My first serious pony artwork, free-hand

[Doz2nd 294]

I've been trying to find out what I did wrong with Big Mac's leg positions.

 

[Flutter_Guy_Dash 35]

That's great! When I try to draw, I personally have problems with leg positions also Keep up your work!

[inactive lol get mem 123]

This is great! I don't really mind the leg position. It's... it's

 

[Doz2nd 294]

Thanks for the nice comments. This one I made a few weeks ago, nowadays I usually get the legs right.

[Carbon Maestro 1,003]

Looks great! Keep practicing.

[Sir Wulfington 276]

I've been trying to find out what I did wrong with Big Mac's leg positions.

 

If you want to figure out what you've done wrong, anatomically speaking, look at an actual horse's physical structure. Pay attention to placement of everything, such as the legs. Looking at the picture in a mirror should also help, trust me, mirrors don't lie. There's definitely more wrong than just anatomy but let's take it one step at a time.

Edited May 31, 2014 by Sir Wulfington

[Doz2nd 294]

If you want to figure out what you've done wrong, anatomically speaking, look at an actual horse's physical structure. Pay attention to placement of everything, such as the legs. Looking at the picture in a mirror should also help, trust me, mirrors don't lie. There's definitely more wrong than just anatomy but let's take it one step at a time.

 

Nice to see some constructive critique. I looked at the drawing in a mirror and you're right, it does reveal a few things. Thanks for the tip.

[Sir Wulfington 276]

Nice to see some constructive critique. I looked at the drawing in a mirror and you're right, it does reveal a few things. Thanks for the tip.

 

It's interesting how a mirror can show us what the eye cannot see, tho you should be able to tell when something is off from a normal perspective, the mirror just points a giant neon-flashing arrow at it. Sometimes it's very subtle tho, but I believe you can get to a point where you can spot even the most subtle of flaws without a mirror, tho, I suggest always using one anyway just to be safe.

 

As for other advice, I'll just copypaste what I said to another poster here earlier:

 

if you're trying to draw show ponies, study real life horse anatomy, go to google and look up images of how horses look (how they're eyes shape on their faces, their legs, body design, etc.), because, believe it or not, the show ponies are VERY accurate to how real horses are design. But don't try to draw them to look like realistic horses (unless you wanna do that, than go for it), study both the show's style, and actual real life horses to get an idea for how to draw the characters in poses and angles that you can't find from show screenshots.

 

Also use 3d models fans have created so that you can understand how they really look at different angles (the eyes confused the fuck out of me till I saw this: http://mistersnowleo...ose-0-212151789 )

 

Next, look up lighting and shading guides, and study them so that you understand how light and shadow affect objects, and how they effect DIFFERENT objects DIFFERENTLY (like metal looks different affect by light than skin). Due to the fact that it's a simplistic cartoon, for the clothing and skin, the light will look the same. Metal should have it's own look for lighting. Hair can either be the same as skin and clothes, or different depending on the style. The purpose of light and shadow is to give DEPTH to your subject, so it doesn't look flat. And even if it's a cartoon, you don't want it looking like it's 1 dimensional (unless you're drawing a 1 dimensional subject, but even then, it has to be done in a way that makes it look right instead of poorly drawn)

 

Next is the idea itself, the pose, angle, expression, background (if any), etc. You want to make sure your subject (the main focus of your drawing) is placed properly on the page, and takes up enough of it so it looks like it's about THEM and not whatever else is in the picture. Too much dead space looks bad, trust me. Center the subject if there is no background. Pic an angle, pose and expression combination that doesn't look awkward, I suggest you go for more dynamic poses (google that for more info), one way I've learned is to have different parts of the subject (clothes, limbs, etc.) pointing in different directions:

 

http://i75.photobuck...wow/illidan.jpg

^

This is a good example, you can see how his arms point to opposite ends of the picture, alone with his wings, legs, and hair in opposition to horns. It's makes the piece look more interesting, as opposed to a boring static pose:

 

http://www.deviantar...tream-382706069

 

^ this one's both boring and static, not that all poses must be EXCITING, but avoid boring. Also, don't use the same pose over and over, if anything, AVOID using the same pose more than once. Don't be redundant (you can look in that artist's gallery and see she uses that exact same pose for several pieces. A common trait of a bad artist is one who uses one pose over and over, because it's what they're comfortable with, even if it's a terrible one)

 

As for color, I don't have much experience with that, but I strongly suggest you use rich vibrant colors that stand out, catch the eye, as much as you can. Avoid having a drawing consisting of nothing but dull colors, or too many. I also suggest only using colors that compliment each other per drawing, you don't want clashing.

 

As for tools, get a blending stub (or tortillon, same thing) for shading, a Mono zero eraser pen (if you can find one in your local art stores, use them for a sturdy eraser to get in the tiny cracks without erasing what you don't want, a normal sized white eraser (for big areas of erasing) and a kneaded eraser (it's like clay, so it can be shaped into any shape you want and size you want (well as big as the kneaded eraser can get), but it isn't nearly as sturdy for erasing in tiny little spots, hence the eraser pen). And, assuming you're just doing black and white, at LEAST an HB, B, 2B and 4B (I reccomeand Steadler pencils). Graphite goes from 9h (lightest) to medium (HB) to Darkest (8-9-9xxB), but I'm pretty sure you only need to go as far as 4 or 6b. You'll want 4 or 6b for areas that need to be pitch black (like pupils, or black backgrounds, or black armor, etc.). I'm personally no expert in the usage of different pencil shades, I believe that in at least some cases, you can draw entirely in HB, since it's kind of a happy medium, can be light, medium, dark or even black. But not the blackest of blacks, trust me, there are shades of black, as odd as it may sound.

