Hey Poptropicans, and welcome back to our new “Pop Places IRL” series! Here, I’ll be walking you through some of Escape From Pelican Rock Island’s most notable scenes and comparing them to those scenes in real life (IRL).
You may already know this if you’re very familiar with California (or have read our trivia on the Escape From Pelican Rock Island Guide), but Pelican Rock is based on San Francisco (or “Bay City”), and more specifically, its famous Alcatraz island prison.
Even though the prison is no longer up and running IRL today, visitors can still take a tour of the island located in San Francisco Bay (if you can withstand the strong smell of pelican feces). When it was still in operation, the facility was well known for being impossible to break out of, though I guess our Poptropicans proved that wrong!
photo: Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay (travelingwithmj.com)
Once you’re arrested, you get to visit many important places inside the prison, including the yard. If you thought it was a pretty dull way to spend your time in game, I’m sorry to tell you that the IRL prison recreation yard isn’t any more dazzling.
Impressions: You’ll want to easel onto it.
photo: Alcatraz Cell Block From Rec Yard (Andrew Brown)
Aside from your recreation time behind bars, meal time makes up a big portion of our Poptropicans’ adventures. While photos of Pelican Rock’s cafeteria aren’t in black and white, the IRL prison cafeteria may just have better food!
Mise En Place: We’ve got mouths to feed.
photo: Alcatraz 2 (bonappetit.com)
The last main location you often visit while at Pelican Rock (besides the plate making room, which shows a very common jail trope) is, of course, your cell. Poptropicans may have it a bit better space wise, but it’s cool to see that even the green walls match up with the IRL prison cells.
photo: Alcatraz Prison Cell (artstation.com)
Another big landmark on the island in game was the “Colt Tower” that you chase Booted Bandit up. IRL, this location was based on San Fran’s Coit Tower, a tourist destination aside from Alcatraz!
photo: Coit Tower (tommygirard.wordpress.com)
A spot that I’m obligated to mention is of course San Fran’s famous Golden Gate Bridge! Though not a huge destination in game, the bridge can be seen in the background multiple times along your adventure and is a staple in the city’s skyline.
From a Distance: Something new is on the horizon.
photo: Golden Gate Bridge (franks-travelbox.com)
Well, that wraps up our tour of real-life Escape From Pelican Rock! What did you think?
Have you been to San Francisco? How does it compare to Poptropica’s interpretation? I’ve actually been on an Alcatraz tour and think the resemblance is pretty cool! What other places do you want us to cover in this series?
Hello once again everyone! Spotted Dragon here bringing you the February recap for Community Creations! February’s theme was colorful and the featured work is not in any particular order. Be sure to check out all the featured artists!
Can you believe this series has been around for a full year already? In Feb. 2017 we kicked things off with the theme of “shipping.” Your creations never cease to amaze us, so keep them coming! 😀
Wonderful! Super soft and colorful, with great line work. This scene is not one you find often in Poptropica fan art, but it sure is beautiful! It’s very peaceful and all the colors work perfectly together. I can almost feel the fresh Spring air! Stunning! Find her Twitter here.
Color Changing by JordynGowens
Wow! Great spin on this month’s theme. You may recall some color-changing costumes that were added to the Poptropica Store a while back, and here they are again in this drawing! Of course, totally fitting for our color theme. The bright, neon tones really pop against the dark background, and the poses are super cool. Everything is drawn smoothly and simply. Excellent idea and execution! Find her DeviantArt here.
Friends’ Love by HfEvra
Cute! The art style is spot on Poptropica Worlds. Super accurate, outfits and all. The lighting also brings to life the setting, because of how bright the sun seems. And of course, the rainbow ties the already sweet and peaceful scene into our colorful theme. A great cherry on top of this adorable relationship shown! Find her DeviantArt here.
Lover Bois by CraftyPoptropican
So bright! This artist is never afraid to use vibrant colors, which was perfect for this month. The warm tones that were used provide a heartfelt, warm mood in addition to all the surrounding flowers. A great scheme choice! I’m blushing just looking at it all. The emotion is break-taking, making this piece totally deserve a spotlight. Find his DeviantArt here.
Rainbows by Criaha
Ooh! Now this is definitely something we don’t see every month, considering this piece is animated! Obviously the rainbow effect is perfect for our theme, but the gif format sets it a part from other submissions. The unique colors across the character really seem to highlight the different emotions the Poptropican is expressing too. Not only is there detail in the changing facial expressions, but attention was even made towards the way the body is positioned. I can see the effort put into this one! Find her DeviantArt here.
