How do you Draw?

[PonyEcho 1,610]

OK i'll keep this as simple as i can.

i though it would be a good idea to have a thread were people can show the steps that they take when drawing and i know there are people who can free draw every thing ( lucky sods ) but i think it would be fun to see how people draw because others like myself can look here and have a good idea as to what they need to do to improve.

 

here are the steps i take this is a front shot of a Alicorn but i that took a different approach and drew a pony in uniform saluting

1

simple just some circles and line to get the idea of the shape

2

it starts to take shape and i draw the hat and uniform

3

i rub it all out that way i can make it look neater

4

start to draw all the lines and uniform and make it neat and clean

5

add some little detail and then shade it all out

 

and those are the steps i take other then take a pic on my phone crop it and put it on my computer and then try and fail to make a vector form on incscape

 

 

so now its you turn your better artist then me so you can do a better job and the more artis and newb artist that do this the more ways we can improve

[Devious Detonation 442]

I never used the guide lines. They screwed my drawings, and all those proportion stuff I read about drawing ponies, is just not right for me. I use my mind as a reference(Altho it is not always good) and I actually draw decently(According to the people who like my art )

I might start using references, like everybody already told me to. They said my drawings would get better, but I didn't started drawing with references yet. But from what I've seen, references are good to learn how to draw. I must check that out... -yawn-

 

I usually start by drawing the ear(the easiest part for me to draw) and then go throught the hair, passing to the rest of the head, crossing with the body, draw the left/right legs(Left if the pony is facing right, and vice-versa) and then go all the way to the pony tail, draw it, and then optional wings, and then draw the other legs. Then is just shading and details(eyes and cutie mark and textures) and done :3

I needed to edit this after I read the topic again D:

Edited August 29, 2012 by Devious Detonation

[Ferret Girl 2,642]

I gotta say, i cant use the lines when drawing... I just go at it and draw and erase furiously as I go... It may take me along while but it gets done

[Jokuc 8,174]

When I draw by hand I usually make some very simple guide lines and then I just.. draw hah.

When I draw on the computer I do something pretty odd. I draw something bad and make it better and better with different colors.

I was actually going to show somepony else how I draw some days ago so I made this (bad) drawing

(I named this pony "Ugly" btw since it's ugly x))

[PonyHag1 591]

I usually draw from scratch, not using guidelines. The only time I use references is when I'm drawing an action or fight scene and want it to look good.

[MrFox 44]

Really Sketchy. Like this

 

Not a pony but still it's something. Sometimes I use guide lines sometimes I don't. This isn't really cleaned up but hopefully it gives you an idea.

[000 206]

This is exactly how I draw:

• I get a pencil
• Get a Paper
• Draw a circle
• And then I cry because I know I cant make anything as good as everyone else.
• Then I throw the piece of paper away.

Hope this helps anyone who follows in my footsteps.

 

(wait this isn't right! I made more than 100 words!)

[Ad Foedera Cresco 188]

How I draw, I'd use guidlines, used them once and it worked, but I'd only use those for something that's a serious drawing. I usually free hand my drawings, but look at pictures, shows, edit pictures until the shape of the character and everything is stuck in my head, then I can free draw. I would use guidlines, but I can never get the eye's location right Takes alittle practice like everything else I suppose.

Edited August 29, 2012 by Ad Foedera Cresco

[hana 217]

i draw a base only for the head and eyes, the rest should come along (at human drawing i sometime add a shoulder base)

ill post something later

[Zhooves 843]

Well... First of all, I draw an outline of the head, and then I add some guidelines so that the face MIGHT be adjusted according to that... Other then I outline the body, then maybe one of the front legs, then the hind-legs, then the last leg, then the tail.

I don't use guidelines much, seeing as I can't make much sense out of them... I just draw and adjust til it looks good/ok.

Then I colour, then I shade... Standard stuff, I guess...

Here's the result of such a process... No guidelines n' stuff other than the face~

[Pinkie D Pie 1,036]

I never draw guidelines. I always bear down to hard and can't erase them. So I usually free hand anything I draw, which are usually sketches at school. Maybe I should upload them so you get a feel for how I draw. But it usually involves me erasing everything. Oh and I alwasy start with the head.

[Cookie Feather 490]

I actually made a tutorial/how I draw thing yesterday. D8

Guidelines are meh, because erasing them is a bother~ plus they never erase completely. o n o

[Squeaker101 50]

I'm a complete noob when it comes to drawing, I can't wait to see how this thread develops. I've never tried to draw a pony yet, only cause I'm really new to it. xD

[Planty 1,053]

When i started, i looked up on google a simple pony guide.

 

I then followed it (this http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/009/0/b/kuroi__s_terribly_messy_pony_drawing_guide_by_kuroitsubasatenshi-d4lvdsk.png) and that's how i learned.

