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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
A long time ago, Midnight noted that there is absolutely no fanart of her of a certain *ahem* genre that is particularly popular with the pony fandom. Since Midnight was practically begging to have more fanart of her drawn (If you can even call this "art"), I decided to do what I could to make this for her. Unfortunately, I had all but given up completely about halfway through.
You guys have inspired me to finally finish what I started a while back! So here it is.
Presenting, Midnight completely naked. :smallwink: Aside from the pair of socks she's putting on.
:smallsigh: I know it's embarrassingly terrible, but darn it, Inkwell and Kairaven set the bar for Midnight artwork too darn high!
Speaking of Kairaven, the reference I used was Kairaven's adult Midnight:
Don't expect me to post anything else anytime soon; the reason I don't do artwork at all is that every single time I look at anything that I am responsible for creating, I want to set it, and any evidence that it ever existed, on fire! (This is not a hyperbole)
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Vent Reynolt
A long time ago, Midnight noted that there is absolutely no fanart of her of a certain *ahem* genre that is particularly popular with the pony fandom. Since Midnight was practically begging to have more fanart of her drawn (If you can even call this "art"), I decided to do what I could to make this for her. Unfortunately, I had all but given up completely about halfway through.
You guys have inspired me to finally finish what I started a while back! So here it is.
Presenting, Midnight completely naked. :smallwink: Aside from the pair of socks she's putting on.
Fantastic :smallbiggrin: Legs don't quite seem thick enough, though, particularly at the back. Ponies are squishy, like marshmallows.
Quote:
Don't expect me to post anything else anytime soon; the reason I don't do artwork at all is that every single time I look at anything that I am responsible for creating, I want to set it, and any evidence that it ever existed, on fire! (This is not a hyperbole)
Come on, man, how do you imagine I feel? :smallwink:
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
My latest project is applebuckin' AJ!
Be Strong!
Based on this:
@Everyone who's posted: Looking good! Keep it coming!
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
the_druid_droid
My latest project is applebuckin' AJ!
Be Strong!
Based on this:
@Everyone who's posted: Looking good! Keep it coming!
Generally solid :smallsmile: You've got good linework. I'm curious to see you work with colour, inking or shading.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
Yeah, the more B you get the softer the lead is, the more H the harder. This means they tend to become rounded at the tip quite quickly, produce wider, powdery-er, darker lines.
*snip*
This is Day 33. The main lines were done with a 2B, the darker shading was a 4B. I've come to love the 4B as a main tool, but it's good to have a variety.
Harder leads produce very faint, easily erasable lines if you press lightly on them, which makes them great for skeletoning. H pencils also make good silvery metallic colours. A set of pencils will cost you maybe $10, and just play around with them until you get their measure.
I'll invest in some. Thanks for dropping the science!
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Level8Mudcrab
I don't really have any drawing experience, nor do I think I'm too good at it. Nevertheless, it's something I've been wanting to practice, and this seems like a great thread to do just that. So, onto the main event. Have a hoofdrawn Twilight Sparkle.
Using this picture as a reference,
For a first time drawing, I like to think I did fairly well. I think I need to improve on legs and head. Confound those eyes. And just about everything else too. At any rate, advice/criticism is appreciated.
I don't really know enough to be giving decent advice to other people, so I'll just do what I can.
@Druid. I found drawing larger versions of eyes seperately helped a bit. With bigger ones I didn't have to worry about it being all small and fiddly, so I could practice. You should have seen my first attempt at eyes.
I do like your Rainbow.
@Sean Mirrsen
I like it, will be great to see how it turns out. I'll echo the above comments about the ponies looking a little meaty though.
And thanks for those guides, Thanqol. I'll have a look through them for when I next try this.
It's a good one! :smallbiggrin: I think her legs look a little short, and her right eye is a little off, but otherwise. =D
Quote:
Originally Posted by
the_druid_droid
My latest project is applebuckin' AJ!
Be Strong!
Based on this:
@Everyone who's posted: Looking good! Keep it coming!
Applejack! Who Can't like a good, hardworking pony? =P
Very nice, very nice!
