I tried drawing ponies. (updated)

[Rainbow Sherbet 36]

Wait... Have you seriously never tried drawing ponies before? Those are AMAZING! 

Ugh, I've been trying to draw ponies for months now... I wouldn't say I'm bad, but I'm not good either. Kind of in between.

 

Keep up the great work!

[♥.:Yulaiyre:.♥ 290]

Wow, these are awesome, if it's not too much trouble, what's your method, if any? I'm always looking to pick up new tips to help my drawing flourish. 

 

They're so close to the show, it's amazing

[Ruddboy Olaf 10,628]

Sorry nothing.

Edited July 23, 2024 by Ruddboy Olaf

[Krys9 456]

 Truly some really amazing work. You got skill in drawing especially since this is your first time (at ponies at least). Keep it up, I look forward to seeing more work from you.

[Princess Periwinkle 3,775]

Thank you, mate! Yes, I love to see that one vectored as well, I wish I was better at it or I'd do it myself. Must start learning that eventually.

 

I'm incredibly flattered that you'd want to write a fanfic about my characters. Nopony's ever done that for me before. I certainly don't mind letting you borrow my OC's if you want to write a fanfic, you'd likely do a much better job at it than I ever could! If you end up starting one, and you have any kind of question on any OC, do feel free to ask me.

 

Yeah once I get a rough draft going I'll send it your way to see what you think. I haven't had the chance to start working on it yet, though, because I've been far to busy preparing a graduation speech for tomorrow. Add on top of that summer classes and a part time job, and yeesh...

[Gigapony 650]

I come bearing ponies.

 

First I will post @'s request of his OC, Professor Neurocrazy (which I'm assuming is his name based on the image you posted, please correct if I'm wrong!). I hope you like!

 

 

 

 

He was a fun one to draw, and also let me have a go at drawing a two-legged pose, which I still need practise on.

 

Next is some more OC fun. Creamsicle and Strawberry Parfait (left and centre) and to the right, a new pony, Prune. I really like the way this sketch turned out, it's one of my favourites so far. Though their proportions came out more short and filly-like than I had intended.

 

 

 

 

Basic profile for Prune: She's kind of a pessimist, but she's a sweetheart and a good friend, and only wants to help. Her predictions of doom never really seem to come true, but somehow she can always find a way to get herself into a silly accident. Enjoys sunbathing but she always falls asleep and gets sunburned.

 

Now, that's enough OC's for a while, I reckon. Next time I'm going to draw some canon ponies for a change. Specifically, some of the Mane 6.

Edited May 27, 2013 by Gigapony

[Gigapony 650]

So I said I'd go back to basics and draw canon ponies next. I went for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. I wasn't feeling particularly creative though, so I opted to just depict a classic scene:

 

 

 

 

These two were harder than I thought they'd be, especially Fluttershy. I must have redone her face at least 10 times. I'm still not really that happy with the way they came out in the end, but it's the best I can do for now.

[Princess Periwinkle 3,775]

I chose almost that exact same pose for my very first mlp drawing (the one in my profile). I might have traced some of it, however.

 

In other news, I'm about to send you a message. >:3

 

Good work, as always!

Edited May 28, 2013 by Sky Chaser

[Thunder Rocker 7]

to say they are a million times better than my drawings would be stupid, as it would still come out as 0% even acceptable. thus, they are a million times better than my brother's drawings, even though he doesnt like or draw ponies. lol. he got all the artistic talent, while i got... being the oldest, i guess? nothing else, really. lol

[Jokuc 8,174]

I must say that all of your drawings looks really good! It's not a "tried" to draw ponies, you draw ponies good! They look awesome

Good job! Though, if I would pick on one little thing it would be the ears, you can try to make their shapes a bit better (I was looking at the older ones)

Edited June 16, 2013 by Jokuc

[Agent505 661]

Well, I give up!  

These are fantastic, i've not clicked the spoiler tag and had my mouth stay closed yet. Incredible pieces. There are a few things i'd do differently, but that's why you're a better drawer than me haha

 

So, can you tell me, what the hell do you use? 

Your lines are so crisp compared to mine, and your images are much cleaner. I assume you use a scanner for that, yes?

[Gigapony 650]

Thank you to all who replied just now! You're all very kind~

 

@@Agent505, thank you! If you don't mind my asking, what would you do different? I'm always curious about new methods that can help me improve!

 

Also, as for what I use, to post them up I do indeed use a scanner. Not the most top-of-the-line piece of kit, mind you, just a simple scanner on my printer. After scanning a drawing I always go into Photoshop and mess with the brightness/contrast/etc to make it cleaner and crisper.

[Agent505 661]

@@Gigapony,

 

Ah! The photoshop! I have yet to acquire such a programme

 

Just a few things i'd do differently that you've probably been told already, your first attempt at drawing the two ponies for example, the back legs on the right pony look much too large to me, and the pony with the chemical tubes (I didn't read all the posts, sorry) the face appears to be coming from two different angles. It seems side on, but at the same time very forward facing. There's nothing exactly wrong with it, it just looks strange to me. Maybe i'm just tired ^^'  

[Beyonder 46]

Wow, just wow. Your attention to detail is surely one to be noted. That G4 style - - - so professional in execution. Looks pretty darn good to me O.o

Edited June 17, 2013 by Beyonder

[AngryUnicorn 163]

._. I wish I could draw like that. I LOVE your art style (very G4-like... not that you haven't heard that before). Your detail is fantastic as well. All the drawings on this topic are just pure awesome. Brohoofs to you, my friend. Brohoofs to you

[Agent505 661]

I'll agree with what's been said several times now, its incredibly well done to the G4 standards, but I can't help but see your own little style in there too, I just can't quite put my finger on it. 

 

How long have you been drawing before you decided to turn to ponies? And what kind of things did you draw before? 

I started out with anime drawings (horrible, horrible anime drawings) and then moved to ponies about half a year ago. I always complain I don't get any better, but when you draw about once a month, what do you expect?  

 

Seriously though, I can always appreciate good line art, and to be honest I find it as impressive, if not more, than vector work. 

Would it be a trouble to ask if you could draw one of my OC's for me? Just to see another persons take on him, would be nice. It's cool if not, so no worries  

[Gigapony 650]

Thank you, mate! I'm happy you said that, because that's exactly what my goal was, to mimic the G4 style very closely, with a small and very subtle hint of my own style.

 

I've been drawing in some shape or form since I was a kid, though the things I drew used to be more random. I went through phases. In my youth I once had a moment when I drew almost exclusively anthro (though at the time I didn't even know about furries, I just found talking animals amusing, lol), then later when I was heavily into Transformers I drew mostly mecha and robots in that style. After that I kinda stopped drawing for a time, then some years ago got into drawing anime, which remained my dominant style until I started with ponies (with the creation of this thread).

 

Though I'm focusing on ponies at the moment while I hone my pone, I still consider anime my "main" style, and I think a little of that does bleed into my ponies a bit.

 

I certainly wouldn't mind drawing your OC. Only thing is it might take awhile, as I've kinda let my requests pile up and I still have to finish them!

Edited June 17, 2013 by Gigapony

[AngryUnicorn 163]

Thank you, mate! I'm happy you said that, because that's exactly what my goal was, to mimic the G4 style very closely, with a small and very subtle hint of my own style.

 

I've been drawing in some shape or form since I was a kid, though the things I drew used to be more random. I went through phases. In my youth I once had a moment when I drew almost exclusively anthro (though at the time I didn't even know about furries, I just found talking animals amusing, lol), then later when I was heavily into Transformers I drew mostly mecha and robots in that style. After that I kinda stopped drawing for a time, then some years ago got into drawing anime, which remained my dominant style until I started with ponies (with the creation of this thread).

 

Though I'm focusing on ponies at the moment while I hone my pone, I still consider anime my "main" style, and I think a little of that does bleed into my ponies a bit.

 

I certainly wouldn't mind drawing your OC. Only thing is it might take awhile, as I've kinda let my requests pile up and I still have to finish them!

 

Ooh ooh! Question time!

