Help Rhain learn to draw! pwetty pweez?

[Princess Lintsalot 73]

I've been doodling a lot in my spare time(read: during my boring classes), and guess what I've been drawing. Ponies, of course! I still haven't found myself able to find some good colored pencils, so I'm sticking with my trusty old #2 and a messed-up eraser that doesn't erase properly

Anyway, I'd love to see some praise at how fabulously awesome I am criticism/comments. What did you like? What did you loathe? I already know that my drawing skills leave much to be desired, so I'm trying to improve here

 

Note: I haven't gotten into any sort of shading yet; anything resembling it is probably due to my smudgy eraser(I hope you're reading this eraser, because I'm coming for you next. I know where you live...)

[zDashiez 496]

Umm, may I suggest learning the pony anatomy. Because everything is outta praportion, the bodies are pretty outta shape, one looks like a box and the other two remind me Of a submarine and the legs look like wooden posts. Although the heads are pretty decent.

 

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/01/pony-drawing-guides.html?m=1 guide for pony anatomy.

[CloudFyre 848]

They're not bad for a first try. I'm not an artist really, but I do know that people on DeviantArt have posted TONS of examples/pony tutorials you could look up. It has everything from shading, body size, manes, and more.

[Pix3M 607]

I would not recommend tutorials for drawing ponies as it's not a good approach unless you want your own style of drawing ponies. If you want results that most resemble the actual show, get a picture of a pony in a fun pose and copy that by eye. Using help lines will in the end still make you draw what you think a pony looks like.

[Taco Horse 116]

Use a reference picture I had a hard time drawing propotions right (I still do sometimes) when I first started drawing fan art. After that it's just practice, practice, practice.

[CloudFyre 848]

I would not recommend tutorials for drawing ponies as it's not a good approach unless you want your own style of drawing ponies. If you want results that most resemble the actual show, get a picture of a pony in a fun pose and copy that by eye. Using help lines will in the end still make you draw what you think a pony looks like.

 

Not sure which tutorials you're talking about...but there are some great resources out there. There are plenty of tutorials that show you how to replicate a character from the show in exact detail, breaking the drawing process down into manageable pieces. It gives you a good foundation of where to start, if nothing else.

 

*Edit:

 

After that it's just practice, practice, practice.

 

This.

Edited November 8, 2012 by CloudFyre

[Pix3M 607]

Not sure which tutorials you're talking about...but there are some great resources out there. There are plenty of tutorials that show you how to replicate a character from the show in exact detail, breaking the drawing process down into manageable pieces. It gives you a good foundation of where to start, if nothing else.

 

I don't remember seeing a tut that replicates in exact detail but instead close enough to pass off as decent, not for ponies yet at least. Surprise me with something?

[CloudFyre 848]

For a scattergun approach that covers everything (not precisely), *Rathiain has a fast drawing guide: http://oracion666.de...al-V2-256073190

 

If you want to get more in depth, ~Srskandy has a good five part tutorial that covers most everything that a beginner could want: http://srskandy.devi...t-1-5-265475852

 

Inkwell-Pony has a good image on precise pony height (I believe he told me that he used Twilight as his base): http://inkwell-pony....lery/?offset=72

 

A very short (not DA) image about body structure: http://arch.413chan....8445298404).png

 

You'll never find *everything* in one tutorial, as there's just too much to cover. However, there are quite a few people who cover most everything that you'll need to jump into drawing. (I can't find the example that had first came into my head. There was one specific tutorial where someone used InkScape and literally copied the lines of ponies piece by piece, and you would end up with a precise copy of whoever you started with. Now I'm not going to be able to sleep until I find it.)

Edited November 8, 2012 by CloudFyre

[duckishponyish 8]

well the eyes are pretty good,the mane is a little thick,and the bodies are a little wobbly if you want to draw better just PRACTICEPRACTICEPRACTICE i learned how to draw anime from watching anime andddddd practicing

[iLegovideo 152]

It's a good start! Now, add color And make it prettyful by digitally scanning it and then use photoshop or the photoshop-equivalent program (What I use) to make it look good!

[Pix3M 607]

For a scattergun approach that covers everything (not precisely), *Rathiain has a fast drawing guide: http://oracion666.de...al-V2-256073190

Not exactly accurate. They don't explain proportions at all and it shows when their mare nose examples are exaggerated in size. Its example drawing with the red pony with goggles also has log-shaped legs. Show-style, I am certain, has legs that start thin from the chest and flares out in width at the hoof.

 

If you want to get more in depth, ~Srskandy has a good five part tutorial that covers most everything that a beginner could want: http://srskandy.devi...t-1-5-265475852

Huh... what a head scratcher. On the example this artist have for the lower body, the front legs are short and are bent too far back so our pony does not appear properly balanced. What it looks like is there being an imaginary force holding our pony from the chest and the pony is holding their front legs back.

