Unikane. Coach Qnicorn. Henrik Lundqasus.
Mashing up Chicago's rough and tumble Blackhawks roster and the world of My Little Pony doesn't seem to be a likely mix. But in the brain of Ali Lawrence, 28, of Elmwood Park it is, and her illustrations of the Hawks as cute little mythical creatures has caught quite the following.
"When you take something that's perceived in certain way and spin it on its head, it gets people thinking about it in a new light,"she said of My Little Blackhawk, a Tumblr blog dedicated to her drawings of Hawks players and events in the style of the popular reincarnation of the Pony series.
The idea was sparked when Lawrence -- an avid Hawks fan -- took to Twitter with some friends to talk about Patrick Kane's post Cup celebration, where he donned a unicorn mask in a nightclub.
"We were joking that Kane must be a serious Brony," she said. For the uninitiated, Lawrence explained, a Brony is a subset of the My Little Pony fan base made up of adult men that have built a serious dedication for the franchise, going as far as hosting conventions.
From there, the graphic designer mocked up a few rough sketches. When they picked up quickly on Twitter and made their way to Tumblr, she created her own blog in early July, with almost daily updates of pony drawings of players and iconic scenes from the playoff run.
"I try to go into a lot of detail with them," she said. "Each pony has a 'cutie mark' on their back leg. Each one is supposed to represent their personality. Seabrook has a nacho (for his reputation of loving nachos). Kane has a beer bottle with a hockey stick. Each is drawn with their specific playoff beards."
The drawings have gradually built a following, with hundreds of comments and shares on the social blogging platform for each new update. Lawrence is in the process of working with printers to sell the drawings to Hawks and Pony fans alike, and she said she may even consider branching out into other Chicago sports.
"If there's a demand for it, I could see a Bulls pony or a Cutler unicorn," she said.
Up next, Lawrence plans to hit the Blackhawks Convention this weekend, though she's still a little wary of showing her work to her favorite players.
"It's one of those things I am debating," she said. "I am kind of nervous about showing them to a player and saying 'Hey, I drew you as a pony.'"
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