Hey everybody, it's Phoe again. Congratulations to all of you on making it to the end of another installment of the Newbie Artist Training Grounds. Some of you came into this brand new. A lot of you I recognize from past events. All of you did fantastic work, despite all of the time crunches, despite the lack of warning on our part, and despite a lack of fancy prizes. Whether you submitted for all fifteen days, or for a few of them, or even if today was your very first submission, I want you to know that I'm extremely proud of you. Being willing to commit to trying art or improving at it in a public venue takes extreme courage, and you all deserve more praise and hugs than I could ever possibly give to you. You've done well. You've done so well. Congratulations!
As the NATG packs up its tents and steals off into the desert, you've given us a wonderful gift of one final gallery revisiting all of your past work. Our submission total for tonight hit 133 images, for a grand event total of 2853 ponies and pony accessories. Think about that for a minute. You could fill multiple art books with nothing but the work from this event.
I want to take this time to give a very special thank you to Calpain, who has always done his best to help me run this event when it gets too tough for one little pony to handle, but was especially instrumental in making this edition happen. He's done a stupendous job stewarding the Training Grounds this summer and without his hard work and energy, none of this would have even happened. Please take an extra second or two out of your days to give him a thank you, because he's the one who brought us all together this time.
Of course, every journey has to come to an end eventually, and this one is no exception. As fun as getting prompts every night can be, what we do here is pretty limited in scope and after a while all we'd do is hold you back. I hope with all of my heart that you've learned that you have what it takes to master art, and I hope that each and every one of you keeps at it beyond the boundaries of the NATG. Earlier today, somebody told me not everyone can be an artist. That is absolutely untrue. There are only two things you need to be a great artist: a desire to improve, and a willingness to try. If you've got these things in you (and I know you do), then somewhere down this long and winding path, you're going to find success. On that day, turn around and look behind you. You'll never believe just how far you'll have come!
Now, for one last time, let's dip below the page break and enjoy all of your wonderful artwork:
