<sub>Hello everyone, and welcome to “Horsin’ Around”, a bi-monthly article that brings you the latest news in and around the dA Equine Community! I’d be grateful if you could give me feedback on what you think of it, and if you have any suggestions for future issues, I’d love to hear them. If you think that you, or anyone else you know, deserves a feature, let me know and I’ll feature them here! I hope you enjoy this issue, and thanks for reading!

~Boribaby</sub>


Love for the Underappreciated

<sub>A selection of artists and some of their works that I feel deserve more faves and views! Please spare a minute, go check out their wonderful galleries and show them your support.


Suggested by ~greendragon22</sub>

A very pretty gallery filled with lots of enchanting traditional paintings of horses, unicorns and other fantasy creatures! Please stop by to show your support.




Although this talented artist has a couple of popular works in her gallery, the rest of her art deserves more faves too! Be sure to check out her beautiful art.



_{Suggested by ~Lunar-Rider}

Horse racing fans, here’s a gallery for you! Great action shots, with some beautiful portraits and other photos too. Go see!


Featured Digital Equine Artist



One of dA’s finest! Stunning use of colour in every picture – this is one gallery you WON’T want to miss!


Featured Traditional Equine Artist



Stunningly realistic portraits of majestic horses and other beautiful animals await in this talented artist’s gallery!


Featured Equine Photographer



A talented photographer with a wonderful array of beautiful images. Be sure to stop by!


Featured Equine Photomanipulator



A beautiful gallery, full of stunning and imaginative manipulations. Definitely worth a watch!


An Interview With...

<sub>Every issue of H.A, I will be interviewing one of your favourite equine artists! This issue, it is Kellie has a beautifully unique style, and is widely known for her skilful way of drawing both equine and canine characters. Her art has a lovely watercolour quality to it, despite the fact all her work is digital! Soft colours, delicate lines and gorgeous characters make a trip to her gallery highly worthwhile! Go see for yourself – you won’t be disappointed!


Hello and thank you for joining us! Could you tell us a little about yourself?
Hello! I am Kellie! I am 23 and live just outside Chicago, IL with my husband and my two dogs. I'm a web designer and flash animator, but drawing is my life absorbing hobby.

Cool. How long have you been drawing horses for?
I've been drawing horses as long as I can recall. I remember having pony drawing competitions with my best friend when we were 5 or 6. But it was just about 2 years ago when I began to become serious about wanting to draw them correctly.

Wow, really? Can you tell us why you enjoy drawing them so much?
Well, I suppose its because it's the closest thing to being around horses for me at this time. I don't get to ride much where I live.

Do you have a particular way of drawing horses?
I draw very lightly and use lots of circles, like a tornado that wraps around the shape of a neck or back. Then I go back and connect the edges of my circles, and begin adding other shapes to flesh out areas like the shoulders and flanks. I do a lot of erasing and reforming before I ever make a final line with my pencil.

Interesting. Can you share with us what your very favourite piece in your gallery is?
This one for sure:

After I drew this picture I set it aside for months to get other work done and I couldn't get it out of my head! I'm glad I got it done because I loved how soft and aged the coloring came out. Things don't typically turn out exactly how I see it in my head and this one came the closest.

Looks amazing! Do you have an OC (original character)? Can you tell us a little about him/her?

This is my OC, Frog. He is the main character of a story I have been working on for a few years, which I hope I can share with everyone here soon. Frog is a sure-footed little mustang with unfaltering curiosity. He wants to know the story behind everything he sees, and everyone he meets.

Awesome! Is there any particular part of equine anatomy that you find difficult to draw?
Hooves. I believe all my drawings are of crippled lame horses based on the sorry excuses for hooves I have given them.

Good to know we all have trouble, then! So what would be your favourite part of drawing? (eg. Backgrounds, hair, shading etc.)
Hair is absolutely my favorite part! From the feather on their legs to wild wind-tossed manes, I love to draw hair.

Do you have a favourite breed of horse?
Thoroughbreds.

