• Equestria Girls: The Art of Friendship Follow Up


    If there’s one thing I like about FiM and EqG, is the idea of traditional character tropes that can get along in non-traditional ways. Of course you would see a jock hang out with the nerdy type, the girly type hang out with the tomboy, etc. This show proves any type can be friends with any type on one-on-one basis. For example, a rocker artist type with the hyper fun type. Won’t see that in a lot of media. If I was to give a moral of this short, it would be that being creative can lead to messy outcomes (thank you Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared). But for art, if you can find inspiration in friends, then creativity can be a non-stop force of color and energy…just like Pinkie Pie. Let’s see how cotton candy pony works the paint.


    So there’s a lot to take in with just this first image. For one thing, there was no teacher. Quite a discipline class to still get some painting, drawing and sculpting done. There doesn’t seem to be an age limit to this class either since Apple Bloom is somehow in this class with her older sister’s friends. And I know you can’t tell this with the image, but somehow the music in the beginning of this short is giving me…G3.5 vibes. It’s like it’s haunting this melody even if it’s the same theme song used all the time. Oh god the Scootaloo nightmares…

    PURE EVIL!!!!

    I can relate to Pinkie’s dilemma with how much there is to paint that you can’t pinpoint a thing. I would’ve see Pinkie as the abstract art type. Maybe just use a color and pattern just because it was there. But having her take such care and concern about what she wants to paint is a nice touch for her overly hyper character.

    Sunset: “Get those creative juices flowing.”

    Of course Sunset is also a great painter, but with her life as a street graffiti artists it’s not surprising. But with how these sunflowers are looking, I can bet she’s done a few Bob Ross tutorials. Sunset might also have given Pinkie the wrong advice to go for when it comes to Pinkie specifically.

    Pinkie: “Are you sure these are the creative juices?”
    My point exactly. Glad this art class with no teacher was lenient enough that Pinkie could go out to the cafeteria and hassle Granny Smith about what counts as “creative juices”. At least Granny Smith isn’t the type of granny to warn her grandkids about who they hang out with. Don’t think they would’ve been Sunset’s friend otherwise. Maybe Pinkie can try some other ways to get creative.
    Getting creative ideas from nature. That’s actually not a bad idea. And like Sunset said, a lot of artists get inspired by nature. It’s why we always have those random farm or valley paintings we barely notice in hotel lobbies or fancy elevators. But again, I think Pinkie Pie has a way of taking ideas a little too far. Meditation in a tree is fine. I’m sure Fluttershy spends plenty of time in trees…but…

    …Pinkie…why are you like this? Why do you take every bit of harmless advice and turn it into the worse ideas? Even these birds are stunned and confused. Getting emerged in nature has a limit to how many feathers you include in your outfit. But it’s Pinkie. Why question it?

    Music is not a bad idea either. If anything, this would be my go-to idea for anything creative. Music has a way of making you feel a certain way depending on the song. Playing music probably has the same principles since it can be a direct reflection of your mood. And Pinkie is a good drummer. I’m sure she can get out something creative out of something she’s already good at.

    Pinkie’s mood? She can’t sit in her seat for more than 5 seconds of drumming. This won’t bother anybody else right?

    Or maybe drumming is not the best instrument to listen to while doing something like painting or sculpting. It’s definitely not the low-fi hip hop beats you can listen to while studying.

    When it comes down to it, it’s always best to paint what you think it awesome. You can’t really go wrong with advice like that. And I gotta love the timing of Sunset’s first drawing to what it is now with more detail and shading. Of course this also seems like she has a soft spot for Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting. Good taste.
    Editor’s Note: In the language of flowers, sunflowers means loyalty, strong bonds, and platonic love. I can see the appeal in Sunset’s case.

    And now with that spark of inspiration finally making its way to Pinkie’s hands, she goes to town on this canvas in a spatter of drive and creativity…or whatever Bob Ross is saying most of the time.

    And it was at that moment, Sunset Shimmer made sure to never have another art class with Pinkie Pie ever again. I mean at least the colors match well with her color scheme as it is with her ketchup and mustard striped hair and orange skirt. Sunset is truly a fall instead of a summer in my opinion.

    Yeah I’m pretty sure the teacher will have a cow if she ever comes back to this classroom. And pretty sure Pinkie might get detention due to all the destruction in the name of art. But it’s Pinkie Pie. Why question it? (why do I feel like that excuse gets used a lot and she’s gotten out of trouble a few times for it?)

    Ok so Pinkie is not Picasso or Van Gogh, but when she said she wanted to paint something really awesome that she liked and painted Sunset, I can’t help but love this. I can’t be too cynical with this. This was just really cute. And get ready for a bigger cuteness overload.

    *five heart attacks later*
    Yeah I won’t say I don’t have a soft spot for these two. I like Sunset playing the straight man and Pinkie being her crazy self. It’s a great dynamic that feels like a great balance. When Pinkie goes too far, Sunset brings her back down. It just works so well.
    And that was the Arts of Friendship, a look at what can inspire the mind of someone who runs on sugar most of her day and the friend who tolerates it. I can’t see a better duo than the cool person and the hyper active person when it comes to these two. It makes specials like Sunset’s Backstage Pass so much more real where your hyper friend doesn’t feel like they’re taking something seriously enough. But with Pinkie Pie, I can tell it’s never out of not caring about her friends. Yes, she can lost track of what she’s doing and cause a bigger mess than needed (like with paint) but she never means it in a bad way. At least with Sunset, she’s understanding of that wild personality that’s probably similar to her own wild personality. Whatever Pinkie does, it doesn’t beat turning her class into zombies to conquer a world of ponies. I’m Penny Wrights and I’m gonna raid an art studio for art supplies and make the next Mona Lisa (but probably not).