III didn't know where it was at. But never mind him, he's dead. You want a theme, and you want it now. And here's the fun part: you have them all already! This is my favorite part of every Training Grounds; now is the time to take a small step out and compare how far you've come from where you started. So tonight, Draw any previous theme/Draw every previous theme! Submit all entries here by 11:59 PM, Pacific time on Saturday, September 14.
And yes, today marks a chance to submit a makeup entry if you've missed any days. The limiters have been released, and you are encouraged to draw as many pictures as you think you can manage! Don't think it's impossible: every year we get more than one person who manages to dump a full set on me, either in one image or several. If you need a quick list of all the themes, I've made a list for you here. Come on, show me what you're made of: this is the last hurrah!
