How to draw Ponies

[A Joe in the Bush 255]

I've been trying to teach myself how to draw ponies so that I can create my Own OC's, but I can't find any good walkthroughs or step-by-step instructions on line, and I'm horrible at teaching myself how to draw. Does anypony know where I can find instructions on how to draw ponies? For once, google has failed me.

 

(Apologies if this shouldn't be in the fan art section, but I couldn't figure out where else it should go. I'm attempting to make fan art after all.)

[ConcorDisparate 385]

First you need to choose a software. -_-

Then, you must find enough tutorials about this software to be mechanically able to draw ponies (meaning you should stick to tracing from an already done picture before drawing without a base).

 

But before all, you need to choose the software. If you choose to draw with a style like in the show (big colored strokes), I'd recommend using inkscape.

If you don't, I am not documented enough to help you and I recommend to ask directly to the drawers.

Edited April 22, 2015 by ConcorDisparate

[Lucky Lass 528]

Deviant Art has many if you browse for 'MLP tutorial' or 'MLP drawing tutorial'.
Just at a glance the first page has a few walk through tutorials and then there are
more tutorials on specifics. Like, leg anatomy and head/facial expressions.

I would also say to start tradtional with just pencil and paper. You don't need to buy

a software to draw, especially if you are just starting out. Though, if you find and
interest and want to learn digital then you can go through and find what you like best *shrug*

[HaroldGenhi 82]

Is this what you are looking for?

 

 

 

 

[A Joe in the Bush 255]

Deviant Art has many if you browse for 'MLP tutorial' or 'MLP drawing tutorial'.

Just at a glance the first page has a few walk through tutorials and then there are

more tutorials on specifics. Like, leg anatomy and head/facial expressions.

 

I would also say to start tradtional with just pencil and paper. You don't need to buy

a software to draw, especially if you are just starting out. Though, if you find and

interest and want to learn digital then you can go through and find what you like best *shrug*

I am starting with Pencil and paper. I'm not very good wiht technology. And thanks, I'll check out Deviantart.

 

Is this what you are looking for?

 

 

 

Not quite what I was looking for, but very helpful none the less. Right now i can only draw them on all fours, so knowing just how the joints work will be very helpful.

[HaroldGenhi 82]

Other than that, practice makes better because you'll never get perfect. It's a process that took me quite some time to get the hang of and you just learn how things lay. Now this purely depends if you are shooting for your own original style ponies or if you are shooting for show style ponies.

[ThatOneComrade 1,091]

I'd suggest you stay away from the fancy tablet and art programs for a while. When you're starting out, you want to get a hang of the pencil before the pen. Otherwise, what're you gonna do when inspiration strikes you in the middle of lunch and your computer isn't there?

 

When you draw a pony, the first thing you want to do it know what you want. Do you want them standing on their hind legs, or sitting down? Picture it in your head, then begin drawing. Don't be afraid to let your hand take some detours, since the eraser's your best pal. What I typically do, after getting an idea of the stance, is begin with the head and the neck, then go down from there. What HaroldGenhi gave you is a great reference to get the general idea on hooves. There's a link at the bottom of this post for tips on faces.

 

What I did was look at the artists I admire, like Psychoon and SorcerusHorserus (Both are on DA), and tried my best to copy their style. Now I'm not saying to flat-out copy people, because that sucks, but try your best to imitate them until you get the hang of things and can do things on your own. Understand that you're a beginner, and it'll take a lot of time and practice before you get to be as good as others. Understand that's a good thing, because each failure brings you closer to being a better artist.

 

And, no matter what:

 

 

http://whatsapokemon.deviantart.com/art/Drawing-Ponies-with-Whatsapokemon-Heads-371021639

[Yellow Diamond 7,575]

, I moved your topic to Creative Resources. You should be able to get more assistance here.

 

Take care and good luck!

[Groudon 46]

First off, I'd recommend drawing something simple if you have little experience. While I'm not sure how much you have, if you don't have a lot of hours in it yet, drawing fruits or something simple can help you get a good grip of all of it. I would also recommend practice on drawing simple shapes like circles, triangles, ect ect.

 

That's only if you're a true beginner. If you have some experience, then I still suggest revising over the simple things. If you've got a good grasp on the basics, here's a small video that could help you. If you have annotations on, there are links to more specific poses and races. Here you are:

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/z29QFtGYTXo

 

 

 

Try drawing with that guide for a while. Once you think you have the hang of it, keep pushing yourself with more poses, different ponies, and backgrounds. Here are some poses that may also help:

 

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/1e0biQp.jpg

 

 

 

Hope this helps, good luck!