How did you learn pony anatomy so well? I've been trying to master (or at least learn how to draw more than the standard profile position) the pony anatomy for a month or two now, but for some reason I just can't understand it >.<

 

Are there any tips you could give me? 

[Agent505 661]

 

 

I certainly wouldn't mind drawing your OC. Only thing is it might take awhile, as I've kinda let my requests pile up and I still have to finish them!

No worries Like I said it's cool if you can't or just don't want to, I don't mind. It'd just be nice to have someone else draw Dusk and see how they interpret him. 

 

 

 

Are there any tips you could give me?

 

 

Also, this. As you can see by my profile pic, I could use some work and I quite like listening to peoples tips and ideas! 

[Gigapony 650]

Ooh ooh! Question time!

How did you learn pony anatomy so well? I've been trying to master (or at least learn how to draw more than the standard profile position) the pony anatomy for a month or two now, but for some reason I just can't understand it >.<

 

Are there any tips you could give me? 

I used a complex series of algorithms to determine the ideal logical pony dimensions, and then I calculated...

 

Wait, never mind, I never did that.

 

It was nothing special, I just grabbed the first pic of Twilight I found on Google, and set to copying it, line for line. I tried to break down the pony shape into simpler shapes to make it easier to "build" the body. So for the head I always start with a circle, then make a neck leading to a jellybean-shaped body, then add details from there based on my references. I used references until I learned the patterns of the style and then I began to freehand them. Though I still sometimes refer back to reference images for more complex poses and expressions.

 

And of course, as Octavia would say, "Practise, practise, practise!"

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

Dang these are very impressive.  Especially the last 2.  

 

Thank you all once again for your words of encouragement! Knowing that people like what I draw really helps me to want to do more and get better.

 

I drew my OC's again, this time introducing a new one, a very mean nurse.

 

 

 

 

Immunisations are very important, but I think she's aiming a little too high.

 

On another note, I really need to start coming up with names for these guys...

I love how angry the nurse looks.  And also you can clearly see the emotions clearly and that is something that I find extremely difficult to do.

[Totally Ducklett 181]

GO TO HASBRO. NOW. SHOW THEM THESE MASTERPIECES. MINDS BLOWN. THIS IS BUCKING AMAZING. I WOULD PAY MONEY TO SEE THESE DRAWING. SERIOUSLY, YOU'RE AWESOME.

[. eris . 1,661]

 

Oh yes, I like this idea. :3

 

Turned out to be quite a challenge as well, this is the most complex pose I've had to do for a pony, and there aren't really any references for it, so I had to be creative. Not perfect, but I'm pleased with it.

 

 

 

 

There his is, flying off into the blue, hoping to impress the fillies with his flying prowess, whilst his best bud cheers him on.

 

As an aside, I didn't notice until now how the generic ponies I put on the bottom ended up looking like Lyra and Applebloom.

 

 

 

Also I decided to play around with designing new ponies. My usual OC's are fun to draw but they're also not very MLP-esque, so I wanted to try making some characters that are closer to the show's spirit.

 

Enter these two. I've named them Creamsicle (left) and Strawberry Parfait (right). They have pretty much no backstory yet though, except for the fact they're meant to run an ice cream shop in Ponyville. Creamsicle is the more excitable and airheaded one while Strawberry is the straight-pony.

 

 

 

 

Please let me know what you think!

 

I LOVE these! You're such an amazing artist! Do you think I could color some of your work? I like messing around in GIMP and this seems the perfect way to do so! If you don't want me to, that's fine too.

[Batbrony 16,055]

Holy cheese, these are some amazing sketches!  Just keep practicing and before long I have no doubt you'll be a fantastic member of the creative brony community!!!  Can't wait to see what you come up with once you get to coloring any of your pieces!!! 

[Agent505 661]

So I have another wonder, after looking through these yet again.

Did you use any guidelines? And if so what kind of guidlines? 

Skeletal? Polygonal? Other?

 

I tend not to use guidelines, having difficulty erasing them afterwards tends to ruin the picture, but now I have started using skeletal guidelines I can see an improvement in my own works. I'm just looking to improve, and wondering what else you might use to assist you in drawing. 

 

Also, how have I only just now gone and brohoofed everything you've drawn?