Latest Neopets News

geode quiggle looks like he lost a slice of his brain

why do their pet day capsule previews always never show the pet wearable people would care about in question

i def think they're pushing the boundaries of what counts as plausible origami and by comparison some of the older designs look less interesting but this quiggle is so cute

So, while I'll admit this is a bit of a reach as it looks nothing like any of the characters from the manga/anime, I think the Geode Scientist is supposed to be a pun on Dr. Stone. And really TNT, we've sunk this far? Instead of making actual Pet Day clothing, even if you just take a theme done by another species (BTW, shameless plug for my "Species Clothing Theme List" on the Neopian Times Writer Forum: https://ntwriters.proboards.com/thread/54558/species-clothing-theme-list), instead you're now making clothes based on lame puns of literature/show titles. Like, if you're out of ideas why not just ask the community what themes they would like to see done via a survey.

Anyway Origami Quiggle is fine, I like the squiggly eyes drawn onto it (though the mouth area isn't looking very papery).

The Quiggle Maractite Coin is interesting because it looks to be depicting a Maractite Quiggle... which doesn't exist yet.

also i think they don't show the pet wearable in the display so that people don't think the outfit is separated items? I think most users know the drill by now but I think that's the general idea, since everything else in the image is separate pieces. Doesn't make a lot of sense though when they design a wizard wearable and an apprentice foreground item that only look good together?

Maractite Coins was one of the coolest pages in the stamp album, the last three coins they've added to it have all been ugly as sin and clumsy as hell. Having these coins on the same page as the older ones really showcases the massive dip in artwork quality. The other coins depict Maraquan pets, not just a poorly pasted layer of the default pose, it's not even altered for perspective. This coin is really low effort awful, much worse than even the Isca, but I guess nowhere near the abomination that is Ancient Seaweed.

@mercy_graves:
I was also thinking that. I initially thought "it's nice, but doesn't it look too complicated for what origami is"? I even typed in "origami frog" in Google and it showed me instructions how to make one which has a springy jump action when you press down & let go. So I then decided to look at all the Origami Neopets by release date:

https://wardrobe.jellyneo.net/rainbow-pool/?pet=&colour=origami&emo=1&show_as=default&sort=3

And, yeah, you can tell there's a MAJOR difference between modern Origami Neopets and the first batch made between 2018-2020. The original batch do look like they're made from one or two pieces of paper while newer ones look like a model/statuette made from many pieces of paper. But, the thing is, despite the complexity, I still think it is considered origami as long as it's only just paper.

WHICH I think is where we get into a small issues with the Origami Quiggle. First, the body stripes definitely should have been drawn on, no way those stripe structures aren't glued onto it. Second, I get they're trying to go for a Tree Frog (likely one of the species from Asia)... BUT by doing so they had to over-complicate it by having the stomach/mouth, hands & feet be a different colored paper where it would have looked like a more natural origami if it was just all green. Not all Colours need to have a reference to a real world animal, some can just look like the Neopet with any interest in it being the design details and/or colors.

If we're going by a loose definition of origami and just any Neopet made from papercraft, it's fine as I said. But it, along with some other recent Origami Neopets, are stretching that definition where maybe renaming the Colour to "Papercraft" would make more sense if they don't want to stick to a more stricter definition of Origami.

@gazzletron:
Yeah, looking at the Maractite Coins Album it does feel they lost the theming of the album. Here's the coins in release order:

https://items.jellyneo.net/search/?sort=3&album=26

It feels like the original idea of the coins is that they're supposed to be lost ancient coins with mysterious maractite symbols scribbled all over them. Later they did add ones depicting objects and Neopet species, but in a way that still made them feel like it was a print on a coin (I imagine they were probably using real like ancient coins from around the world as reference). But starting 2017 (btw, there's a five year gap between the "Maraquan Kau Maractite Coin" (2012) and the "Triangular Maractite Coin" (2017)) they started to do more "quicker" design methods. While they still do the mysterious symbol coins, they also have a Koi coin which uses the Koi stock art like with the Quiggle here, one of a Robot Sloth Clone which makes no sense, same for the Isca one, and worst yet is the "Ancient Seaweed" which is a recolor of the previous "Seaweed Design" coin!

I get the Maractite Coins can be difficult to design because of how complicated they're supposed to be, but you at least need to stick with the aesthetic. And hey, if it is proving to be not much a hassle, you can always hold an Art Contest where you let Neopians design at least one of them (and maybe you can do this for other Album Items, and then other Items).

The Whimsical Wonderer Quiggle Outfit is making me seriously consider getting a quiggle!

I agree with everything said about the Origami art style, and I think some pets should get a revamp at some point *stares at wraith hissi*

Aww, and I was about to say that the only good thing to come out of this pet day is the coin. I think it's cute. I like that it's subtly greenish, although I agree the quiggle doesn't look carved in to match the style of the rest of the coins. It's still cute though.

This is one of the few pet capsules where I don't like anything in it. My quiggle is going to be disappointed.

The whimsical quiggle outfit is adorable too, I guess. Although I dislike outfits that might as well have just been a style token. I prefer ones that leave room for more customizing, such as the ornate lenny outfit.

Anyone else love the origami quiggle? Surprisingly whimsy xD

Sees how the geode costume looks like a brain.

Oh I hate that.

(Genuinely like it when sites manage that level of "Oh NO". So this is not in fact a bad thing.)

For once (or twice, letting aside the last kacheek day), one of my favorite items in the nc capsule is the outfit. The baby companion is lovely and the casting magic too. It's just a pity that it's not wearable by all species.

But, damn, that maractite coin looks TERRIBLE. One of the worst album item they have released to date. It's so poorly made, even considering the fact that maraquan skeith and maractite koi follow a similar standard.
I just hope that, when the page gets completed eventually, they choose a nice coin for the avatar, like the floral, dual tone, large or ancient peophin ones.