Honorable Mentions
Eternal Colors by Red Tomato
Color Island by Purple Seagull
Happy Hare-entine’s Day by FlyingLuckECharm
Super colorful creations by everyone! Amazing as ever and always improving! With an open-ended theme like this one, your imagination is the only limit. And a late Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤
March: 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 March’s theme? March’s theme is…
Historical!
There’s no time like the present for this theme, aye? Lots of people think of St. Patrick’s Day when thinking of March, but not everyone celebrates such a holiday. That being said, it was influenced (like most holidays) by historical figures. Additionally, we’ve just recently reached Community Creation’s one year anniversary, a big milestone in the PHB’s history! Change is happening all around us, in and out of Poptropica. So let’s take a look back in our textbooks this month!
Maybe make Poptropica outfits for your favorite historical figures? Draw scenes from your favorite time period inspired islands, like Mystery Train and Time Tangled. Even recreate monuments in your Poptropica Worlds house perhaps. These are just a few ideas to get you started, because the possibilities are endless!
Framed!
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!
Hello once again everyone! Spotted Dragon here bringing you the January recap for Community Creations! January’s theme was crossovers and the featured work is not in any particular order. Be sure to check out all the featured artists!
Super creative! A continuation of our other Steven Universe costumes, these outfits totally match their cartoon counterparts. Accurately portraying someone in Poptropica can be a difficult task, but these designs get pretty darn close to their characters. From left to right, we have Peridot, Lapis Lazuli, Jasper, Rose Quartz, Ruby, Sapphire, Aquamarine, Topaz, Sardonyx, Opal, and Sugilite. And each account comes with a username. Plus, I love the attention to detail in each Poptropican name. They perfectly suit the personality of each character while staying true to classic Poptropica names! Great work, I can tell this took effort! Find her DeviantArt here.
Spy Wars by Cuddly Knuckle
Given the somewhat recent movie release, a Star Wars crossover is very appropriate! The mashup works super well with Spy Island too. I think we could find lots of similarities between B.A.D. and the Dark Side, right? I wonder if B.A.D. has cookies… Anyway, this is a cool action pose and there’s definitely strong attention towards lighting. Nice! Find his DeviantArt here.
Twilight Sparkle by HfEvra
Great editing! Any of our viewers My Little Pony fans? Even if you’re not, I think we can all agree this is an accurate representation of Twilight Sparkle in Poptropica. Even more so, the designs are all in a Poptropica Worlds art style! Hooves Fingers and all! They totally look like actual, in-game costumes. I love that a suitable background was included, as well as a variety of outfits! Find her DeviantArt here.
Gingerbright by Purple Seagull
Not as much detail, but still super cool! For you Cookie Run fans out there, have you ever wondered what GingerBright would look like in Poptropica? Well, wonder no more! This cute little character would fit in perfectly with some of Poptropica’s more lighthearted adventures, and definitely looks like both GingerBright and a Poptropican, cookie crumbs and all! There’s even a bit of shading to help her pop. She’s so cute I could almost eat her up! Find the artist often in the comment section.
Train to Zomberry Island by ANNE14TCO
Now here’s a change in mood! On the more intense end of the spectrum is Train to Busan, a Korean zombie film. This pick is an interesting contrast to the world of Poptropica, which just goes to show you how diverse our community is. Still, the comparison to Zomberry Island is perfect of course. The lighting and emotion in this piece is fantastic! It puts me on the edge of my seat for a thriller. Plus, the movie poster format is quite creative, fitting both sides of the crossover (with a little reference to Back Lot Island). Amazing work! Find her DeviantArt here.
Honorable Mentions
Froot by Criaha
Spy Fox and Director D. by Napstachill
Batman Villains by Derrick aka Spotted Eagle
So many cool entries! I can tell lots of you guys had amazing ideas! It was great to see what other fandoms our community members are interested in. See any you like? There was a huge range! Wonderful as always!
February: 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 February’s theme? February’s theme is…
Colorful!
Valentine’s Day is coming up and that means it’s been one full year of Community Creations! Last year we kicked things off with “shipping” and the rest is history. Anyway, February is a time of love and friendship, so why not express that through our creations? While colorful can literally mean using a bunch of vibrant colors, it can also just refer to a creative, positive mood.
