Category: PHB Series

Here’s where you can browse through the many posts we’ve shared on the Poptropica Help Blog, sorted by series.

Community Creations

Community Creations: September 2017

Spotted Dragon

community-creations-logo

Hello once again everyone! Spotted Dragon here bringing you the September recap for Community Creations! This month’s theme was school and the featured work is not in any particular order. Be sure to check out all the featured artists!

No clue what’s going on? Go see our intro post.

Top 5 Picks

Highschool Dr. Hare by Echoingback

Echoingback - Highschool Dr. Hare

This rendition of Dr. Hare as a highschooler is super cute. The sketchy but clean lines make our beloved rabbit look really soft and the expression on his face is positively up to no good! Overall, this is an adorable, simple bust drawing that’s easily pleasing to the eye. Love the hoodie! Find their DeviantArt here.

My Life at School by Dreamer2127 aka Cinnabunny

Dreamer2127 aka Cinnabunny - My Life at School

This cute little comic is something we can all relate to. If you can’t read it, the left panel has our expectations for school, in which the student does their work in class. On the right however is our reality, where the student gets caught playing Poptropica instead! The characters are cute and the humor is perfectly shown. It’s a bit hard to see, especially with sketchy lines, but the dialogue is the main focus and overall this is well executed! Sweet drawing! Find her DeviantArt here.

Even Chickens Need to Learn by ArtisticAsianBunny

ArtisticAsianBunny - Even Chickens Need to Learn

What have we here you ask? Shrunken Mr. Silva is teaching some basic English to Ringmaster Raven while CJ and Edgar watch of course! This drawing is pretty random, but it’s not without its humor. While the situation would never be canon, the simple drawing is still very well executed and I admit, it made me laugh. Education is important kiddos! The image is kinda small, but let’s not forget those sweet easter eggs on the bookshelf… Find her DeviantArt here.

Mr. Silva: Poptropica Worlds Style by SuperGrape1

SuperGrape1 - Mr. Silva Poptropica Worlds Style

This piece not only ties in school, but both original Poptropica and Poptropica Worlds as well! Who knew Poptropicans would look so cute with hands? You might love him or you might hate him, but we all easily recognize Mr. Silva. Body proportions aren’t the best, but the head is super accurate and the simple execution makes for a very clear subject. I love to see artists improving every day! Find her DeviantArt here.

Help Style by Criaha

Criaha - Help

This sketch may not have a lot of detail, but it sure is relatable. With a lot of Poptropicans in high school by now, it can feel like our school work is constantly looming over us. Honestly, it can feel that way in any grade, I know. Almost like the looming glare of infamous Poptropica villains, right? The emotion and simplicity in this sketch is hilarious. Find her DeviantArt here.

Okay, so I have to confess… Why? Welllllll, those are the only submissions we got this month. That means no honorable mentions, sadly. Still, those drawings totally deserve the spotlight! There weren’t that many, but they were still super cool.

School might not me the most exciting theme, but there’s always next month. Leave suggestions for better themes in the comments below! I know with school starting, it can be a lot harder for people to find time to make submissions.

October: How do I Participate?

Community Creations is a cool series for anyone in the Poptropica community to join in on. To sum up what it’s about, it’s basically a chance to show off your artwork, creepy fan-fic, realms, costumes, and anything else that pops into your mind.

If we really like the piece you submit, we will feature it here on the PHB! As long as it relates to that month’s theme. So what is October’s theme? October’s theme is…

HALLOWEEN!

I mean, were you really surprised? How could we not pick Halloween as the theme! It’s the spoopiest time of the year! I’m a total sucker for autumn aesthetics. Sadly, there is one catch this month: we will not be accepting any costumes! I know, I know, it’s the main part of the holiday! Don’t worry! We just don’t wanna take the spotlight off of the PHB’s annual Halloween Costume Contest. Check it out, because over on that post is where you really get the chance to show off your spooky style.

Sooo… got any ideas yet? Not allowing costumes does limit your creativity a bit, but it doesn’t totally cut off your options! You could create a cool pic in the Photo Booth of your Poptropican trick-or-treating, all dressed up, or you could draw one of your favorite scenes from the Haunted House mini-quest! You could create a scary Poptropica ghost story or even make an entire haunted house yourself in Realms! And remember to submit any costumes you make specifically into the Costume Contest.

