My first ever work (sketch)

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

I would like some opinions on my first ever and i do mean ever sketch of one of My OC's. I know it's poor quality but id like peoples opinion how i can improve or weather my style is ok.

Refenerance:

Me (took me roughly 10 mins or so wanted to test my skills i guess):

[DashYoshi 9,565]

I think it's a nice sketch of your OC there. The legs might need to be a bit thicker and the body, tail, and muzzle shape to be worked on a bit more, but overall it's a good attempt.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

I was thinking that i need more practice and supplies come to think of it but cheers

[Hazy Skies 1,010]

 

It's pretty good for a first sketch :grin2: The best advice I can give is the following:

- The best thing to do is to study the style of MLP ponies

- Make sure you understand about proportioning..

- It's best to start with drawing the head first, as it helps to determine how big everything else needs to be..

- Start with light short stokes for make a smooth guide, then as soon as you have a shape you're happy with. make then strokes thicker

- Light drawing is easy to erase without smudging.. I find 2B pencils to work best (Specifically of the Faber-Castell brand )

- Avoid making sharp corners, the main sharp corners that are used in MLP designs are with the hair, like the pointy parts of Rainbow Dash's mane as an example..

 

As for your sketch in particular, there are only 3 main things that need work on..

- The body is a little too long.. as a general rule, bodies should never be longer than 2 head sizes long..

- The legs are should be twice the thickness.. Also, make sure the back legs are behind the body

 

Other than that everything is fine Hope this helped ⁿ-ⁿ

Edited November 20, 2015 by AURAequine

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

Cheers for the information

[Bojo 1,372]

AURAequine told you about every single tip I could've given you. At the end of the day, you will want to practice, practice and do more practice! 

[Snake 516]

Practice makes perfect! I suck at bodies myself, those proportions are just so.. WEIRD. pony anatomy is difficult, I recommend carefully studying the way ponies look as you're trying to draw, even if that means just copying what you're looking at. It helps get the proportions down.

(Especially for somebody like me who is used to drawing more realistically.)

(Cute OC btw! I'm not totally fond of the gradient but that's a personal thing~)

[SoundRez 46]

As others have said already, practice makes perfect.  What I always recommend to others is to study other styles by copying pictures (just don't post them and claim them as your own of course).  Take a picture from the show and trace over it, then try drawing the same picture freehand (as in not copying it).  This allows you to see the differences between your picture and the official work.  This helps in learning anatomy, how limbs are shaped out, placement of features on the face, etc.

 

Another good habit to get into is blocking out your character.  Draw the character as shapes first; a circle for the head, a somewhat bean shape for the body, and so on.  Do this step VERY lightly, that way you can sketch over it and actually add in details.  It's normal for an artist to have 2 or more layers just for sketches; each layer adding in more minute details.  I tend to use 2-3 layers for it and I've found that doing a rougher layer first makes sketching poses a lot faster.

 

Just keep practicing and studying other works and styles.  You never know what you may accomplish in the future.

[Kenshiro 13,493]

I like your sketch and first of all you need to work on proportion details, rest will follow then '''

[Hazy Skies 1,010]

I was bored so I made this guide thing.. hope this helps

 

 

Image too small to read the text? no problem, here's a higher resolution version -> http://i.imgur.com/u6TldOs.png

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

I was bored so I made this guide thing.. hope this helps

 

 

Image too small to read the text? no problem, here's a higher resolution version -> http://i.imgur.com/u6TldOs.png

cheers mate I will have another go using this and my reference and more than 10 mins wish me luck all will post what happens tomorrow night (for me)

well  had another go a bit sooner than planned this one took me say 15 mins and I took my time and tried to follow AURA's guide thanks again mate and gor for her basic skin this time no armour. 

 

legs still aren't right though

or is this one better for the legs 

[3k932jd22328jdsf 113]

Take your time. I take 30 minutes for sketches at least and there is no time limit. Also it looks like your just new to art in general so just give it time. Your skills and style won't develop overnight. I suggest you spend more time on your art. The longest I've ever spent on one drawing was about 2 weeks but eh that time payed off because thay gyarados was on point imao.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Emerald Meteor

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

cheers will take that into consideration, and I shall keep having a go and maybe I make something I'm proud of eventually.