 

For shading with the blending stub, look at this for a good explanation:

 

http://cataclysm-x.d...ending-63643800

 

 

Beyond that, I'd suggest you look up your favorite cartoonist and study how they do things, what tools they use, and how they use them, etc. Hopefully, this helps.

[Doz2nd 294]

 

 

It's interesting how a mirror can show us what the eye cannot see, tho you should be able to tell when something is off from a normal perspective, the mirror just points a giant neon-flashing arrow at it. Sometimes it's very subtle tho, but I believe you can get to a point where you can spot even the most subtle of flaws without a mirror, tho, I suggest always using one anyway just to be safe.

 

As for other advice, I'll just copypaste what I said to another poster here earlier:

 

if you're trying to draw show ponies, study real life horse anatomy, go to google and look up images of how horses look (how they're eyes shape on their faces, their legs, body design, etc.), because, believe it or not, the show ponies are VERY accurate to how real horses are design. But don't try to draw them to look like realistic horses (unless you wanna do that, than go for it), study both the show's style, and actual real life horses to get an idea for how to draw the characters in poses and angles that you can't find from show screenshots.

 

Also use 3d models fans have created so that you can understand how they really look at different angles (the eyes confused the fuck out of me till I saw this: http://mistersnowleo...ose-0-212151789 )

 

Next, look up lighting and shading guides, and study them so that you understand how light and shadow affect objects, and how they effect DIFFERENT objects DIFFERENTLY (like metal looks different affect by light than skin). Due to the fact that it's a simplistic cartoon, for the clothing and skin, the light will look the same. Metal should have it's own look for lighting. Hair can either be the same as skin and clothes, or different depending on the style. The purpose of light and shadow is to give DEPTH to your subject, so it doesn't look flat. And even if it's a cartoon, you don't want it looking like it's 1 dimensional (unless you're drawing a 1 dimensional subject, but even then, it has to be done in a way that makes it look right instead of poorly drawn)

 

Next is the idea itself, the pose, angle, expression, background (if any), etc. You want to make sure your subject (the main focus of your drawing) is placed properly on the page, and takes up enough of it so it looks like it's about THEM and not whatever else is in the picture. Too much dead space looks bad, trust me. Center the subject if there is no background. Pic an angle, pose and expression combination that doesn't look awkward, I suggest you go for more dynamic poses (google that for more info), one way I've learned is to have different parts of the subject (clothes, limbs, etc.) pointing in different directions:

 

http://i75.photobuck...wow/illidan.jpg

^

This is a good example, you can see how his arms point to opposite ends of the picture, alone with his wings, legs, and hair in opposition to horns. It's makes the piece look more interesting, as opposed to a boring static pose:

 

http://www.deviantar...tream-382706069

 

^ this one's both boring and static, not that all poses must be EXCITING, but avoid boring. Also, don't use the same pose over and over, if anything, AVOID using the same pose more than once. Don't be redundant (you can look in that artist's gallery and see she uses that exact same pose for several pieces. A common trait of a bad artist is one who uses one pose over and over, because it's what they're comfortable with, even if it's a terrible one)

 

As for color, I don't have much experience with that, but I strongly suggest you use rich vibrant colors that stand out, catch the eye, as much as you can. Avoid having a drawing consisting of nothing but dull colors, or too many. I also suggest only using colors that compliment each other per drawing, you don't want clashing.

 

As for tools, get a blending stub (or tortillon, same thing) for shading, a Mono zero eraser pen (if you can find one in your local art stores, use them for a sturdy eraser to get in the tiny cracks without erasing what you don't want, a normal sized white eraser (for big areas of erasing) and a kneaded eraser (it's like clay, so it can be shaped into any shape you want and size you want (well as big as the kneaded eraser can get), but it isn't nearly as sturdy for erasing in tiny little spots, hence the eraser pen). And, assuming you're just doing black and white, at LEAST an HB, B, 2B and 4B (I reccomeand Steadler pencils). Graphite goes from 9h (lightest) to medium (HB) to Darkest (8-9-9xxB), but I'm pretty sure you only need to go as far as 4 or 6b. You'll want 4 or 6b for areas that need to be pitch black (like pupils, or black backgrounds, or black armor, etc.). I'm personally no expert in the usage of different pencil shades, I believe that in at least some cases, you can draw entirely in HB, since it's kind of a happy medium, can be light, medium, dark or even black. But not the blackest of blacks, trust me, there are shades of black, as odd as it may sound.

 

For shading with the blending stub, look at this for a good explanation:

 

http://cataclysm-x.d...ending-63643800

 

 

Beyond that, I'd suggest you look up your favorite cartoonist and study how they do things, what tools they use, and how they use them, etc. Hopefully, this helps.

 

Thanks for the links you provided. With the info I managed to "3Dfi" one of my recent works, here comes before and after images.

Before.

After the improvments. (added a light source for easier shading)

[Sir Wulfington 276]

Thanks for the links you provided. With the info I managed to "3Dfi" one of my recent works, here comes before and after images.

Dungeon Twi 1.jpg

Before.

Dungeon Twi 2.jpg

After the improvments. (added a light source for easier shading)

 

I'm thinking it may still needs more shading in certain areas. And while it did help, there's definitely more to work on. If you're not certain check the advice I gave. Tho I believe by recent work you mean one you made before you read my post, so I guess you were just testing shading.

 

edit: actually I suggest you just check out my drawing tutorial thread as I've added more helpful info to save search time:

 

mlpforums.com/topic/99947-so-you-wanna-be-an-artist-eha-tutorial

Edited May 31, 2014 by Sir Wulfington