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  • Submitting: Comment below with a link to whatever you’ve created OR share it with me (SydVC aka Spotted Dragon) on DeviantArt, Twitter, or Discord.
  • Results: I will feature 5 of the submissions as well as 3 honorable mentions.
  • Limitations: Nothing NSFW, and make sure you relate to the theme.
  • Due Date: I will take any entries before the end of this month. Submit as many things as you’d like!

I will always be sure to let you know I have seen your creation. Bonus points if you make a compelling description for your piece! While quality counts, I’m mainly looking for something to simply catch my eye, so don’t be afraid to join in!

So what are you waiting for? Go make something awesome!

~SD

PHB Specials

Poptropica Wallpapers for All Screens!

Silver Wolf

popwallpapers

A popular Poptropica community member and artist named napstachill has recently made a gigantic collection of — you read the title right — over 60 Poptropica wallpapers, taken from various scenes and parts around Poptropica. They’re 1920 by 1080 pixels, which is really good quality and standard for most desktop computer backgrounds. You could also crop them a bit to fit the screens of your other devices, such as phones, tablets, or other computers.

UPDATE: The links below no longer work. However, you can still download the images right here on this page by right-clicking the image you want and selecting “Download” to save them to your device. Enjoy!

The zip file includes amazing backgrounds of tribes, characters, and islands! If you want any of them yourself, you can download them from naps’s DeviantArt (there’s a part 1 and part 2) by clicking the download button on the right side of the DeviantArt page, and if it won’t let you download from there, you can also download them from Google Drive.

This first set of photos is of the backgrounds you see in tribe common rooms. In addition to being just really cool-looking, they are perfect if you want to show your support for your tribe. Even though I’m in Seraphim, I love the look and feel of the Nightcrawler background; it would be very soothing to look at when you turn on your laptop or PC, and the colors in it are very complementary.

Next are wallpapers of Myron Van Buren and Omegon. I love how these wallpapers, especially the Myron Van Buren ones, aren’t too crowded and are easy to look at. Even though they are villains, they deserve some appreciation, which you can give by using them as a wallpaper! 😉 Perhaps not exactly what they had planned, but better than nothing, right?

With these backgrounds from Mythology Island, not only can you express your love for Poptropica, but you can also express your love for mythology and lore. Perhaps you want to honor Zeus or Poseidon while showing your love for Poptropica, too, or maybe you just like the scenery and architecture. Either way, these backgrounds would be great!

Out of all of the wallpapers, the ones from Super Villain Island have my absolute favorite. Binary Bard’s dream is absolutely stunning (although, a bit bright for a wallpaper) and is simple enough that it won’t look crowded with all your desktop icons on it. The two photos of the statue of Zeus can easily be put together and cropped to become a great phone background, too!

Then there are these are very fantasy-like, natural backgrounds from Twisted Thicket Island that would look completely magical as a wallpaper. The throne room scene has nice framing where desktop icons could go too, and the scene of the tree with flowers has non-harsh, cool colors that would be easy on your eyes. Of course, they are also beautiful backgrounds in general. Maybe you can somehow even set the throne wallpaper for the daytime and the tree for nighttime.

The largest group by far, Monster Carnival Island also has some of the best wallpapers; mostly consisting of pastel colors, the photos would be perfect as they wouldn’t cause a headache when on the computer all day, which most of us probably do all too often. Ringmaster Raven’s tent would also be great if you’re a fan, but I feel like the reds could become a little grating to the eyes over time.

If you love space and technology, these backgrounds from Lunar Colony Island would be a fitting choice. They’re not necessarily striking, but they make a statement, and the one with the world in the background adds a nice little detail to the picture. If you’re a fan of NASA (as I am!), the one with the “PASE” logo would be a small nod to the awesome agency, too.

Then there’s this collection of imagery from Arabian Nights Island – including one starring the mischievous genie Samhal!

If you’re in the mood for something more somber and contemplative, you might like this selection of scenes from Ghost Story Island. Spoooky.

Or, if you’d rather have something bright and beautiful, you might enjoy these nature scenes from Red Dragon Island, featuring traditional Japanese aesthetics.

These two don’t exactly go together, but they were the only ones for their island – Mystery of the Map and Vampire’s Curse respectively.

Last but not least, there’s the Part 1 batch (already included in the Google Drive folder), most of them with a strong focus on one Poptropican. If you liked these, you can find them on napstachill’s DeviantArt as well.

I hope you enjoyed! Leave your comments below! 🙂

-SW

Poptropica Portfolio

Poptropica Portfolio: Geoff Hassing

LJ

Hello, everyone!

