Rainbow Dash Energy Spirals

Vision/Originality: I can see what you were going for with this. A showcase of RD at full concentration, building up speed and gathering an aura of energy (the impression I'm given by the spiral). Definitely something worth trying to do, since most ideas with RD end up with her doing something arrogant or irritatingly cocky that doesn't exactly endear the viewer to the final piece. This is a bit more refreshing in the sense that you actually tried to showcase one of her more positive aspects and a critical moment for her. Still, this isn't exactly something that hasn't been done before. I've seen quite a few other artists try to capture RD just before the final stages of her sonic rainboom. I'm not accusing you of trying to milk a popular genre, but to me, I've seen so many of these kinds of wallpapers that seeing another one feels a bit like beating a dead horse (no dark pun intended).

Technique: A bit conflicted on this one. What sticks out to me as impressive is the spiral technique that you infused into this piece. The ebb and flow of the particles around it gives an impression of constant chaotic movement charging up to something massive. The fact that the spiral is surrounding RD suggests that despite the chaotic tendencies of the charging power, it's still focusing on her in order to ensure that she gets the full benefit of it's release. Where the piece loses some of it's luster is in the flat colors and overuse of blue. I know that RD's primary color is blue, but the sharp change in tone from left to right is a bit jarring to the eye. the fact that her primary color scheme is in the middle and taking up so much space doesn't help it to look less warped. As it is know, it looks like the middle of her body was stretched across the screen. I can see that there are some light lines at the end of the stretch, but I feel that this only exaggerates the problem rather than understate it. The piece would have benefited from some more shading and subtle changes in tone to the color. Also, seeing two marks on the same screen, one with a spiral and one without, is rather conflicting to the mind, since the eye doesn't know which one to look at or how to put the effect of the piece together as well.

Impact: This is where I consider it to be more a matter of personal taste than anything else. Opinion comes into play quite strongly here. For me, this isn't exactly a piece that I'm going to be remembering far down the line or that leaves me sufficiently awestruck to consider using it as a wallpaper. I am very picky about what wallpapers I'll use though. Still, this looks like something that had a lot of work put into it, and I have to respect that.

Overall: A respectable piece that doesn't quite nail it. It feels like it could have used a few extra features to really pop out and do something that makes it unique to the genre rather than be "just another RD wallpaper". However, even with it's flaws and lack of polish, it succeeds where many other wallpapers fail: it brings a different approach to a familiar idea and plays to the strengths of the character rather than exaggerating the negative attributes. For that alone, I feel that this piece is commendable.