 

I used to practice it in school when i was bored, and then i would sit down at home and take a lot of time to get things right. I rub out A LOT and im constantly making revisions.

 

I don't do much thought, im not great and it takes a very long time to draw anything!!!

[Motion Spark 7,807]

I'm pretty much like Mr. Fox, my hand is all crappy and trembing that I end up doing really sketchy lines, so If I grabed a pencil and a piece of paper, when it comes the time to do "clean" smooth lines, I fuck up everything, so that's the reason why I prefer digital drawing.

I start with a really basic skelleton, with basic shapes, mainly circles and lines, after I got I great pose, I start sketching over the skeleton, and erasing if I make a mistake, then when I have something I am confortable with, I create a new layer above, put down the oppacity of the sketch layer, and then just start inking and painting in the new layer.

 

here's an example:

 

SKETCH

 

FINAL PRODUCT

[Tdroid 234]

Well, my drawing process is something like this:

 

1: Come up with the concept of the drawing.

Optional: Find useful reference too look after(when I am going to draw a pose i have never tried before I am likely to use a reference for example)

2: Draw the drawing.

 

Well, this is a very large oversimplification, but I have made it a point from the begining of my drawing days(April 2012) to not be dependent on aiding lines. It takes a while longer to get the really nice drawings(at least I am under that impression), but it is very liberating to not be dependent on extra lines.

Of course, I often redraw the same line many times before i am happy with it because of this.

[MrFox 44]

I'm pretty much like Mr. Fox, my hand is all crappy and trembing that I end up doing really sketchy lines, so If I grabed a pencil and a piece of paper, when it comes the time to do "clean" smooth lines, I fuck up everything, so that's the reason why I prefer digital drawing.

I start with a really basic skelleton, with basic shapes, mainly circles and lines, after I got I great pose, I start sketching over the skeleton, and erasing if I make a mistake, then when I have something I am confortable with, I create a new layer above, put down the oppacity of the sketch layer, and then just start inking and painting in the new layer.

 

here's an example:

 

SKETCH

 

FINAL PRODUCT

 

Yeah, I fuck up everything too. That's partly the reason I go through so many erasers. I'm taking a drawing class right now so hopefully I can correct that but we will see.

[SweetJeans88 408]

gah, what started as a simple "sure ill take pics while i draw!" turned into this monster.

 

 

hopefully it will help someone despite its lack of narration, and frankly poor quality of the photos (cruddy phone.. 1:30 am. )

a synopsis:

 

 

 

coming up with an idea is the hardest part for me. i study a lot of disney's clips, and others' art styles i like, then cobble together these bits and pieces into my style. Looking up reference photos not only gives you inspiration, but you can look back on them to help get the anatomy right as well. I usually doodle the reference pictures, trying to capture the feeling, flow and main muscle groups of a figure. (i.e. a gesture drawing.) this one i went off of memory however, and i generally scan them into the computer to be digitally inked and coloured.

Edited October 24, 2012 by SweetJeans88

[ponywise 78]

(cleaning up old posts! ignore please)

Edited September 3, 2016 by ponywise

[Iudex 1,945]

 

Arwing? Fing awesome!

 

 

When I draw ponies I usually start with the mane, using smooth, curving lines. Then I work my way down to the muzzle (I angle it differently depending on gender) and then draw the ear and the remaining mane.

 

 

I can't draw stuff like you guys do. You draw a bunch of shapes and add on to it, I just draw whatever it is.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

I have a few screenshots I took while I was working kicking around, I'm not the best pony artist but I'm getting there. I haven't shaded this one yet.

[Krystal 1,468]

@@Devious Detonation, that's pretty much exactly how I draw. I also start at the ear and the guide lines screw me up too. I just freehand with the help of references sometimes. I prefer to draw my pictures on a clipboard because that's just what I like and I always keep my pencil sharp, not razor sharp, but nowhere near the edge of the wood. My first sketch is really sketchy because I take short strokes and end up with something like a Slender page . Then I put another paper on top of that one and shine it through the light (since the clipboard is transparent) and just trace with finer lines this time. Then I shade it in with colored pencils. I shade with really light strokes, holding the pencil at the end and just apply multiple layers to make it darker.

[ponywise 78]

(cleaning up old posts! ignore please)

Edited September 3, 2016 by ponywise

[SweetJeans88 408]

@@ponywise, Omigoodness! he is adorable x3 what program do you use? your pen settings look so much like pencil/charcoal marks. i must know! pleeeaassee??? x3

 

and props to you; youre able to keep him in proportion without all the skeleton work. im wretched at it xD im surprised you dont use a line of action tho, unless you can just see it without needing a visual reminder?

[Mr.Brony 570]

so you want to know how i draw. well i rely can't tell you so i made a video of how i draw. and i will be posting it on here for you to see how i draw. and i will show you the tools i ues in my drawings.

 

thies are the tools i use.

 

 

 

this is my video of how i draw.