Lucky Joker here, featuring another Poptropica Portfolio! The artist in the spotlight this time around is Geoff Hassing. You can find a sample of his artwork for Poptropica and more on his portfolio site here.

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the previous portfolios we’ve showcased, featuring Poptropica artists Nate Greenwall, Chris Goodwin, Abraham Evensen Tena, Jordan Leary, Lance Fry, Nasan Hardcastle, and Ashley Lange.

As stated on his LinkedIn page, Hassing no longer works for Poptropica, and though his time with them was short-lived, he still left us with some amazing background scenes and in-game assets from some of the newer islands, including Monkey Wrench and Escape From Pelican Rock. There are also a couple of Poptropica-like scenes here that were made for practice and not for anything in-game. Check them out:

Monkey Wrench Island
Colt Tower
Prison Kitchen/Mess Halls
Escape From Pelican Rock promo poster
Weight Room common room
Red Baron plane objects
Practice city scene
Practice living room scene

Pretty cool stuff, Geoff!

These days, Hassing illustrates children’s books for GrapeCity, a corporation that provides learning materials, tools, and methods for kids learning English through their oral language acquisition and critical listening program. We really like his Poptropica work, and we wish him the best in everything does going forward.

Speaking of art pieces, be sure to join in on the PHB’s Community Creations this month! September ends soon, so you’ve got until the end of this week to enter. The theme for this month is “school.”

I hope you found this popping portfolio enjoyable! We’ll talk soon…

Lucky Joker sign off

Pop 5

Pop 5: Most Educational Islands

Purple Claw

This post originally appeared on Clawtropica and is being shared on the PHB courtesy of the author, Purple Claw. If you’re interested, you too can write for the PHB!

Educational_Islands.png

Hey Poptropicans, it’s Purple Claw, and today I’ve got a Pop 5 list for Poptropica’s most educational islands! Previously, I made a post asking which Poptropica (Original or Worlds) was more educational, and [spoiler alert] Original won that round.

So now, I’ve made a list of top 5 educational islands, all from Pop Original! Keep in mind that this list is just my opinion, and it may contain spoilers. That said, let’s get into it!

#5: COUNTERFEIT ISLAND

counter_pic

Counterfeit Island is really well-made, with lots and lots of art, a really exciting mystery, and a super cool villain (#BlackWidowFTW). Also the Balloon Boy long-running gag started on this very island, so you can blame Counterfeit Island for the whole “dearest Balloon Boy” thing in new Poptropica Worlds trailer.

The most educational thing about this island were, of course, the art pieces at the art museum. That’ll probably help you a bit in class, in case a teacher that lame asks you about a painting and who made it, and if you know it because you saw it on Poptropica, you’re in luck! If you didn’t get that info from Pop, well… kudos to you. If you didn’t know the answer at all… then… you’re on your own.

I’m getting off track here… so let’s continue on, shall we?

#4: VIRUS HUNTER ISLAND

virushunter_pic.png

Hear me out on this one. I’m aware that this island is hated by, like, most of the community because of its glitches and its overall grossness, but it can still be educational.

Basically, on this island you travel through a person’s body to kill a deadly virus. In your adventures, you travel through different parts of a human’s body, such as the heart and brain, plus you learn how dangerous deadly viruses can be. It could be more informative, but it’s a decent start.

Still, I must say, this island isn’t really that well made. The bright colors sometimes hurt my eyes, plus the difficulty is extremely hard and a bit annoying at times. But overall, it’s not half bad.

#3: RED DRAGON ISLAND

reddragon_pic

Red Dragon Island is one of Poptropica’s most popular islands, and for good reason. It’s visually great, the story is really interesting (though it’s inspired by a non-Poptropica book), the platforming is fun and not too frustrating, and it’s also pretty educational.

It’s a really beautiful island which introduces us to good ol’ ancient Japan and its culture. From sumo wrestling, to helping random strangers, writing Japanese characters, catching mythical river demons, snipping meticulously at bonsai trees (that’s sorta educational, right?), to fighting Japanese dragons – this island is full of interesting tidbits!

#2: TIME TANGLED ISLAND

timetangled_pic.png

While I think Time Tangled is a bit, well, overrated, there’s no denying it’s one of Poptropica’s most educational islands. I mean, when you go back in time to various periods of history, there’s just so much to see.

You go to Mount Everest, to Ancient Greece, to all sorts of places to repair the future, but while you’re doing that, you actually learn something. The new SUI version doesn’t have those Fact Monster bubbles I mentioned in a previous post (thankfully), but even still, you might pick up a new fact or two as you explore these historical environments.

