@LightningBolt
 
sorry, I would have said “this piece” if I meant this piece. didn’t think it necessary to link to that one again.
 
thank goodness I can’t fix the problem by editing the post.

@Cirrus Light  
That could have been more clear.

@LightningBolt  
I think he’s talking about the pic I linked in the comment he’s replying to.

@redweasel  
That’s not Fluttershy.

@Cirrus Light
 
well, notice how that piece draws the grass in long, horizontal stripes of color. that’s because the eye can’t see the boundary between adjacent blades, so ironically a plant that only goes up and down looks better when drawn in strokes from side to side. there are sparse up and down strokes, but they only denote the upper edge of grasses, and are deliberately inconsistent, only a hint for our eyes.
 
also notice that when there is a “pattern fill” sort of effect, like the underbrush behind fluttershy lit up by the fireflies, it’s a very small area, and forms a well defined shape overall. that’s because we’ll see a complex texture not as the tiny shapes it’s actually made of, but as the larger shape that delineates its edge. our eyes don’t pick up on it in the center of larger areas, and it looks weird if the artist doesn’t draw it solid.
 
how “deep” you go from the edge is somewhat subjective, but it definitely looks better when large homogenous areas are only detailed on the edges.

@redweasel  
Thanks!
 
Grass has always been my arch-nemesis… I thought I basically did what other good pieces do, though.
 
Take this for example >>1250680
 
I think mine’s too regular, though?

vector proportions don’t really seem to be the problem to me. it’s just a slightly messed up perspective. her muzzle is too foreshortened (hind-shortened?) so it looks like it’s squashed against her face. also the tip of her far ear should probably be slightly visible to our left of the near ear. it’s simply difficult to draw perspective of someone facing away from the camera.
 
only other real issue is the edges of areas should be more detailed than the middle, because that’s how our eyes work, so it looks weird if all the blades of grass are drawn, rather than vague shapes they smoosh together into.
 
that sky and ocean are drop dead gorgeous.

@redweasel  
I’ve seen it, thankfully, thanks to a trip to Yellowstone. Fantastic stuff.

@Cirrus Light
 
I still have yet to see the milky way because of street lights.

@Masy1  
Yeah. It’s really sad and disconcerting how much people are unaware of what’s literally in the sky.
 
I mean, we think people of the past were stupid, but I’m not so sure the modern person knows more, as much as they think they know more…
 
I mean, people who spent a lot more time outside might notice more often, for example, that the moon can be out during the day.

@Cirrus Light  
Oh. Well you learn something new every day.

@Masy1  
Oh no, watch for the moon in the sky. It can be anywhere on the elliptic - so, in other words, as close to the sun as it likes. How else would eclipses happen?
 
Its phase is directly related to its angle, though. The bright side is in day, reflecting sunlight, and the dark side is on the night side. Thus the crescent moon is always close to the sun, and full moon is always opposite.

@Cirrus Light yeah based on reality. I guess it just looks weird to me. Everything else looks great though.

@Masy1  
You mean based on reality or Equestria?

I really like it. It looks beautiful. Only problem I think is that the moon is way too close to the sun. The moon would be on the other side of the sky.