Pony Creator: Manes, Horns and Wings For You and Me
If you have ever wanted to make your very own squeal-worthy pony but have little confidence in your drawing skills, the look no further than the highly detailed, but easy to use Pony Creator.
If you are a fan of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series, then the design aesthetic of Pony Creator should be quite familiar to you. Though it is fan-made, the art style definitely does justice to the original animation. Do not be fooled by the simple splash page that greets you when you launch the program; the number of customization options are anything but simple. Both the quantity and quality of choices are impressively staggering. As a plus, you can easily tweak things to your heart's desire thanks to the well organized, intuitive system.
Putting Your Best Hoof Forward
The process of coming up with your very own pony (or brony) is broken down into three main parts. These steps are represented with the use of tabs located at the top of the window. The first of which is the Create tab, wherein you decide the body and facial structure of your creation. After doing so, you may opt to add a few special items to reflect your character's attitude via the Accessorize section. Finally after you glam up your pony, unicorn or pegasus, you may pick the perfect pose to top it off. A "ponycode" is generated per section. This is your save, represented by a text string which you may keep through an editor for future use. Unlike other character creators that require you to finish your work to save, if they even save at all, this is a very handy feature. At least you are free to skip steps and store your progress midway in case you need to.
Another noteworthy feature of Pony Creator is the ability to choose how you want to choose colors. The Advanced sub section under Create and Accessorize lets you access the Color Editing Options. The first option gives you red, green and blue sliders to work with which is great if you are comfortable with mixing colors. If that is not for you, the second option gives you the hue, brightness and saturation sliders wherein you can tweak how light or dark you want a certain color to be. The last method gives you the chance to input hex codes, perfect for those familiar with HTML coding.
Getting Those Cutie Marks On
Now the real magic of Pony Creator lies in the Create section. Your work's body can be tall and lanky, big and buff, small and frail, fat and chunky -you get the idea. Add a broken unicorn horn or perhaps giant butterfly wings to set her apart from the crowd. Or if you are feeling extra creative, you can also try importing a Cutie Mark if you have a suitable, small sized image file.
The Color sub category gives you pattern choices in case you are aiming to make a zebra, spotted or partially speckled equine. Complement the Body Pattern with a Face Marking and a Hoof type and you have got yourself a personalized base.
Who says eyes have to be different for guys and gals? In this character maker, you merely have to pick from the available Eye and Pupil types then tick off Eyelashes if you want to. The best part is that you can alter their sizes at whim as well as mix and match the upper and lower eye expressions. You can even click on the actual iris and drag it around to make your pony look in a different direction. Unlike traditional static image choices, this method gives the freedom to customize to perfection and widens the range of looks you can achieve.
The Face section deals with how your Pony's face outline is set up. It also gives you free reign to add extra Freckles or perhaps Facial Hair if you are making a guy. While the number of options for this sub section is a bit slim, the system used does make up for the limited variety. For example, while there are only five ear types to try out, you make go for either an Ear Up or an Ear Down. Also, while there are only seven mustaches to choose from, at least you can match them with one of the two goatees. Score one for the bronies.
The Hair is Where the Art Is
Now the real bulk of the selections are definitely found in the Mane and Tail groups. There are over hundred styles to choose from, which range from standard wavy or curly coiffure to more outrageous rocker spikes, Sailor Moon buns and even a bald look. For those who think one color is too tame for their tastes, simply switch the radio button to Two Colors mode and the Secondary Color sliders open up.
After you are done styling your one-of-a-kind pony, you can then peruse any of the seven preset backgrounds. But while bookish fans may love the library and adventurer types can probably go for the meadow, those looking to really showcase their work are probably better off with the Blank option. Technically the eight choice, this allows you to simply alter the color of the canvass to serve as your creation's backdrop.
The Accessorize tab does just that, it gives you options for your pony's signature pieces. The Head category offers options for Hats, Glasses or Horns. Body, on the other hand, deals with Vests, Capes and full Outfits so you can turn your pony into a cloaked mage, an armored knight or even a spandex-wearing super hero. For your creature's Legs, you can opt to use Upper or Lower accessories. Though you cannot use a different accessory for each leg, you can still choose two different pairs per type.
Clicking on the Poses tab gives you a choice between 16 predefined looks or a Custom Posing system. The latter offers you the freedom to rotate your character's body frame in order to produce a unique stance. Though it does come with its own quirks, this feature is very rare indeed, with most character creators focusing more on static looks alone. That in itself makes Pony Creator worth checking out if you are the type to enjoy avatar makers.
The Verdict
As a whole, Pony Creator definitely scores more hits than it misses. And even that is not an issue at all. Though it does come with a few quirks, they are minor and are overshadowed by the number of smart features implemented throughout the avatar maker (besides, most of the issues are mostly inherent to the genre). With its efficiently organized system, WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get) menus and even a useful Help section at the ready, this is truly an experience not to miss for any My Little Pony, character maker and casual game fans alike. We give this game a happy little brony's Our Rating: 94/100