However, there’s a glitch to play the non-SUI version of Time Tangled, with all the Fact Monster bubbles. To activate it, make sure you have the time device given to you by your older self, then go into the Party Time Tower common room, use the device to go to any time period, and voila! The whole island will be a non-SUI! (Special thanks to Tall Melon for reminding me about it!)

#1: MYTHOLOGY ISLAND

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Ah, Mythology Island! This island intrigued me, not just because of the wonderful storyline and the visually great graphics, but because I learned a whole lot about Greek mythology too!

As some of you might know, I was born in Greece. I learned a little about Greek mythology in third grade, but not much, so it was really cool to explore it more in Poptropica.

Everything about this island is educational, and really fun at the same time. There’s the museum of Olympus (which has info about various Greek gods and goddesses), Aphrodite’s minigame where you’re supposed to guess the deities’ names, and all the mythical creatures you get to meet. The whole island is really well thought-out!

I congratulate Poptropica for making islands that are both educational and really fun at the same time. They really can appeal to everyone!

If you enjoyed reading this post, check out the original post on Clawtropica, and browse the blog for even more cool content.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

🐾 Purple Claw 🐾
:mrgreen:🌊

PHB Parties, PHB Specials, Web Development

A Decade of Poptropica: Party Recap and Reflections

Slanted Fish

10th bday pop

You’ve probably heard us say this a lot this month, but it’s a big deal, so we’re saying it again: 🎉 Poptropica is 10!!!!!!!!!! 🎉

That’s a pretty long time to be popping about. In fact, many of us here at the PHB have grown up seeing its progression over the years, from our pre-teens to early adulthood. Many others in this community are themselves just 10 years old, having been born right around the time of Poptropica’s launch! Whatever the case for you, whether you’re a longtime player or just discovered the game yesterday, you’ve got to admit it’s a remarkable thing to have made it here.

This past weekend, to celebrate the big milestone, the PHB threw a party on Poptropica and our chat server, the PHC. We brought our 10th birthday monkey hats and filled Multiverse rooms with laughter, head-to-head battles, and a standard dose of lag. Despite some hiccups with the party rooms, we still had plenty of fun meeting friends and hanging out on the PHC. Check out a recap of the shenanigans in the collage above, or this video captured by TallMeloniscool which recorded a portion of the events!

Here at the Poptropica Help Blog, we’re immensely blessed to have Poptropica be a part of our lives. This game and fandom – for all its whimsical complexities, hearty community of players, and skillful creativity – has made its indelible and unique marks on all of us who are celebrating its tenth anniversary this month.

To that end, the current PHB staff would like to share some reflections with you – our thoughts straight from the heart. You can also check out our “My Place in Poptropica” (MPIP) stories, linked below, for more about how the game has impacted our lives.

Brave Tomato:

bt1010 years? Wow, thanks for making me feel old, Poptropica. 😛 Anyway, I could never be any more grateful to be part of such an awesome community. Over the years, I have gotten to see numerous things, news, and such come and go as Poptropica evolved, and it has been great to get to experience it all.

It helped me gain new interests, build up my confidence to pursue an animation degree while in college, gave me an opportunity to share stories and artwork, and I got to meet so many amazing people through the fandom. I know this is weird for me to say, but being part of this changed my life. Thank you, Poptropica, for not being afraid to teach us not only educational lessons, but also to smile, laugh, cry, face our fears, and most importantly, bringing us all together.

Check out her whole MPIP story here.

Happy Lobster: 10bdayhl

Well, 10 years does seem like a very long time – but for me, playing since 2008, it strangely doesn’t feel like a very lengthy time looking back. As I grew older, I became more and more interested in Pop, ultimately leading up to my discovery of the community, and taking part in it since the start of 2016.

Since then, I’ve met so many amazing people, all of whom share a common interest, and made new hobbies that I almost definitely wouldn’t have began if not for the community – blogging, graphics, digital art. I wouldn’t change a single bit of my time with Pop and its fandom – and I’m very pleased to see Pop’s 10 birthday.

Check out his whole MPIP story here.

Lucky Joker:

lj10The fact that it’s been 10 years that these wide-eyed, formerly neckless characters have been around is still dawning upon me. I consider myself nothing more than privileged to have had this amazing game a part of my life for so many years. From mindlessly wandering around Poptropica in an elementary school computer lab, to secretly playing during the awkward years of middle school, and now to blogging on the biggest Poptropica fan site as an almost high school graduate, Poptropica has been with me all the way. It is with disbelief, but great joy as well, that I’m here today reminiscing on the huge impact Poptropica has had on my life, both online and off.

