Yep, I'm bringing the SkyPainters headcanon back to life! I'm going to try to be more active with their story and how they work if anyone wants to join later on!

But on to the art part of this chapter...

(March 28, 2017) If anyone remembers Sky Painter, the one who started this all, this little squishy pony is a possible revamp of her old design! There's still a lot more development that needs to be done before I can say for sure that this will be the same basic character.

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(March 28, 2017) And this precious little mare is a new addition to the family!! I'm not entirely sure if I like this specific design for her character though, and I might end up giving this one away. Would anyone be interested if I did happen to go for a different design?

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There's just both of the squishes together!

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Now then, to those of you who are new, I will explain the SkyPainters concept to you (and if you've already heard it, this will just be a refresher)!

In Equestria, just how the seasons are changed manually by ponies and the weather is brought in by Pegasi, the colors of the very sky are created by a rare group of Pegasi known as the SkyPainters. Though they are a very small group, they are also vital to the civilians of Equestria. The SkyPainters custom was started a thousand years ago by Celestia, who requested help after the banishment of her sister, being too worn out from raising and lowering the sun and moon to color the skies herself. For each different time of day, there is a different sector of SkyPainters that specialize in perfecting the gradient of the sky to match that time; for instance, the Dawn Sector is responsible for painting pinks, oranges, and purples in the sky in the early morning.

Each Sector is led by a single mare or stallion who was hereditarily chosen for the job - therefore, the Sector Heads are always related to the original Head of their team from when the tradition was first started. It is the Head Pegasus's job to train their own child to then take on their role as the leader of their Sector.

To do such, the SkyPainters use an incredibly rare sort of Pigment that gives the sky and the clouds their color, and that is made specific to each and every individual Painter (but that will be explained later). These Pigments are created in the form of powder by the SkyPaint Crafters in a special facility, and only they know the techniques to perfecting the Pigments. Then, when the Pigments are given to their assigned SkyPainter, that Pegasus uses a special pouch with very soft, delicate material that protects the Pigments until they are used. These pouches are worn only while a Painter is at work, on a belt around the pony's body, and they are engraved with that pony's cutie mark.

Now you may be wondering why these Pegasi are so uncommon - this is because a Pegasus can only become a SkyPainter if they have a family member who is in a Painting Sector, or if they have a very close friend in a Sector. This is because the SkyPainting techniques are kept incredibly guarded by those Pegasi in the group, and a foal can only be taught those techniques by an expert. In addition, not every foal in a family with a Painter will have a talent in the craft.

Once a foal discovers that they show a talent in SkyPainting, they go through a sort of 'induction ceremony'. That Pegasus earns the stripes in their mane, their gradient wings, and the speckles on their coat (so therefore, the pony has a solid colored mane and coat before earning their Cutie Mark). These confirm that the foal has officially joined the SkyPainting Flock.

After they earn their stripes, the foal is given their special Pigments, the colors in the palette specific to their personality and the time of day they are most talented at Painting. In addition, the colored speckles on the SkyPainter always match the color of their Pigments, and the speckles glitter while the Pegasus is at work.

//Shoutout to Dippitii for helping me with ideas for this headcanon//

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And I think that's everything you need to know about the Painters!! Now before you bombard me with your requests to have your own SkyPainter, I'm going to have to stop you. This being a rare species, and an idea I happen to be generally proud of, I'm restricting access to the group. Therefore, I am only letting certain mutuals in, and that will only be if they want to join at all. I'm sorry if this displeases anyone, but you have to respect my wishes.

And another note added to that - I know you might like this idea a lot, but I'm going to have to ask you NOT to go design your own SkyPainter just because you want to, or design your own species or character very similar to this one. That would be theft, and I strongly dislike having ideas or artwork stolen.

But to those of you who know you're interested and you think we're mutuals, just let me know if you'd like to make a SkyPainter and I'll maybe give you my permission!!