 

The artist also doesn't really show much understanding of the underlying bone structure which is stylized from real horses. Pony front legs are analogous to our own arms - their 'forearm' is much shorter, their 'lower arm' and 'wrist' are much longer, and the last joint is basically one fat finger with a giant fingernail. It shows when their front leg examples only show one major joint analogous to our wrist while the first joint analogous to our elbow is missing.

 

Inkwell-Pony has a good image on precise pony height (I believe he told me that he used Twilight as his base): http://inkwell-pony....lery/?offset=72

There's something about that that feels a bit off, but once I get off this comp on another machine more suitable for work, I can see for myself how accurate this is.

 

A very short (not DA) image about body structure: http://arch.413chan....8445298404).png

The back legs on this one looks very off balance. I believe any useful drawing tutorial has to cover proper balance of a figure so it does not appear a figure is tipped over. The largest section of the back leg is slanted forward too far. Show-style ponies have that same section completely vertical when standing. Look at the bottom of the tutorial - it's clearly not a guide to drawing them totally show-accurate but just a rough guide to getting something close enough.

 

I'll still stand by my point that guideline ideas offered in so many tuts can help, but they're not the best approach if you want something totally show accurate as even the writers of the tut don't really reach that ideal.

[CloudFyre 848]

(Wall of text.)

 

Umm...thanks? I think?

 

I already said that there isn't a single tutorial that covers everything...these were simply meant to help anyone who's curious. We're talking about drawing recreational cartoon ponies here, not a multi-million dollar Mona Lisa. If you're really that concerned about whether these tutorials are up to par, I'll put in a word to one of the animators for ya'. XD

 

Rhain, it appears that we've derailed your thread ever so slightly. My apologies. Hopefully one of those links will help in some way.

Edited November 9, 2012 by CloudFyre

[ponywise 78]

(cleaning up old posts! ignore please. )

Edited September 3, 2016 by ponywise

[Naphthol 7]

you mentioned difficulty finding coloured pencils, as well as having a bad eraser.

 

for coloured pencils, I'd recommend you look for col-erase brand pencils. They're erasable unlike most out there. They have a more 'waxy' feel to them when you draw, which can be good, and bad depending on how you look at it. They should be available at any art store.

 

For an eraser, nothing is better than a big white eraser. avoid the pink kind like the plague. some people like the squishy shapless kind, though i find they're better suited to larger illustration with a pencil, or charcoal.

[Princess Lintsalot 73]

Thanks for all the feedback, both positive and negative.

 

Well, I suppose I'll give another short status update:

First of all, I'm gonna say that I feel stupid. I've had art classes at school before. I know that reference images are really important, so that you know what you're drawing. I, naturally, completely forgot all of that.

As for supplies, I've also managed to salvage a package of colored pencils that my bro wanted to throw away. they're pretty standard fare, a Crayola 24-color package. Sadly not erasable, but I'm looking around. My eraser situation remains relatively dire, though. I keep forgetting to stop by the writing supplies store, and I blame myself for that.

Anyway, let's show how far, comparatively, I've come. I haven't had so much time recently to just sit down and sketch, but I've managed to draw one more that wasn't too smudged to decipher.

 

Again, I'd like comments/criticism- I can take it if you say my drawings are crap

[duckishponyish 8]

well its really good you have improved though for materials i recomend kneaded erasers instead of THOSE PINK ERASERS! though the back legs are at diffrent heights and the lines should be darker you should probably incorporate shading in your drawing it would make it look more "intresting" and the eyes could be more "shinier" by darkning the pupil and ading some shine around it..~duckish out

[Princess Lintsalot 73]

Well, yet another update! I'm too hyperactive to focus on one thing for too long, but I've turned my attentions back to sketching for now. I still don't have a good eraser. Sorry to everyone who bugged me. I swear, I'm heading to Karlsruhe to buy some on Thursday. For now, I have another drawing. No shading yet, but I honestly have no idea where to start on that. Anyone post a good guide, maybe?

 

This time, I chose a slightly more interesting pose, so please tell me how it turned out, as usual!

[Naphthol 7]

Here's a quick guide. What it boils down to is just building up a familiarity with how shadows cast themselves on basic objects. Extrapolating that on to more complex objects by seeing them composed of these building blocks. As time goes on and you practice more, your familiarity will grow.

 

nice sense of movement in that recent picture by the way.

 

Edited November 22, 2012 by Naphthol

[WolfEdge 75]

For a scattergun approach that covers everything (not precisely), *Rathiain has a fast drawing guide: http://arch.413chan....8445298404).png

 

You'll never find *everything* in one tutorial, as there's just too much to cover. However, there are quite a few people who cover most everything that you'll need to jump into drawing. (I can't find the example that had first came into my head. There was one specific tutorial where someone used InkScape and literally copied the lines of ponies piece by piece, and you would end up with a precise copy of whoever you started with. Now I'm not going to be able to sleep until I find it.)

 

I thank you immensely for posting the links. Seriously, those should be extremely useful for perfecting some of the finer details. I.E., eyes. XD