Let's learn to draw ponies! Sketch this picture! (Current: Pinkie Pie)

[D1SC0RD 987]

WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS

Due to "light-but-heavy-enough-to-make-me-say-yes" demand from a few users, we are rebooting this thread! Starting from the very beginning with a new set of images.

HUGE Thank you to @Accellerant for continuing this thread in my absence.

I see so many posts on here about people drawing for practice, and I like drawing for practice too. And I thought to myself: what if we all practiced together? This thread is a place for us all to hone our pony art skills and improve upon them. I'll post an image and we learn by sketching it! Check out this example to see what I mean:

 

If you really want to get the most of this activity (or if you don't know where to begin), then take the time to look here and/or here for some excellent anatomy explanations and guidelines. My practice thread is an opportunity for you to get a feel for correct pony anatomy in a warm and welcoming environment (as you can tell by our delightful brohoof habits). It takes a lot of time to get ponies right, which is why we are here to practice! And together we will get better. Just you wait and see!
 

 

WE ARE CURRENTLY DRAWING THIS IMAGE:

 

• The sketches for this image can be found starting on page 19

 

THE NEXT IMAGE WILL BE POSTED ON:

Saturday, February 15th

 

To those of you who feel intimidated, keep in mind that no one here is expecting perfection. Do not feel ashamed if you think you're “not up to par” because I promise you, every expert was once a beginner. No one will laugh and everyone will encourage you. Practice is the most effective way of learning, so please practice with us you want to get better at drawing ponies.

I'll be keeping a log of previous references. This is for any new-comers who are uncomfortable with the current image. Please look there for some easier options. And yes, you are allowed to post your sketches of past images. So if you missed the “deadline” or if you're just joining us, feel no hesitation to show us what you've drawn!

 

LINKS TO PONY IMAGES FOR THIS CYCLE

Twilight

Flitter

Applejack

 

 

LINKS TO PONY IMAGES FROM LAST CYCLE

 

Applejack
Twilight Sparkle
Rainbow Dash
Fluttershy
Pinkie Pie
Rarity
Pinkie Pie and Rarity

Lyra and Bon-bon

Filly Twi and Teenage Cadence

Cutie Mark Crusaders

Zecora

Big Mac

Dr. Whooves

Luna

Celestia

Luna No. 2

Cadence

Alicorn Twilight

Nightmare Moon

Snips and Snails

Rarity and Rover

Pinkie Pie, RD and Gilda

Flim and Flam

King Sombra

Discord

Queen Chrysalis

Sunset Shimmer

Crackle

Spike and Cranky Doodle

Derpy and other mail mares

 

REMINDERS

 

 

• No tracing! To draw your pony, please see the resource links and try to use these methods to recreate the pony. This is how you will learn!
• If you do draw an image that you found on your own, please do not post it here. Instead, I suggest the Fan Art section and making your very own thread (there, you can make a "gallery" of sketches and ask for in-depth critiques. has done this excellently as you can see here. You can even make a new topic for each drawing you do (I think that's allowed anyway)!
• You DO NOT need to sketch your ponies digitally. Drawing with a piece of paper and a pencil is totally fine and might even be easier to use
• Your sketch does not need to be perfect and you have no reason to feel ashamed
• This is the MLPforums DA group and it needs some art! Feel free to post your sketches there (I will be doing this with my drawings sometime soon). It'd be really cute if we had a collection!
• Please please check out the resource links and try to apply some techniques to your sketches (Fair warning... this will take some getting used to)

Also, thanks to the lovely @Accellerant for helping me with this thread! Brohoof them forever and always. They also made this cute little guide on how to submit your sketches for those of you who are unsure.

Happy drawing everyone! And sorry for the mega-long first post (believe it or not, I actually shortened it).

Edited February 8, 2014 by D1SC0RD

[Dark Moon 965]

Alright, Dark Moon will play your little game. Always fun to hone my skills. Here is what I got. I'm using the program Art Rage with a bamboo tablet. I hope more people will join in on this.

[Orablanco Account 3,705]

I SHALL PARTICIPATE...tomorrow. Too shleepy to get on this right now.

 

Great idea, though, D1SC0RD. We really need more threads like this.

[Winona the Dog 1,981]

Ok i'm totally going to do this. Nothing better than learning how to draw and getting better at it than doing it with some friends. It's a little late here and I'm sleepy so I'll do mine soon after I wake up.

 

I'm excited for this really.

[Blue Moon 6,336]

Oh my, this is a good idea, but I'm afraid to say that my sketch is well...not exactly the best thing in the word.

 

*wallows in pity and goes to corner of shame.

 

Her body... *cries

 

 

EDIT: I even forgot one of her legs! *cries more

Edited June 9, 2013 by Blue Moon

[skullgal56 160]

haha APPLE JACKKK!!! lol i was bored saw this topic sooo I DREWWW HEERR! lol i need to go to the toilet solo...BYE oh wait...It was pretty hard to draw but i kinda rushed it BYYE! NYA!

[Starlight Sky 374]

Didn't get to any writing this weekend, so I attempted sketching AJ as asked.

 

Felt like my eyes were giving on me, but still turned out alright.