Looking back at the growth and evolution of this game feels so surreal. I remember earning my first medallion, purchasing my first membership, my first merchandise item… all like it was just yesterday. Because of this game, I’ve developed interests in mythology, astronomy, story writing, art, and journalism, and have also been learning to seek higher successes. This other world has truly influenced me, and for the best way possible. Anyway, I better stop before I get too emotional. Happy 10th birthday, Poptropica, and here’s to many more! ❤

Check out his whole MPIP story here.

Purple Claw:

pc10Poptropica is more than just a game, at least for me. Poptropica is an inspirational world that inspired thousands of people to make fan art, write fan-fiction, start blogging and writing, become more familiar with coding, and more. This game was what kept me sane through my teenage years (2014-2016, thankfully I’m much better now), my hard times, and whenever I wanted to be alone.

Joining the community is probably one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life, and I’m really thankful for every single one of my friends. Everyone here is so nice. Being in this fandom made me realize that Poptropica is my home, and I’m really happy to see this world become 10 years old. Here’s to many more! Stay poppin’! (:

Check out his whole MPIP story here.

Silver Wolf:

sw10Poptropica has become a huge part of my life, and I even remember the first time I played it, which was about 9 years ago (I was in elementary school!). I didn’t become part of the community, though, until 2012, and that was possibly one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I only know some of my best friends because of how we met on Poptropica chat rooms or blogs, and I’m so happy to have them in my life. Even my family asks how blogging is going, and it’s become a conversation piece with others offline.

Poptropica has also always been a way to cheer myself up if I’m going through a hard time, and I’ve formed a personal connection with it over the years; it inspires me to be creative and express myself without judgment. I can’t believe it’s been so long, and I wish Poptropica a happy 10th birthday! I can’t wait to see what else the future holds. 🙂

Check out her whole MPIP story here.

Slanted Fish:

fishy10I’m greatly indebted to Poptropica for its being the source of creativity by which I do much of my writing. After all, there would be no Poptropica Help Blog without Poptropica; no Poptropica fandom nor all the fan art, blogs, friends, and conversations it’s inspired for ten years now. So thank you, Poptropica, for giving voice to so many ideas… and for giving me something to write about.

Blogging about this game over the years played a huge part in how I’ve developed my own writing voice, as well as a passion for sharing words with people that I’ll carry with me for as long as I have the ability for language. And it’s more than writing, of course: on Poptropica there are artistic worlds to admire, stories to dig deep into, and many more treasures than can be named – but suffice it to say, I’m grateful to have popped into these tropics. Keep on popping, Poptropica! 🎉

Check out her whole MPIP story here.

Slippery Raptor:

slip10If Poptropica was a kid, it’d be 10 years old today. Funny that it would probably play Poptropica as a kid, too! It’s cool to see how time had flown by so fast. I remember myself many years ago going to a friend’s house just to play Shark Tooth Island, and nagging him about a new island’s release not long after. This game has been a big part of my life.

Only Poptropica had the magic to make me feel like putting in so much effort, time, and dedication into a game. Even in the rough and crazy times, we’ve gotten through, and I’m pretty sure we can keep going through with just a little patience. And look, Poptropica’s already 10! Long live Pop! Stay poppin’!

Check out his whole MPIP story here.

Spotted Dragon:

sd10I still can’t believe it’s been 10 full years! I started playing Poptropica waaaay back in the early days and while I’ve taken breaks, I’ve never really stopped playing. Though I didn’t truly become part of the community until a few years after my very first medallion, I’m still amazed at how big our little fandom is. If I hadn’t started blogging, I honestly don’t know where I’d be in life right now!

I do get odd looks when people find out I still play Poptropica, but those looks almost always turn into a wholesome, nostalgic conversation. I don’t care that I’m a bit old for the game and I don’t know how long it will be before all of this starts to fade from my mind, but I’m 100% enjoying this while it lasts. I’ve made many priceless friendships and discovered absolutely incredible artists, and little things like that are what really made me stick around so long.

Check out her whole MPIP story here.

Well, that’s enough opining from us for now. We’d love to hear your thoughts on baby Poptropica growing up into big-guy Poptropica, and we bet the Creators would too. So we encourage you to share in the comments, even if it’s a simple “congrats!”

🎈🎁 Happy 10th birthday, Poptropica. 🎁🎈

😁 Thanks for everything. 💕

pop 10years

❤️,
– the Poptropica Help Blog –