I tried drawing ponies. (updated)

[Gigapony 650]

I use a sort-of guideline, if you can call it that. I just use the same basic shapes to create a pony body in the pose I want, then draw over that. So say I was going to draw Wind Shear here:

 

 

I always start with the circle for the head, that sets up my "scale" for how big I'm going to make everything. I add details as I go, and then erase any guidelines, then I put down the darker "final" lines.

 

The good thing about the MLP house style is that it's very systematic. Every pony uses pretty much the same shapes (with the obvious exception of the more unique characters like Celestia, Sombra, et al).

 

Skeletal lines are also an excellent method to use. Personally I don't use them that much just because I'm not used to it, but they do prove very handy when making dynamic poses.

[Agent505 660]

See your drawing there? The back legs on the first drawing, how the very furthest leg can be seen through the closer one? I imagine those lines in, I don't draw them. Maybe I should start drawing them in...

 

I find skeletal lines are useful if you combine them with circles for the head and body, it helps me get the positioning right as I too, start with the head. One of my main problems are "camera" angles. I normally draw from the side on, so you can only see one eye. With my more recent drawings i've tried to change the angles around but it's difficult to envision them, let alone draw them out - any advice for that aside from using references? 

 

And photoshop, doesn't that cost like £80 or something for the full package? Would you say it would be worth buying? 

[Dopey Hooves 90]

I have enjoyed drawing for a long time, but I've never really tried to draw ponies. So I decided to change that.

 

First thing I did was look up an image ot Twilight Sparkle to use as a reference, and I made an attempt to draw her. Here's what happened:

 

 

 

I got lazy and didn't finish her tail.

 

 

Having done that, I felt bold and decided to try freehanding some generic ponies based on what I had just learned. Then this happened:

 

 

 

 

Apologies for the very rough sketches.

 

So I'm going to continue practising and trying to get better at making ponies. My intended goal is to try to get very close to the official style, with a little bit of my own style thrown in for flavour.

 

As this is my first go at drawing ponies, I'm eager to see what you all think, so constructive crits are appreciated and welcomed.

 

Wow. For a first time sketch of a pony. That's amazing. Dude when I made my first pony it look like someone shitted on it 1,000 times. Just saying xD. The structure of Twilight Sparkle is amazing. How did you make them? Just hand drawn or something?

Edited June 19, 2013 by Dopey Hooves

[Your Nightly Spectre 1,061]

I really love this artwork Its so beautiful for the first time. You achieved something that many other brony artists took much time to progress.