So with that in mind, there is a bunch you could make! Use bright, bold colors in some cheesy Poptropica Valentine’s Day cards. Dress up your Poptropican in a crazy, vibrant costume. Draw your Poptropican and a bunch of your friends hanging out and just having fun. Write a positive, poppy love story. The list goes on!
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!
Hello once again everyone! Spotted Dragon here bringing you the July recap for Community Creations! This month’s theme was literature and the featured work is not in any particular order. Be sure to check out all the featured artists!
Note that some featured stories, while none are NSFW, can contain intense descriptions that may not be suited for everyone. Sorry DRTI fans, but that fanfic has a mature warning for a reason.
Hidden by LillySparkle$
When you wake up, bright and early in the morning, when the promising rays of sun poke through the blinds and into your room, you forget. You forget your not living in a normal home, or that your life could end at any moment. You forget that bombs or weapons could plummet down from such a peaceful sky, ripping you away from those you love. You forget you will never see your friends, you neighbors, your cousins, even that kid who picked on you in class, ever again. You forget the constant throb in your chest and throat and the flips your heart does too often when you hear a tiny noise. You forget you are living in a war. As I wake up, I allow myself to absorb the reality- to take in the fact that this is not an ordinary day and that I don’t have to trudge myself over to school. School. I surprisingly miss that demented place- that place where I was a straight D and F student and nothing but disappointment. My thoughts are slowly killing me, so I force myself out of bed. A quick scan of the ripped up hotel room and I already can tell that my parents and the Pietermans were already out on the island. I grab the opportunity to take a shower, turning on the cold water. It was rare every one was out of the room so early. My parents moved to the Amity a month and 2 weeks and 6 days after the the first bombing started so they could help victims in the hospital. Amity Island is currently the “safest place in the world” and yet it is anything but safe… READ MORE
The word choice and descriptions are totally immersive and paint a detailed picture. Not much is known about this fictional world yet, nor its characters or its relation to Poptropica, but it truly is off to a great start. A few grammar errors, but everything that Lilly wrote makes me want to read more! Find her blog here.
Keeper of Chaos by NineTenOnetyOne
Zeus’s glowing face turned pale as his breath hitched in his throat. The gaze he gave her remained unbroken, and he stared at her for what seemed like an eternity. As much as he tried to deny it, she was there, at the foot of his brilliant golden throne, staring him square in the face after lifting her eyelids, revealing those horrible, beady red eyes.
The gold rays of the heavenly light heavily shone off of the bronze armor plates that capped her shoulders, each pointed off with one aciculate spike. It was as if Zeus was looking at Apollo’s crown, and even he could barely keep his eyes open at the intensity. A strap crossed the goddess’s chest and down to her waist, acting as a holster to his brother’s trident upon her back. There was plain evidence that his other brother contributed to her aid, as his crown sat comfortably upon the mop of her electric blue hair.
Zeus could sense hands trembling on the solid gold coated arm rests of his throne. He clutched the ends of them to the point where they could be crushed from his mighty grip.
To imagine that a god as powerful as Zeus- the KING of gods, if you will- could be frightened of another entity was truly mind-boggling. Zeus was a god; superior to any living, breathing mortals. Who would cause the almighty god of thunder this much of a threat?
Delighted at his fearful reaction, her wide, mocking grin flash across her black lips, then parted to speak the words:
“Did you miss me?” she asked, her voice bringing back such horrible, vivid memories from the past.
This story too has amazing word choice and description. NineTenOnetyOne doesn’t miss a beat, throwing the reader right in the middle of a tense situation. It brings back a fan favorite Poptropican, Zeus, and is a great tale for those interested in Mythology. Each sentence left me on the edge of my seat. And this is just chapter one! Fine her DeviantArt here.
Raven… claw by ArtisticAsianBunny
Okay guys, I’ll admit it… I’m a sucker for puns and this is adorable. I couldn’t not feature it. Proving that visual art can fit into the “literature” theme, ArtisticAsianBunny references Harry Potter (as I’m sure most of you can tell) by connecting the Ravenclaw house to our beloved Ringmaster Raven. How did we not see this earlier? I feel like he is an underappreciated character and this simple, but magical blue color palette does him justice. Find her DeviantArt here.