Here's some more works of mine...:
Jack, the Nightmare:
This is a character from a novel I HOPE to write someday, a mechanical creature known as Nightmare, though he calls himself Jack. I can never get his feet to look right. I want them to look more like a bird's feet. Might be useful if I look up some anatomy pictures, perhaps... 0-0*
Xia (WIP):
This is Xia, a pony based on a roleplaying character of mine known as , suprise suprise, Xia. =)
Xia (Almost complete):
This is a more finished version. Only thing missing? A cutie mark. I'm trying to decide what it should be. I'm torn between a question mark or a yin/yang circle (If I had to say what his special talent would be, it would be philosophy).
oh, the group drawing project going on? I'll help if I can. =)
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Okay, sorry about not having better quality of a picture. The only camera I have is my Ipod one, and that's less than optimal.
The character is an older version of an MLP OC of mine named Smoothie. I'm not going to go into her whole background, I'm just going to give a few details.
1. At this point in time, she's a teacher. She teaches foals in the use of magic.
2. Both her element and her talent are magic. She's on the same tier as Twilight for various reasons.
3. She got control over her considerable power due to a lot of help from Lix Lorn, who also added a considerable number of spells to Smoothie's spellbook.
4. She has no cutie mark in the picture because I can't get it drawn correctly (You wouldn't think a wizard hat would be that hard to draw, would you?) and it wouldn't be big enough to show up in the picture anyway.
So, given the info that Lix trained her, you get one guess what she's teaching the foals to do with their magic.:smallamused:
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Soft Serve
Okay, sorry about not having better quality of a picture. The only camera I have is my Ipod one, and that's less than optimal.
The character is an older version of an MLP OC of mine named Smoothie. I'm not going to go into her whole background, I'm just going to give a few details.
1. At this point in time, she's a teacher. She teaches foals in the use of magic.
2. Both her element and her talent are magic. She's on the same tier as Twilight for various reasons.
3. She got control over her considerable power due to a lot of help from Lix Lorn, who also added a considerable number of spells to Smoothie's spellbook.
4. She has no cutie mark in the picture because I can't get it drawn correctly (You wouldn't think a wizard hat would be that hard to draw, would you?) and it wouldn't be big enough to show up in the picture anyway.
So, given the info that Lix trained her, you get one guess what she's teaching the foals to do with their magic.:smallamused:
Good picture! The hair seems like a mix between Twilight and Pinkie... when Pinkie's hair is down, of course. =)
and.. Lix? As in, the Lix Lorn?
Name's familiar, but I can't say I actually know who it is. I'm fairly certain he/she is an important figure here in the playground, yes?
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
General: On Inks
From what I understand, you can buy inking pens of various sizes; proper art inking pens are $4-5 and come in sizes from .2 to .8 that I've seen. It's just a matter of tracing your sketches with the inking pen and then erasing the pencil.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Noctemwolf
Here's some more works of mine...:
Jack, the Nightmare:
This is a character from a novel I HOPE to write someday, a mechanical creature known as Nightmare, though he calls himself Jack. I can never get his feet to look right. I want them to look more like a bird's feet. Might be useful if I look up some anatomy pictures, perhaps... 0-0*
This is a cool design, I'd love to see an inked and cleaned up version!
Quote:
Xia (WIP):
This is Xia, a pony based on a roleplaying character of mine known as , suprise suprise, Xia. =)
Xia (Almost complete):
This is a more finished version. Only thing missing? A cutie mark. I'm trying to decide what it should be. I'm torn between a question mark or a yin/yang circle (If I had to say what his special talent would be, it would be philosophy).
oh, the group drawing project going on? I'll help if I can. =)
Stiltlegs never looked right to me, I've always found it a freakish artefact of the pony generator. Otherwise, these are quite clean and well done. :smallsmile:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Soft Serve
Okay, sorry about not having better quality of a picture. The only camera I have is my Ipod one, and that's less than optimal.
The character is an older version of an MLP OC of mine named Smoothie. I'm not going to go into her whole background, I'm just going to give a few details.
1. At this point in time, she's a teacher. She teaches foals in the use of magic.
2. Both her element and her talent are magic. She's on the same tier as Twilight for various reasons.
3. She got control over her considerable power due to a lot of help from Lix Lorn, who also added a considerable number of spells to Smoothie's spellbook.
4. She has no cutie mark in the picture because I can't get it drawn correctly (You wouldn't think a wizard hat would be that hard to draw, would you?) and it wouldn't be big enough to show up in the picture anyway.
