[Nellas]

Username: Nellas
WME Name: Hazel
Name Meaning: The name Hazel popped into my mind right away when I saw him, and I decided to just go with my gut. I tend to really like plant names, and the native hazel in my area (American hazelnut) is a super cool species that provide food for many wildlife species I am fond of as well! The hazelnuts are edible to people too, and can also be used medicinally. This fits well with my imagining him as a very community-involved, compassionate equid.
What do you like about him? I adore his overall color palette, the soft and natural feel he has to him, and the effect the stripes have in his multicolored mane. (And I'm always a sucker for a bay snoot.) The stripe style itself is so fun, and it reminds me of some of the ye olde equid designs, such as Maz's Nova Storm or my own gal Estel! His design also has a lovely balance of simplicity + complexity to it that I find very appealing, and would be able to create a larger amount of art for than I likely could for a highly complex design.
Why do you like HARPGs or Equine Based Adopts/Species? I love them so much, as a way for me to feel encouraged to explore my creativity with writing, art, and character-building, especially in such a warm and encouraging community. It's so fun to be able to see and admire and feel inspired by others' stories and art, and to have a place to share my own creations. The feel of Equine-Based Adopts/Species/HARPGs is very nostalgic to me as well, not only as a way to indulge my inner horse girl, haha, but also because I joined the WME community when I was still a teenager, and the inspiration to create and share with the community had a fantastic effect on me as I grew older.

[Vyraal]

Username: Vyraal
WME Name: Eoghan Roe
Name Meaning: Eoghan, pronounced Ow-an, means "born of the yew" as in the yew tree. It’s an old Irish word and name often accompanied by ‘Roe’ (red), in memory of the Irish patriot Eoghan Roe O’Neill who won a great battle over the British.
What do you like about him? Its super hard to get geometric designs to look natural, and on this boy they're Fantastic! The matching with the mane and couple white patches just delight me.
Why do you like HARPGs or Equine Based Adopts/Species? I adore horses and their builds, and the Countless sources of creativity and love and care that are put into these communities. The staff, the artists, everyone is so amazing, and it feels like there can only be so many patterns and creations but every single one is So unique, its incredible.

[cinerious]

Username: cinerious
WME Name: Herald of the Storm
Name Meaning: n/a
What do you like about him? He's rather gorgeous tbh, lightning quip is a favorite of mine, AND it's got filled quip as well, my second favorite !!!
Why do you like HARPGs or Equine Based Adopts/Species? they feed my inner horse girl, kind of a nostalgic feeling when participating in these communities! The ideas that I come up with for my lore are very different from other species and I love being able to have more settings I can be creative with.

[Aravel]

Username: Aravel
WME Name: Ryuuji
Name Meaning: “Double Dragon”
What do you like about him? I’m a SUCKER for bays and lightning quip
Why do you like HARPGs or Equine Based Adopts/Species? Horses were the first animals I really enjoyed drawing and WMEs specifically are really what got me started in digital art

[Penultima]

Username: Penultima
WME Name: Astarion
Name Meaning: I've been obsessed with Baldur's Gate 3 recently, and Astarion is the vampire rogue character who can join your party (or be a playable character) and I just imagine this equid having a similar personality; aka very extra!
What do you like about him?
Destiny and some of Mazbourne's filled lightning-quip style equids have always been among my favorite WME designs, they always stood out to me as being so unique and *signature* to the species. This equid's marking style just brings me back to that classic, signature look, and just reminds me of everything that equids have given me joy about!
Why do you like HARPGs or Equine Based Adopts/Species?
My first real HARPG experience was actually on Horse Isle (both 1 and 2). I spent DAYS collecting the prettiest horses and role playing with my middle school best friend at her house. We drew our horses up on Microsoft Paint using a computer mouse (so, you know, very detailed drawings) and uploaded them to CS forums and on DeviantArt. We also both rode horses in real life as well, and we were those classic "horse girls" with cowgirl shirts and Breyer horses lining our shelves. Now that I'm an adult and live a much simpler lifestyle (can't keep real horses in the city), HARPGs let me still indulge my childhood love of all things horses (coat colors, genetics, anatomy, riding disciplines, etc) and maintain friendships with like-minded people, even while not being able to live amongst other horse-lovers anymore!

[CopperChaos]

Closed for Judging

[CopperChaos]

Username: cloudedbee
WME Name: Hiko
Name Meaning: a flash of lightning in te Reo. I love connecting with the culture of my country & naming my pixel pals with visuals cues helps me learn it too!
What do you like about him? The softness of the pangare with the lightning reminds me of a thunderstorm during dawn or dusk which is just a whole other level of cosy!
Why do you like HARPGs or Equine Based Adopts/Species? I loooove that they push me to work and expand on my art skills but have the freedom to let me do it in a way that’s comfortable to me. I would be so far from the artist I am today without HARPGs. Not to mention I’ve never felt like I’m a part of a community more than when I’m vibing with fellow horse gals & pals just making up some silly stories about our pixel ponies.

Congratulations! Your entry struck a heart string with me, I would not be the artist I am today if I had not pushed myself to try out for a WME artist spot and thus begin my artist career in true. From there my skills have only grown and grown as I draw many many pixel ponies.

There were so many heartwarming entries, thank you everyone for sharing with me <3 I loved to see that there is a general consensus that we all have a passion for horses in one way or another and have found a community here (or elsewhere) where we can share that interest and not feel judged.

[cloudedbee]

Eeeee!! Thank you copper!!

[cloudedbee]

This soft sweet boy now belongs to butchbronco

Just 1 slot used and 1 slot reserved for me

[butchbronco]

Confirming, thank you so much!! <33