[AmberDust 1,118]

Honestly, step-by-step guides will do you more harm than good.

It you REALLY want to learn, I suggest just looking at drawings/screenshots and copying from them to gain understanding of how the posing and such works. Critically analyse your own work (or have someone else do so) and you'll start improving with each sketch.

[Squidge 18]

Wow. This was actually really helpful now i cant wait to start draw more ponies!!

[Blue Moon 6,341]

If you really want to improve your drawing skill, the best way to learn what be to practice everyday. I'd suggest using screenshots as references and pay attention to how their anatomy works.

 

I'd also suggest using construction lines/guide lines (whatever they're called). Basically, these are those circles and lines you often see in How To Draw books, and they're very useful as they help keep everything in proportion to each other and helps you with creating basic figures from memory. A pony is essentially made up with two circles right next to each other with a circle to the upper right of those two circles, and then, of course, with legs.

 

It looks a little like this:

 

 

 

Anyway, if you practice a lot everyday with each part of the pony, you'll get better overtime. Also, I'd suggest drawing from the shoulder instead of from the wrist, which is what a lot of beginner artists do.

[A Joe in the Bush 255]

Drawing everyday is what I've been doing. I think I'm betting to a moderate skill level. You can tell who the pony is at least.

 

And is it weird that I usually draw them upside down? It just feels more comfortable.

[ThatOneComrade 1,091]

Drawing everyday is what I've been doing. I think I'm betting to a moderate skill level. You can tell who the pony is at least.

 

And is it weird that I usually draw them upside down? It just feels more comfortable.

Not at all! In fact, I think that makes you pretty unique! Imagine being at a con and fans are crowding around you, amazed at your ability to do that. I know I'd be.   You keep up those drawings, and make sure to save a few to look back on later. We believe in you!

[Omar 692]

This video helped me with getting the general idea of how to draw ponies

[A Joe in the Bush 255]

Thank you for the help and support everypony. In return, Here's a few picture I drew that I'm rather proud of.

 

I prefer to draw pictures that I can see, so I've used generalzoi's Pony creator to make most of the ponies I've drawn. The T# on each picture just denotes which picture it is.

 

 

 

This first one is my Ponysona. I haven't decided his name yet.

 

This one is Zaahira, One of my Main OC's.

 

This one is just a sleeping Pony. I didn't have my reference material when drawing this one.

 

These next two are of Hidden Antler, My Main OC. This one is in colour, because I couldn't find my sketchbook, and had to make due with my Whiteboard instead.

 

The lighting on this one is bad, but He's wearing a claok, and carrying a young filly.

 

 

 

[Clover Heart 978]

I do have to say, it takes practice, point blank. I've only ever really attempted to draw humans, ever. So I was very disappointed with myself when I found that I wasn't able to draw ponies very well at all. I still cringe at some of my first attempts. I looked up tutorials and tried to copy what I saw and I still sucked out loud. But recently, I've noticed that as I've practiced, I've gotten a lot better at drawing ponies. Compare this:

 

 

 

To this:

 

 

 

I haven't practiced ponies that consistently, but it did take practice to get to that point.

 

A lot of it is memorizing proportions. One great resource I've found for that, that I still mentally reference to this day, is this one:

https://mlpforums.com/uploads/post_images/img-3691787-2-img-2260905-4-Clipboard01.jpg

 

I feel like this one outlines most of the most important points of drawing ponies and I think it's a great jumping-off point. As you gain more skill, you might want to look up other tutorials to advance, but I think that this keeps it simple for beginners.

 

I'd also study a little bit of horse anatomy. I found that my ponies got better after attempting to draw some real life horses. They were terrible, terrible pictures, but it did help me to realize things about horse anatomy that I hadn't before and helped me to learn to draw better ponies. It's easier to exaggerate reality than it is to realize exaggeration.

 

Hope this helps!

[sunlessskies 0]

As an artist myself, I find it easier to start basic. Take either your drawing software, or a sheet of paper, and just sketch the body. Reference if you need to, trace if you need to. Keep your "development" art private, because some artists dislike you using their art for that. If you are starting out on windows, try Ms paint with bases. t is an easy way to start. Also try tracing images from the show. I found that quite a few step by step guides were confusing, so I would mute audio. If you learn visually do so.

 

Try using styles featured in Speedpaints on youtube instead of guides. Even if the art is sped up, the speed artist reveals more than someone making a tutoral.