Sneak Peeks

Movies, store, pet barn, and more!

LJ

How’s it going, Poptropicans? It’s Lucky Joker and today I share with you an awesome sneak peek and news from Twitter!

Firstly—with the more exciting news—Poptropica posted this sneak peek on the Creators’ Blog (a finalized version of the sketches we’ve seen this past week):

Home Island sneak peek.png

Once a final sketch is decided on, the artists start working in Photoshop to create a version with color and to start to figure out all the details of the design. 🎨

They also place it “in-scene” meaning that it’s in the game frame window. This allows them to see how all the elements fit in the game.

Once the art is done, it’s shared with the developers, who code the final design into the game. This process can take weeks to months from start to finish. It all depends how complex it is. Can any of you guess how long it usually takes to make a Poptropica island?

Disappointingly though, it looks like the update will be for Poptropica Original (Home Island specifically) rather than Worlds, which has been pretty stagnant.

Also, over on Twitter, @OfficialPoptropica let us know that they’ve added the archives back to the sidebar on the Creators’ Blog and thanked us for being part of the Pop community, which was nice. Looks like they read SD’s Pop Petitions post! 😉

Anyway, I’m actually really excited for this storefront update! I’m just hoping it’s not a mere advertisement center like the current movie theater. I think it’d be really cool to see some Poptropica shorts starring our favorite characters, or trailers for updates/new islands.

What are some ideas you have? I’d like to hear them and I’m sure it’d be insightful for the Creators—so leave them down in the comments section below!

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, as always! Pop on!

– Lucky Joker 🍀

Pop Fan Artist Spotlights

Pop Fan Artist Spotlight: SmileyFaceOrg

LJ

Hello, everyone! It’s time for another Pop Fan Artist Spotlight! Today, I’ll be highlighting the works of SmileyFaceOrg (who’s so talented that it should be illegal)!

SmileyFace has been drawing digitally for about 4 years now using Photoshop, and as you’ll see, has just about mastered her craft. Check out this collection of her amazing work (click the images to enlarge them):

“Count Bram portrait with hands”
“Art Trade-Friendly Hopper”
“Art Trade-Forest”
“Art Request-Dust Bunnies”
“Art Request-Cool Palette”
“Art Request-sirens and lights”
“Art Request-adventure”
“Danganronpa-Poptropica Dr. Hare”
“Once again I am mortal”
“Father what are you reading”

Recently though, she’s been drawing traditionally like she used to way back when. Take a look at this comparison of one of her older pieces of art to one of her more recent ones; the improvement is remarkable (but honestly, they’re both so good):

“Comfy carrot couch”
“Art Request-Silly Pelican”

I’m in such awe and I’m sure I’m not the only one. If you’re interested in seeing more of her art, she’s on DeviantArt, so go and check her out!

I hope you enjoyed this look into a Poptropica fan’s artwork. If you’ve created some of your own Poptropica fan art, we’d love for you to share it on our DeviantArt group gallery, We-Love-Poptropica.

On the topic of fanart—don’t forget to nominate your favorite piece of 2018 (along with other categories) in The Poppies this week! And for Community Creations this month, our theme is “Blogs & Fans.”

Thanks for reading as always! Feel free to check out the other artists I’ve featured on the PHB, and I’ll talk to you all soon… pop on!

– Lucky Joker 🍀

Big Nate Island, Sneak Peeks

Storefront sketches and the gate to Big Nate

Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, Slanted Fish here, with two bits of news. 🐠

The first is this: another sneak peek! Yup, soon after the Creators posted a sketch of a pet barn on their blog, we find another view of the same scene posted on their Instagram. This one includes a movie theater (hopefully it’ll be better than the current one), store (which we’re familiar with), and the aforementioned pet barn. Check it out:

barn peek2

The caption on Instagram offers some insight into the island creation process:

Ever wonder how games like Poptropica are made? It all starts with our artists working on lots of concepts like this one! Once a design is chosen, it’s redrawn in Photoshop! Stay tuned for more behind the scenes pics! 🎨

And the comments reveal a little more. A commenter (hiskeyblade) asked, “Do you guys start just random doodles after you figure out a plot of a world?”

To which the Creators replied: “We do! We also create mood boards with photos of real places and other inspiration!”

Pretty cool to hear about — it’d be great to learn more about their creative process, and the prospect of seeing more behind-the-scenes pics is one we can all look forward to!

Now for the second shocker: there’s a good chance that Big Nate Island, which is currently locked for members only, will be unlocked for all to play! See for yourself:

The hundred-plus comments received on the Creators’ proposal on Instagram are overwhelmingly in favor (albeit with some repeat “votes”).

As it should be! Poptropicans who hear about the sponsored islands being made members only are still as salty as Cap’n Salty’s about it as the day the news broke three years ago. With Poptropica Original likely to fade by the end of 2020, perhaps all features should be made free — better that more of us get to enjoy it than not at all, right?

That’s all for this post, but be sure to scroll down the blog for more news. We’ve had a lot going on in the Poptropica sphere lately!

<・)))><<

Contests, Poppies

🏆 The Poppies 2018: Let the hype commence! 🏆

LJ

Nominations are now closed. Stay tuned for the Voting Round!

poppies 2018 noms

Roll up to the blue carpet, Poptropicans… The Poppies are upon us!

