Unpopular opinions

I got this idea after watching some "unpopular opinion" videos about art from Youtube. I mentioned this to my friend LittleYoungOne and we started thinking about a model horse version of such a list. Here it comes! (And these are indeed opinions, so don't pull a pea field into your nose if you disagree. I know that I write in an aggressive style, but I will not sand corners off from my words just to please others.) 

Rämä the rex rat boy with an ASB filly called Piiru.

Perfect is not realistic and realistic is not perfect. (Alias perfection is overrated.) I have talked about this before, though not so sure if I have published any of that yet. But I stick with this saying, as it's basically my motto.

I feel like the browband is too short...

Another reason why I think perfection is overrated is because ideal setups are rewarded, although the other option could be realistic despite not perfect. I mean, sometimes you see real horse tack being put on sloppily or just weirdly. Things don't always look clean, sometimes it is just messy or half-done. Why is that not okay for a model horse setup, if it still could be seen in full scale? I don't understand. 

(Just a note: I think this perfection vs. realism is a topic which most potentially gets misinterpreted and also the one which most likely makes people angry.)

Drafts and ponies are underrated. LittleYoungOne has felt that drafts have been underrated since her earliest years in the hobby. It can be true. I have noticed how drafts are underrated also in real horse life (which I mostly see through internet, ah irony), to the level that people describe them as "slow, clumsy and incapable". All that only because the draft is not going to help you to get towards your competition success. May I ask, why are people hobbying horses to begin with - to be around horses or just to ride to gain success? 

Limppu with a halter which I made to fit a Stone Percheron. (The halter now lives in USA.)

Showing is overrated. Have I mentioned that I have never done any showing? And that I want to learn to do quality horses and tack just for the sake of having them? Usually when I see people collecting tack or wanting to improve, it seems to be because they want to show. Why? Could you seriously put all that effort only because you want to compete? 

Maybe this is showing, or maybe it is just about posing for a nice photo.

And as Jennifer Buxton has mentioned in some old blogpost ages ago, the community often forgets that there (here) is also a herd of model horse collectors who don't show at all. I am one of them.

Common and basic colors are underrated. Leopard complex, pinto patterns and all kinds of fancy dilutions are really popular, and you see them way more than you could in real life. I personally am a weird horse person in the sense that I could prefer a "boring" color, like any kind of solid bay, over a spotted blanket, tobiano or - aaaaaa! - a frame overo. Seriously, people should study the base colors further... There's way more to see and paint than you could think. I recently colored a lineart and used a photo of a chestnut horse as my palette. I don't remember the exact number, but maybe I used seven or more shades and tones for the body and legs only, and then some more for mane and tail, then don't even make me talk about skin, eyes and hooves. That is your average 'solid' chestnut horse. 

The said solid chestnut.

Non-smiling dolls are underrated. I am biased with these, so believe me. Plus I am a pessimist myself, so overly happy and smiley people just annoy me. But the real reason to why I listed this, is because I don't see many Barbie-smiling riders in photos of real riding. Some kinds of confused or grumpy expressions could be way more accurate most of the time, especially for scenes where there is more action. And isn't a grumpy face often a sign that the rider is focusing on their riding, which should be a good thing...?

Little Damage focusing on a horse who is not his.

Non-teamworking (performance) horses are underrated. I don't even know where to begin in this... People can see a misbehaving model horse, for example a bucker or just... not moving perfectly. They think it's not correct or that it will not be successful in shows. To me, those are what gain my interest more than anything - it's the dynamics! And seriously, real horses misbehave, and that gets recorded in videos and photos all the time. Even at the big levels. As I have mentioned, perfect is not realistic and realistic is not perfect. The first thing I ever learned about this hobby is... the need for realism. One more motto: If it's possible in real life, then it is possible in model life. 

I didn't find any useable photos with imperfect horses, so have some pretty trot instead.

Vintage molds are sometimes more realistic than newer molds. This I have noticed accidentally... The oldies may be less flashy, less shiny, less muscular, less detailed, less colorful. But they are more authentic in many ways. They look actually real, unlike all those flashy show horses with balloon muscles and all that shine. (This was exaggeration.)

Ludi being ridden by Silly Silli, the only human in my modelverse. (Thanks to LittleYoungOne for getting Silli to me! He is one of my studio mascots these days.)

Plain tack is underrated. It's great that people want to reach higher levels and challenge themselves with more detail and decoration, but... Where are all the generic stable halters these days? Non-decorated bridle browbands? Flat, non-decorated bridle nosebands? Why is everything so flashy and fancy, like fashion? Simpliness to the clouds! Or wait what... I focus on tack which is more or less just functional but not exactly cool to look at. Or then the coolness comes from the proper function and clean seams and such. Basics. 

A very basic halter where the leather got sanded.

Okay, I eat some of my words now, because I personally try to challenge myself with complex tack exactly because if I didn't, then it could become uninteresting (and this has happened, with halters). But I still mean what I wondered in those tack questions.

What could you like to read next time?