Of Darkness and Shadows by SuperGrape1
Our story begins in a college building on Mocktropica Island where a science teacher can be seen trying to give his class a lecture about neutrons and atoms, but they are too busy playing Mega Fighting Bots to pay him any attention. The science teacher just sighed as he sat down putting down his lesson plan suddenly to the teacher’s surprise a black looking smoke was coming out from his hands and he was freaked out by this. However, the black smoke soon stops coming from his hands and the teacher looks confused as to what just happened. Suddenly, a young lady walks up to him saying “hey brother, what are you doing?” the young lady asks the science teacher. “Sadly nothing, what do you need?” The science teacher asks the young lady revealing that she is his sister.
“I got an invitation to go to an island called Fantasy Island, and I think we should go, what do you think?” His sister asks with glee. “I don’t know Lidia, I’m a science teacher, and I have tons of paper work to do, and I don’t know if the principal will let me take the rest of the week off” The science teacher replied revealing that the lady’s name is Lidia. “I think that I can convince him to let you take the rest of the week off, besides you have been working very hard brother” Lidia says to the teacher smiling. The teacher just smiles as he says, “Yes, I know, but it’s just to keep Mathew in school, things have been hard for him since” The teacher says before he starts to tear up. “I know Xavier, I know, but you could use a break, and I’ll have someone look after Mathew, alright?” Lidia said revealing that the science teacher’s name is Xavier, and Xavier just smiles as he hugs his sister Lidia.
“Thanks, sister, you’re the best you know” Xavier asks Lidia smiling. “I know, and I’ll go talk to the principal, so I’ll be right back” Lidia said smiling, and with that Lidia walks off to go talk to the principal. Xavier suddenly clutches his head as a dark voice in his head begins to speak to him in his mind saying, “Embrace your destiny” The dark voice said coming from inside his head. Suddenly what appears to be flames of black fire circles around him trapping him and the room goes dark around him. “What’s going on?” Xavier asks starting to freak out, and panicking confused as to what, is going on around him… READ MORE
Not as much description as the others, but the plot can really pull you in. Lots of questions are left unanswered thus far in the story and curiosity can really hook a reader. There’s a lot of potential in how the fanfic can go and how it fits into the world of Poptropica, but a bunch of possibilities are already thrown in and this is just chapter one! SuperGrape allows the reader’s mind to imagine anything and everything. This story was even nominated for a Poppie! Find her DeviantArt here.
The Illiad by DanaKelly AKA BeanSkelly
Okay, I have many reasons as to why I featured this piece. First of all, I’m pleasantly surprised by the referenced story! The Illiad is a tale that many of you will most likely read in school (if you haven’t already) and is definitely a classic. Not the expected mainstream dystopian novel! Second of all, the time and effort that Bean put into this drawing is obvious. I remember simply seeing the lineart in a previous month, but the color is just stunning. The perspective is excellently executed and the shading of the neutral tones is breathtaking. Seeing this historic moment in a Poptropica-like style perfectly captures the educational part of the game and how fun it can still be. Find their DeviantArt here and here.
Honorable Mentions
Ruby Child by PegaKid2012
nurse: *pulls out baby MK* congratulations, it’s a girl, what would you name her?
MK mom: look at her gorgeous eyes, shiny as a jewel
MK dad: no, not a jewel, something more than that, let’s call her…
MK mom: i will name her… ruby
MK dad: ruby, hello ruby
baby MK: *giggles happily*… READ MORE
Cuddly In Wonderland (Disney AU) by TechnoBunny16
Diary of a Wimpy Shark by JelloMcFellow
August: 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 August’s theme? August’s theme is…
Fashion!
With the Poppies coming to a close recently, almost everyone who was celebrating the event showed up in a dashing, formal outfit. Whether it dress or suit, everyone looked fabulous if I do say so myself. In continuation of this trendy attire, I thought that this would be a great theme! It also gives those who loved making Poptropica outfits, but aren’t artistic in the drawing sense, a time to shine.
Similar to the rules of our literature theme, all costumes will be accepted this month. However, other media is accepted too as long as it relates to fashion! Draw your Poptropican in their classy Poppies outfit or make a stunning pose on the catwalk in the Photo Booth. Create a perfect back to school outfit or write about your Poptropican’s odd experience in the clothing store on Night Watch Island. Didn’t win the Poptropica Costume contest? Send in your old submission for another chance to show it off! The possibilities are only limited by your imagination!
SD’s Poptropica Costume Contest Entry
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!
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