🏆 What are the Poppies? 🏆

The Poppies are an annual Poptropica community awards event, hosted by Poptropica fans for Poptropica fans. This will be our fourth year celebrating, and as always, we welcome you to participate in the festivities and tell us where you think the spotlight deserves to shine in all things Poptropica.

First, we begin with the nomination round where you get to nominate your favorite picks for certain award categories. This round starts today (Thursday, July 12) and will end next Wednesday, July 18.

Then on the following day, July 19, comes the voting round, which lasts for a week.

This will culminate into the big day on July 26, when we’ll celebrate the PHB’s 10th birthday with a party on the Poptropica Help Chat (PHC). At the event, we’ll be announcing the winners via livestream as we hang out in multiverse rooms! More details on the party will be announced as the end of the voting round approaches.

Part I: Nomination Round

Today marks the start of the nomination round. Each award category will be announced below and followed by a brief description. To keep the nominations a surprise, you’ll be putting your choices in our survey anonymously (though you could reveal your identity if you choose).

Please limit your nominations to a max of three per award. Also, you’re not required to nominate for every category, though it is encouraged!

Keep in mind that some of these categories are applicable to both Poptropica Worlds and Original Poptropica.The awards for the taking this year are:

Poptropica Gameplay Awards

Best Poptropica Worlds Island: There are only a few islands on Worlds thus far, but even out of the few, one has to be the best. Which island had the best storyline? The best scenery? The best soundtrack? Since there are only a few islands on Worlds, they are all automatically nominated.

Best Poptropica Worlds Character: “Best” is a pretty broad term, but it’s definitely not a bad thing—that gives a wider range of characters to choose from! Many new characters have been introduced in Worlds already, but whether it’s a coin-giving pirate, a crazy lady in a carrot costume, or a purple-haired emo teen, which one stands out to you the most?

Most Educational Island: One of Poptropica’s primary goals from the get-go was not only to entertain but to educate as well. Out of the 40+ islands between both games, which one do you feel you learned the most from?

Best Accessory: Whether it’s a rare handheld item from Poptropica Original or one of those color-changing gadgets from Poptropica Worlds, what’s the coolest accessory every Poptropican should have in their closet?

Most Evil Poptropica Villain: Over the years, Poptropica has seen some pretty mean-spirited characters perverting the name of justice. From the carrot-nabbing, slave-driving Dr. Hare to the Booted Bandit trying to frame you for a crime you didn’t commit, which villain takes the prize for being the absolute worst to your Poptropican?

Community Awards

Best PHB Author: We have a great team of staff writers who work diligently to put out entertaining, interactive, and informative content, and we’re all very different. The current staff includes Slanted Fish, Brave Tomato, Spotted Dragon, Lucky Joker, Fierce Flyer, and Sporty Boa—and we’re all automatically nominated!

Best PHB Series: Throughout the years, many unique and fun series have made their way onto the Poptropica Help Blog. Whether it’s still ongoing or a thing of the past, which ones have you enjoyed the most?

Best Ask Blog: Past Poppies have had category for fan sites, but this year we’re focusing it on a growing trend in the Poptropica community known as ask blogs, which are fan blogs in which Poptropicans can send in questions for the appointed “owner” of the blog—a Poptropica character—to answer. You can find many of these in the #Poptropica ask tag on Tumblr, among other places.

Best Fan Art of 2018: Many Poptropican artists have created stunning masterpieces throughout the year so far, but which of them deserves the title of “best”? Our DeviantArt group page and Community Creations posts are great places to start searching for fan art! This category looks for works that were created/published in the year 2018 only, to give the more active artists a chance at the award.

Best Poptropica Portfolio: Our amazing Poptropica community wouldn’t be complete without the works of Poptropica Creators, who’ve helped build this game into what it is. We’ve featured several Creators’ portfolios on the PHB, showcasing the stunning visual or written work integral to Poptropica—but who did it best?

Well, there you have it—10 awards for 10 years of the PHB. Can you believe it’s been a whole decade since the PHB began?

Remember, the voting round starts next Wednesday, and next week’s poll options will be based on the most popular nominations. So, be sure to keep on popping in to keep pace with the Poppies going on throughout this month! In the meantime…

✨ Place your nominations now! ✨

Have fun!

Sneak Peeks

A poptastic Pet Barn peek

LJ

How’s it going, Poptropicans? Lucky Joker here with, for the first time in a while, a sneak peek from the Creators’ Blog! (Looks like SD’s post had some effect… 😉 )

Today, an anonymous creator posted this picture of a simple sketch. In the picture, we can see a store, a pet barn, and another building (which looks like another design for a pet barn) at the bottom. It looks a little Club Penguin-ish, but I think it looks cool! I can see Home Island looking like this in the near future. See for yourself:

pop_sketch

In the Creators’ Blog post, the unknown blogger says “The Poptropica creators are hard at work on some new updates to Poptropica…”, so it’s unclear as to which Poptropica they’re referring to—Worlds or Original. I personally hope the update is for Worlds since it is the future of the game, but I get the slightest feeling it isn’t… maybe that’s just me.

Anyway, what do you think of this sneak peek? Share your thoughts in the comments! That’s it for now. Thanks for reading, as always! Pop on!

– Lucky Joker 🍀