 

 

 

 

Will definitely practice more later   Thanks for starting this thread!

[Valormos 262]

I will be glad to join I think this is a lovely idea I can always use the practice I will have mine posted up on monday 

right now I am way to tired right no and got to do other drawing tomorrow for another brony I cant wait to get started

[Orablanco Account 3,705]

MEH.

 

 

 

 

It turned out okay, I guess. It'd be better if the image was so frigging big, but I guess that's what happens when you don't have adequate software.

 

PHOTOSHOP: I NEED IT.

[Winona the Dog 1,981]

Sketch Version:

 

Colored Version:

 

I finally did mine (please don't make fun of it   ) 

 

I'm not use to doing it digitally but I might do one at some point. This time I did it my pencil. I colored it oo but I took a snapshot without it colored just in case I derped up badly.

 

 

Edit: OMG Mine is so fat!

Edited June 10, 2013 by Lady Rainicorn

[Page.Turner 940]

Holy freeholies! This is a genius idea! :DD Why haven't I seen this thread before!? Oh gosh, where do I start?? With Apple Jack!? Okay... C: I'll draw Apple Jack

[D1SC0RD 987]

You guys are great. I'm so happy that some people are actually joining me! There's 7 participants so far, and I'm feeling pretty fabulous about it.

 

 

 

 

I hope you all keep drawing and learning with me. I plan to keep this going for quite a while!

[Jackleberry 1,920]

Well, um, I suppose I could give this a try, I think this could be fun!

 

 

Not bad in my opinion, it looks so much better than I imagined it would! I used Paint.NET, by the way.

[Blue Moon 6,336]

Ok, I tried again so I wouldn't have to suffer from my horrid beast of a drawing before. So here it is. Hopefully it will compensate for my previous failure. Did I improve at all?

[D1SC0RD 987]

Ok, I tried again so I wouldn't have to suffer from my horrid beast of a drawing before. So here it is. Hopefully it will compensate for my previous failure. Did I improve at all?

Applejackdrawing.png

Yes you did! Your lines are smoother and more connected looking. Makes it look more natural. Head shape is improved as well. You're already getting better!

 

And you've brought up a good point too: If you guys are bored waiting for the next image, you can retry your drawing and see what happens! If you're lucky like Blue Moon, you'll be pleasantly surprised with your 2nd attempt.

 

Edit: And your first drawing was not a "horrid beast". Do not be so hard on yourself! The only way from here is up.

Edited June 10, 2013 by D1SC0RD

[Blue Moon 6,336]

Yes you did! Your lines are smoother and more connected looking. Makes it look more natural. Head shape is improved as well. You're already getting better!

 

And you've brought up a good point too: If you guys are bored waiting for the next image, you can retry your drawing and see what happens! If you're lucky like Blue Moon, you'll be pleasantly surprised with your 2nd attempt.

 

Edit: And your first drawing was not a "horrid beast". Do not be so hard on yourself! The only way from here is up.

Yes. Yes, it was. Who ever heard of a three-legged deformed Applejack?  But thanks for giving it support.

 

 

Thank you for liking my new one. Glad to know I'm improving.

[Edgeworth1001 648]

Do you mind telling me what I would need to upload a hand drawn sketch on to my laptop? I'm not a very good digital artist, to say the least.

[D1SC0RD 987]

Do you mind telling me what I would need to upload a hand drawn sketch on to my laptop? I'm not a very good digital artist, to say the least.

 

Well, if you have a scanner, you could scan the image to get the drawing on your computer. Or easier, you could talk a picture of your sketch using a phone, webcam, camera, etc. Once you have the file saved to your computer, you can upload it here. Are any of those options a possibility for you?

[Orablanco Account 3,705]

Do you mind telling me what I would need to upload a hand drawn sketch on to my laptop? I'm not a very good digital artist, to say the least.

 

If you wanna be fancy and have some money you're dying to spend, buy a scanner.

 

If not, take a picture with your phone in some decent lighting.

[Ashley 2,427]

I want to participate! I find this a bit unfair, as I have to use my touch screen, but oh well. Never again will I draw at midnight.

Edited September 8, 2013 by Ashley

[Quilava 1,290]

I will have to give a go at this later when I get up.

I quite like this concept, and can see it branching out quite far.

 

Image seems easy to do and it has been a while since I tried a sketch.

[Love*Potion 575]

Oh! Oh! I wanna try! I don't have time to sketch right now but I promise I'll come back and post an image of AppleJack. I need the practice and this sounds like it could be very fun! 

[Rocco 567]

Man i love where this is going! Once i get to wrk tonight ima get in on this so i can contribute some and learn some as well! This is goning to be fun on the bun!

[Rainbow Dash Loyalty 1,274]

Great idea! I felt kinda nervous showing my drawings to a lot of people, it's it's sort of a nice feeling to share your art with others ^.^
I'll definitely try to join in on this tomorrow, hopefully if I don't get bombarded with homework >.>

[skullgal56 160]

I love every pony else's Apple Jacks! haha I love seeing other ponies style in drawing and don't say your drawings are bad because their not and every drawing you draw is art haha...even if it looks a little strange. like Piccaso he painted some REALLY! weird stuff but hey he was still considered and artist! haha