Happy October! It’s finally that time again… doesn’t feel the slightest bit close to fall in my desert, but still the spooky season is near!
Autumn is a major source of inspiration for many creatives, thanks to its beautiful foliage and harvest seasons. Some of you may remember my Poptober drawing challenge from 2020. I’m here to announce an updated one for 2022, still with daily prompts to inspire your art.
Since I’m a little late on this one, we’ll go easy with the first prompt.
There are zero rules to this challenge. Any medium is totally fine, and you can interpret the prompts however you wish. If you’re swamped with projects or short on time, feel free to just do whichever days you’d like, or do a prompt for each week!
Speaking of drawings, maybe you can find some inspiration for your creative endeavors from the latest fan art features from Poptropica’s Instagram stories, at least for fall decorating… 🍁
Hello Poptropicans! We have a bit of store-related news, as well as some more fanart features on Instagram and the August costume contest!
Naturally with the Olympics hype there is bound to be some sports-related goods up, and this month in the Poptropica Store is the new Speedy Cycler costume. There are also several classic costumes and more recent ones, including the Spring Floral Dress, Barbarian Warrior, and the epic Acidic Dinosaur!!! 🦖
You have no clue how much I wanted this to be my Poppies outfit
Speedy Cycler. Cool but is it a NEON DINOSAUR?
The Creators also included a reference to a certain… let’s just say a speedy cycling incident in their blog post.
On the subject of costumes, the Monthly Costume Contest has returned for August! So, if you ever get a good idea that you would like to see in-game, don’t be afraid to show off your creativity! It’s quite epic to see fan-made creations in game, and it’s always good to practice your drawing and design skills!
In case you missed it earlier, Creators also posted a video on their official YouTube channel featuring past submissions from July’s contest:
To conclude, here are four fantastic fanarts shared on the Creators’ Instagram stories. We have one very impressive Pop OC, and three great colored pages from the Poptropica fan-produced coloring book!
As some of you have noticed, there was no Island Flash-back in May. Mostly because of IRL things getting in the way and my poor planning. I’m sorry, as I did say this would be a monthly thing, and I’ll try to be more consistent in the future! To make up for this, TWO islands will be announced, one for May and one for June…
While not the most popular, both of these islands have their fans! Skullduggery (2010) is known for its iconic villain, Captain Crawfish, as well as its focus on trading and travelling over action and boss fights. On the other hand, Twisted Thicket (2012) is most remembered for its references to Norse mythology and its beautiful scenery and designs!
Twisted Thicket Island
Skullduggery Island
🌳 Twisted Thicket was very much a story about environmentalism, though the fantasy elements helped the point feel more natural rather than forced (as is common in children’s media with moral messaging).
The island is on a medium difficulty level, balancing the twisted and dangerous forest with fun puzzles and, once again, amazing scenery. The Poptropica Creators have consistently gone above and beyond with their art design, even with such a simple art style!
Rare Bog: But will it be a rattlin’ bog?
Wicked Woods: Don’t get off the beaten path here.
🏴☠️ Skullduggery revolved heavily around an archipelago map, where you could travel to other mini-islands within the island’s storyline using a boat. (The same feature was later to get around Hemlock Harbor in Ghost Story Island.)
While Skullduggery’s main plot is about the evil pirate Captain Crawfish threatening the peaceful islands, the focus of the gameplay is on trading goods and basic economics of saving for bigger and better ships, until you can finally buy the beautiful Phoenix Warbird. The Creators’ Blog has an interesting series of articles on the design process for this ship! Though some players found the cycle of trading and buying and selling tedious, others found it to be an educational experience, unique from that of previous islands.
Sea Power: The stormy seas of Skullduggery Island began as a simple sketch.
An early sketch of the Phoenix Warbird, dated from April 2010.
To wrap up, I’m going to showcase some awesome past fan art for these two islands that are no longer in the official game. And let’s encourage the Creators to preserve these stories with more!
Happy beginning of hot blazing horrible weather, everyone! 🌞
Poptropica’s social media activity has been up this week, with tons of new Instagram stories, as well as an odd Twitter post recalling our dear Dr. Hare. First, let’s turn to the ‘gram…
There’s some really cool art in here! Glad to see entries for the Monthly Costume Contest as well. I personally love the sharp design and dramatic color scheme of the Black Widow piece! 🕷
Meanwhile on Twitter, the Creators tweeted a “Feel old yet?” joke, featuring Dr. Hare and a Snapchat photo of actor Matthew Gray Gubler in pink bunny ears with the caption “I hate it here.”
While memes can be a fun way to spread hype and provide some comedy to a community, this more obscure and random one is a bit out of character for Poptropica’s usual social media antics. Several people were quick to comment with a mix of amusement and confusion.
— ray ⚓️ DAP ME UP BROSKI 🤝 (@rayylock) June 3, 2021
What do you Poptropicans think? Are there any particular artists or pieces you like from the gallery, and what do you think of this odd addition to the Twitter timeline?
Until next time (yes I do remember the Island Flash-backs, they will be returning!) stay creative, maybe by making some Poptropica memes and joining our Community Creations this month!
This event has been held a couple times in the past, but now, a new contest will be held every month! According to the Creators’ Blog, the contest will be open for two weeks each time, so the current one closes June 7 at 8 pm PST.
If this continues, plenty of fans should have the chance to see their designs become a virtual reality! Unlike past versions of this event, no prizes (such as membership) were mentioned, other than having winning costume designs implemented into the game. Good luck to all!
Non-Poptropican original character by @arts.n.darts
Look closely and you’ll find that two of these pieces are not Poptropica related—with one being a non-Pop original character, and the other being fan art of a character from the game Resident Evil, which does not exactly share Poptropica’s demographic. They are done by arts.n.darts, the same artist who also recently made fan art of Betty Jetty that the Pop Creators did not recognize.
While it would be admirable if this is simply an effort to show more support towards artists who have previously made Poptropica fan art, the shares are nevertheless uncharacteristic, and also raises the question of whether Poptropica’s social media person (or people?) is once again unaware of Poptropica’s content. Sus?
On a final note, a couple changes appear to have happened to the ads that appear on the website and in-game.
From past observations, most ads on Poptropica are specifically targeted towards its younger audience, similar to how they are sponsored to make in-game advertisements that showcase books, toys, or movies and shows that its general demographic may enjoy.
However, lately the ads appear to be more random and not exactly geared for kids. PHB staffer Gentle Dolphin reported seeing ads for Honey, which is a browser extension for online shopping, as well as for Morgan & Morgan, an injury law firm.
It’s understandable that a game needs to make a profit to survive, but this does raise some suspicion towards Poptropica’s insistence that they are still getting a large amount (“over a million”) of players. Why would they need to accept more advertisements if that was the case? The COVID-19 pandemic has had an effect on businesses, but as an online game, has Poptropica been growing or shrinking in attention? The branching out on ads seems to suggest the latter.
As of now, fans have many questions, many of which we may not see answers to soon. Hopefully we can still have fun while we wait with contests, upcoming quests, and the next Dream Island!
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