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Brony Advice: Your Questions Answered #73, 74, 75!

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#73)  My best bro and I have been bronies for a while now. I would never bring up being a brony on purpose to anyone who didn't know. But now we're doing a project in Literature class, and my friend is doing his on how he became a brony. I don't think it's a good idea. In fact, I find it embarrassing. What should I do?

Answer: This is something that seems to happen reasonably often – people become big fans of "Friendship is Magic", and then fancy teaching the world to sing by shedding light on it in a class. And while you could argue that older individuals liking the show is an interesting point of observation, it's not particularly academic (not in terms of literature, at least) and so a presentation on it doesn't seem appropriate in general for that type of class.

It might be because I'm in the UK, but I know for a fact that if I presented on MLP in one of my university seminars I wouldn't be taken seriously by the teacher or the students. We tend to do our literature presentations on literature, oddly enough. You're within your right to feel embarrassed that he's going to be presenting on the show – it doesn't really belong in the classroom, and it is quite cringe-worthy when people decide to mix ponies with academia. It's just not necessary.

'How he became a brony' is something personal to him – it's not something that anyone else needs to hear, and there can be little doubt that people who present on ponies are trying to attempt to convert other people into liking the show, which is invasive. I imagine other people will be presenting on things a little more appropriate, which will make his presentation stand out even more.

That said, it's not you who's doing the presentation, so unless he explicitly mentions you in it you shouldn't really worry about it. Sure, he might embarrass himself, but that's his problem. As his friend you could advise him to present on something else; tell him your concerns and he might change his mind. However, if he's committed to present on ponies, he has to be able to cope with the inevitable ramifications that will follow. I always wondered when you see those videos on Youtube of people presenting about ponies to their class if the students afterwards thought it was weird. I imagine in most cases they would  – it would be wishful thinking to expect a whole bunch of students to suddenly take an interest in the show based on one presentation.

Don't worry about it too much. If it really embarrasses you, either request that he present on something else, or ask that he not mention you in it.



#74) Brony conversion is faster when the show is during a season, slower when it's not. How many people will be converted into bronies before they start to become endangered?

Answer: 'Endangered'? Bronies are no longer human, apparently.

If you're asking how many bronies there will be before they start to 'die out', I think it's fairly hard to quantify. Some people have left the fandom who used to be part of it, and a few others are still discovering it now. It's impossible to work out just how many bronies there might be: popular websites such as Derpibooru tend to receive 25k  unique visitors a day, while some of the biggest pony groups on DA have around the same amount of members. There are myriad websites that would suggest different numbers, some of which would comprise the same people and others would have entirely different users.

As a rough guess, you're probably talking about 50,000-75,000 people who would describe themselves as 'bronies'. That could be completely wrong – I have no evidence to base that on, aside from making a rough estimate based on website page-views. There are definitely more young girls into the TV show than adults, though – that I'm sure of. As an answer to your question, all I can do is make assumptions and speak of inevitabilities.

One inevitability is that the fandom will slow down after the show ends. You could probably argue that most people who are going to become bronies will be bronies already. Most bronies are technologically prolific, and at this stage if you haven't seen ponies around on the internet, then you're unlikely to be the sort of person who will become a brony. After the show ends, a lot of people, myself included, will move on to pastures new, until there's a small but loyal following left. In ten years, DA will have far fewer pony images being uploaded every day – that I can guarantee.

Also, 'converted' – gah! I hate it when people use that word in relation to bronies. Makes them sound like a religious cult.



#75) Can I ask you something? It's about art. The brony community is a wonderful gallery of all kinds of arts , but what do you think of the people who draw ponies in the show style, and not their own style for these little and magical animals?

Answer: I think it makes sense. People like the show, and therefore if you draw in the same style as the show then people are going to like what you produce, more often than not. Images in the show-style can be really useful, especially on merchandise, such as shirts and badges. If you wanted to wear something pony-related, you'd probably want it to have a show-style image on it, just for the sake of keeping everything standardised and easy to identify. I imagine that people who wear pony shirts, after all, do it because they live in the hope that another person will recognise the characters on their clothing and remark, "Woah! You're a brony too?!'

Now, that's not to say that drawing ponies in your own style is a bad thing. When it comes to commissions, for example, most people would rather commission an artist with a unique style than one who emulates the show. It's arguably a more unique image if you have an original style. It's possible to get popular in the fandom by doing both kinds of images, although you have more chance of being recognised if you have a unique style – people will instantly be able to identify the artist, which might not be possible with show-style art.

Aside from that, there's not much more to say. Some people feel more comfortable copying an existing style; others are confident to apply their own approach. In the same way, some people would like to see art that looks similar to the show, while others deliberately seek out artists who can draw ponies in their own style. Both types of art have their own merits and disadvantages, but come together to form an engaging and creative whole.
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Brony Advice is both an active collaboration with artists and an advice column, in the simplest of terms: I want you to send me notes if you have any problems, secrets or comments on the pony fandom of any nature. It doesn't matter how embarrassing, offensive or vicious they might be - if you want someone to comment on them in an unbiased way, send them over. Maybe there's something within the fandom that you particularly despise, or perhaps you're feeling sad and need to hear some friendly advice? Whatever the motive, send me a note with your comment or question.

I'll then respond with advice and commentary and post the answers up in future installments. Users will remain anonymous, so you don't need to worry about your feelings and thoughts getting out onto DeviantArt. You may find that some of the things that you've personally been feeling will be addressed.

Feel free to note me if you would like your questions and observations to be answered in an upcoming edition. Every edition will be engaging with three issues. The above three featured today were submitted by anonymous deviants.

Artwork by the stunning *Rannie-kins. Go check out her stuff!
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NoxxPlush's avatar
Love your answer for #75! c: I think there are definitely different aspects to consider as a pony artist. I tried to find a nice medium with my style. 8D