Cutie Mark suggestions

Started by Stardust Dragon, 2016 Jun 08, 02:06:18

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Stardust Dragon

So I've been working on a new OC for a while now (on and off I admit), but I keep getting stuck on designing a cutie mark for her.  I was hoping to get some potential suggestions or ideas I might use as a springboard.

Here's what I have so far, so you all can get an idea.

Name: Crystal Lattice
Species: Unicorn
Coat color: Green (shade I'm not sure yet, but it's either a pastel-ish or vibrant, not a dark "forest green")
Eye/mane colors: undefined (for me, that's an "after" cutie mark thing)
General appearance: casual, a little rough-and-tumble
Personality: highly generous (to a fault), social, open-minded, friendly, always looks to serve the next pony
Talent/employment: locating gemstones/designs and crafts special talismans and trinkets with gems bearing unique spells
Other interesting notes: She's a cat lover.  I don't feel this needs to be part of her cutie mark, but I'm not above slipping something in.  She also successfully learned to teleport; it's mainly in order to get into caves below the surface for the really pure gems, and to avoid water at all costs.

Yes, I realize that a lot of this is sounds like Rarity, I've been fighting with that issue from the conception of this character.  I intended her to lean more towards AJ instead of Rarity in terms of general attitude, though she doesn't bear AJ's country background.  Plus, Crystal's talismans are focused more on "function", like soothing or healing spells, rather than Rarity's obvious preference for form and fashion.  If you have any ideas for further separating Crystal and Rarity, I'd love to hear those as well.


Anyways, I did have one rough idea for a cutie mark for Lattice, but it's incomplete and I'm not sure if it's taking this too far.  It's a collection of raw gemstones of various different shapes and shades (ROYGBIV) encircling one larger object in white.  Initially I thought a pure diamond, but it feels too cliche, as does a crystallized heart.  I don't know if the idea is too busy in terms of color even if I could settle on a "core" piece.  I would like it to focus more on the gemstones rather than either the talismans or her gem hunting.

Thanks in advance for any opinions and ideas!

FakeSmile

I wouldn't worry too much about your character's similarities to Rarity; naturally your OC would be a gem hunter if she is working with gems. The healing aspect of gems is an interesting theme for an OC. You are focusing on the healing element of gems, so you have to be careful with which gem you pick for the cutie mark. Each gem has their own meaning and healing properties, and when someone sees a certain gem on your pony they will assume that gem represents her. I would look into gems and their meanings, and decided which one fits your character the best. I already found two websites you could use:


Next is the design.
I would have a basic idea of the personality and how she received her cutie mark before you dive into these websites. It would be easier to pick a gem base on her story rather than basing her story around the gem you pick. I would pick a handful of gems you like and work with those.
A design you could use is how she distributes the gems. Does she have a shop where she sells her gems? If so, the gem of the cutie mark  would have cleaner cuts and look presentable. Or does she travel across Equestria hunting for gems and sells them along the way? If so, the gem of the cutie mark would be raw. Of course, there are thousands of ways to go about the design and this is just an idea of mine.  I could offer more ideas, but I would need to know a bit more about the character.

You're OC is pretty interestin', and I hope this helped you a bit.
c:
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Rush of MLP

Perhaps you could do something with a pure gemstone shape, doing it multicolored with the various colors of gems associated with healing, then place a heart in the middle of the shape to indicate the healing properties.

Stardust Dragon

You know, because I hadn't really considered that particular aspect, I hadn't even though to look up real-world beliefs in crystal healing: I'd just presumed she would take gemstones, cast a spell for them to radiate the effects from, and that was the end.  But there's some fascinating beliefs about this stuff...incidentally, my initial choice of her favorite gem peridot (being my birthstone, because narcissism) fits her disturbingly well from what I've found.  It's been rather helpful in getting some details down.

As for other suggestions: I'd thought to use raw gems purely because her focus wasn't on the gem's appearance, but the effects of the trinket.  Plus, it helped separate her a little more from Rarity's prim and polished diamonds...although it makes a little less sense in universe, since we've mainly seen gems already shaped coming out of the ground.  She is meant to work out of a shop.

Perhaps I'm thinking about the matter a little too hard.  Maybe a heart-shaped peridot (suggested to carry positive energy and bring forth unconditional love and joy) with a rhodonite core (what I interpret to be a stone symbolizing altruism, which is paramount to Crystal's character) cut into a clean shape.  What do you think, an olive green and vibrant pink cutie mark; too Christmas-y?

Also, thank you for your words of encouragement about the "originality" compared to Rarity.  I know that I wasn't aiming to copy her, but when you have a mind like mine it's infinitely more helpful to hear someone else say it's not as bad as I think it is.   


FakeSmile

Oh! I provably shouldn't have assumed you meant "healing gemstones" that way, but I'm glad it caught your interest; it is a neat thing to read into to. And I think peridot is a good gem choice, it fits well with the description you gave so far.

Hmmm. . . The shape sounds interesting; I think it could work. Is this what you mean by inside of it?
Spoiler: Just a heads up, this is a tattoo I'm using for an example • show


I know what you mean, sometimes I unconsciously take small ideas from games/shows I watch. If it isn't painfully obvious you're copying her, I think you'll be fine.
c:
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Stardust Dragon

Quote from: FakeSmile on 2016 Jun 10, 19:52:44
Oh! I provably shouldn't have assumed you meant "healing gemstones" that way, but I'm glad it caught your interest; it is a neat thing to read into to. And I think peridot is a good gem choice, it fits well with the description you gave so far.

Hmmm. . . The shape sounds interesting; I think it could work. Is this what you mean by inside of it?
Spoiler: Just a heads up, this is a tattoo I'm using for an example • show


I know what you mean, sometimes I unconsciously take small ideas from games/shows I watch. If it isn't painfully obvious you're copying her, I think you'll be fine.
c:

That tattoo is kind of the idea I had in mind after rethinking it, though the center cut would be more like this cut of rhodonite I found while just searching for the gem, point facing up and touching the inner dip of the heart.


Now if only I could feel comfortable making a show-style cutie mark...so not a visual artist  X3

FakeSmile

Yeah, I think that would be a good shape! It would look good with a golden boarder around them, or maybe silver. Also, is this the colour of peridot you mean?


My cutie marks don't really look like the show, but neither does my art. This is the best I can do.
Spoiler: Cutie Mark • show
Spoiler: The Pony It's For • show
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Stardust Dragon

That's the color I was thinking of yes.  And were you suggesting the border around the heart or the not-quite-triangle?

That artwork is adorable either way. 

FakeSmile

I was suggesting around both of them.  Sort of to look like this. Of course, not these kinds of colours.
Spoiler: show


Thanks for the nice words.
c:
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