Nice! Where do you get your inspiration from?
From nature for sure. I love drawing sweeping mountain scenes, or lush forest settings. There is too much concrete where I am, it makes me want to draw beautiful, wild landscapes.

You’ve been an inspiration to a number of budding equine artists out there – can you share some tips to those just starting out?
Never be afraid to use photo references! I look at tons of photos before I touch pencil to paper. It will help you to learn. Don't expect to learn anatomy from other artists drawings and sculptures, if that artist is making a mistake, you may unintentionally learn that mistake as well. There is no substitute for looking at a live model or photos, and practicing like mad!

Thank you for your time. Any last pieces of advice you can give to your fellow equine artists?
I'm glad I got to share! The last piece of advice I have is to go out and join a forum or group that critiques the conformation of horses. Learning about conformation flaws really helped me to learn what parts of the horse I was drawing just all wrong!
Thank you!</sub>

Equine Web Comics and Fiction

<sub>Comic

There are many wonderful horse-related comics and fanfiction around dA, so if you have one, please let me know and I’ll feature it here!</sub>

Although Summerlin will not be uploaded on dA, it's creator, ~karzi01 has made a website specifically for it! Click here: [link] to follow the story!



<sub>Fiction

This is a new and much-asked for section in Horsin’ Around, so if you have a horse-related story, please drop *Crazysparkles06 a note, and she will feature it here!</sub>

Story: A Twist of Fate [link]
Author: *Crazysparkles06
Reviewed by: *Horsesnhurricanes

Writing Style:
Story Originality:
Character Development:
Storyline/Plot:
Attention-Holding:

Genres: Equine fiction, racing, domestic horse, romance, rivalry

<sub>”Sarah's eloquent and highly descriptive writing style puts a very professional touch on this story. Attention to detail is simply incredible, a level of detail one would expect from a published and famous author, not one of our very own dA equine herd members!

The characters, including the human characters, are remarkably well-developed, and interwoven seamlessly into the storyline. And unlike some stories I've read, the plot is rather realistic, and one can see such events actually occurring - something that everyone who loves horses or horse racing can relate to - making the story hard to stop reading until the end of the chapter. Even as early as Chapter Three, one can truly begin to connect with the characters, and start cheering for the heroes, and holding contempt for the villians.

Sarah's style of writing is unrivaled, and this story sets a new standard for equine fiction on dA. It incorporates elements often seen in many horse stories without relying on any specific element for writing a story, keeping the plot fresh and readable. The style and finesse in the writing puts it above most of the rest, but this is certainly not the first of its kind. However, it is a very good example of the equine fiction genre, and is a total must-read for anyone even remotely interested in seeing what the genre has to offer.”</sub>

Themed Features

<sub>November’s theme: Foal Play.


November’s colour: Gold.


November’s breed: Norwegian Fjord.</sub>


Photography Corner

_{Showcasing some of the finest and most majestic images of equines from talented photographers and photo-manipulators around the world.}




Contests

There's always a contest or two going on in the equine community! I've listed a few of the current ones going on at the moment, and ones ending soon. Are you hosting a contest and want it advertised here? Let me know!


Theme: Unicorn-Hybrids. Read about it here: [link]
Closing date: December 1st 2009


VOTES NEEDED for this contest: [link]
Closing Date: December 1st 2009


Theme: Adoptables. Read about it here: [link]
Closing Date: December 31st 2009


Theme: Autumn. Read about it here: [link]
Closing Date: Check with deviant.

Help Desk

<sub>In this section you will find links to horse stock accounts and helpful tutorials.

Helpful Resources</sub>

Having trouble with a difficult pose? Stuck on how to draw from a certain perspective? Don’t fear! There are a number of wonderful stock accounts around dA with plenty of beautiful stock photos for you to reference. Always abide by the stock artist’s rules, and always remember to link back and credit the photo you use.



_{Helpful Tutorials}

Need help with drawing manes and tails? Can’t figure out how to colour in photoshop? Unsure how to shade? Then look no further! Here’s a collection of helpful tutorials for you to look at.