bulrush wrote:not really answering a question but providing one but what's the reason horses and ponies aren't super well liked? im actually kind of shocked considering the horse girl phenomenon and multiple pet sites dedicated solely to horses that exist, is it a problem with the lineart itself or are the people drawn to this website simply not horse fans? i heard the original lines were traced so is that part of it?
I know someone else said it earlier, but I really think it's a combo of the face (eyes being a big one) and the pose for the horse in particular being so stiff, despite it clearly meaning to be a motion shot. For the best example of what I mean, compare a regular horse to the 2015 store pet edit:
![Image](//static.chickensmoothie.com/archive/image.php?k=FD6245E61ACD78E7B4383EAA7C93C04B&bg=90dc35)
![Image](//static.chickensmoothie.com/archive/image.php?k=2CBB62FE74D766DCBAA8C2F5BE0F224F&bg=90dc35)
Obviously the store pet has wings and a horn, but I imagine that even without those, that base pose would be much more popular. Regular horses just look dead and stiff so much of the time (which ironically is almost the exact opposite of their irl appeal). Ponies mainly suffer from the head+eyes problem imo, I've always felt their pose overall was fine. They just generally don't mesh into the same feel as the art for other species, which has a more “cartoon-y” vibe.
Sidenote: after thinking about it, one weird side effect of my feelings about the horse pose mean that all my favorite horse designs are ones that turn the horse into inanimate objects (ice, carousel, statues, etc).
Rat's default lineart is fine imo; it fits with the style of the site. I do love the edits though, and wouldn't mind seeing them more regular cycled in just like all the variations of dog lineart we get. I think the dislike of rats is more powered by external feelings about irl rats. They have to fight against that + smaller canvas + old demand scheme ingrained in the site culture. I think if the edited lines were used rats might see a slight boost in interest temporarily, but I don't think it would have deep or longterm effects.