So, given the info that Lix trained her, you get one guess what she's teaching the foals to do with their magic.:smallamused:
The mistake in this one is the width of the neck. It should be almost a straight line from the bottom of the ear to the shoulder. I can see how you'd make the mistake because in a lot of pictures that part of the neck is covered by the mane. Proportions are, otherwise, quite good!
Also hats are super hard to draw properly.
See what you can do about getting non-lined paper, too - quality paper makes drawings look significantly better.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Mates, I've never been prouder to know any of you. And Vent; if you've spent the last decade setting things that are better than my best on fire, I think I will be very cross with you :smallwink:
Proporting the Pone
and other such details
The pony is sometimes a difficult beast to make proportional. They seem so... Fluid, so well put together! And worse, once you hear the secret to pony proportion power, you'll scoff. I guarantee it. Let's try it out;
The pony is measured by the size of it's own head.
See? Be honest, I bet you at least started to snort derisively. Because honestly, every "how to draw" book and it's mother says that, and well, you already knew it and you still aren't A master artist, so it's gotta be crock!
Except ponies are special.
One, because they're my little ponies.
Two, because they are a magical cartoon beast with barest of nods to actual anatomy sometimes.
The pony is measured by it's head. So if the pony's head is a circle that is 2 inches, then;
The pony is 5 inches tall (2.5 heads)
The body is about 1 Inch long
The eye is one inch tall
The ear is one inch tall
The horn is about one inch tall
The hoof if approximately one Inch in diameter
The legs are two inches long
That last one is important; at any point in time, a proportional pony will have distance between it's belly and the ground, exactly equal to the height of it's head.
Lemme show you.
A pony; one of my best, actually. I love the picture it came from, and it's cool that Thanqol actually took a shot at coloring my poopy doodles.
Ok, now; same pony, with some amateur paint skills applied.
There we are! Proof without having to murder a good picture or kludge through a new one!
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And I'll tell you ponies what. I'm leaving the thread for a while (says he who's posted twice since then, and once here, and dips into irc every now and again) but the extra time is going to be split between working on a character, exercise...
And diving into that Guardalopolis comic that Ponythread spawned 15 or more iterations ago.
So there you are. You guys are going to see me weeble and wobble through a comic. I hope you're happy.
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Hats are a a pain in the Mark. And quality paper is awesome! But don't be afraid to do roughs with bad materials. You lose masterpieces, but you gain skill always.
And as a repeat from last time; drawing is 90% perception. I you see something wrong, good! Nothing sucks more than no having a way to improve. If something goes awry, focus on that! Bring it up here, go to a book store and browse. If you see a neat art style, try to duplicate what's so neat about it. So long as you come away able to see something you couldn't before, you come away understanding more.
That paragraph got away from me, so post and bed.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Wow, SiuiS knows ponies. A very interesting read, thanks.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
I'm trying to draw a lineup of the main cast, for a larger scene with original characters, but unlike OCs, these present a problem, in that they have an established look, which I have to replicate.
I'd like some pointers here, maybe some traits or features I've missed, or things I drew wrong. Don't pay attention to the sketchiness, this
is just a sketch before proper drawing. Pointers on wrong anatomy would also be useful, because for me at least, wings seem to be the new hands, and ponies in general are still a rather new item.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4152380/M6_lineup.png
Rather than them being too "buff", I think their heads might be too small ... maybe increasing the size of the heads will make them look more cartoonish. Here they appear a bit closer to realistic proportions.
That said, nice work. You've done well with getting six very different but recognisable ponies done ... I'd have trouble with one! :smalltongue:
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
I decided to see if I can determine how to improve my designs by sticking a show-type model side-by-side with a more serious-type of the same basic design.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4152380/PegasiSbS.png
Just a quick sketch so far on both. I'd like any corrections you can provide for the show-type on the left side. I need to understand if I have the understanding right for drawing them, so that I know exactly what I am changing to make the serious variant.
For the right-side design, I think I found the reason for my troubles with facial expressions not looking right. Sans hair and eyes, the basic body and head shape of the right-side design looks a lot like a cat. So I tend to draw it like a cat. I'm gonna have to do something about that.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
I decided to see if I can determine how to improve my designs by sticking a show-type model side-by-side with a more serious-type of the same basic design.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4152380/PegasiSbS.png
Just a quick sketch so far on both. I'd like any corrections you can provide for the
show-type on the left side. I need to understand if I have the understanding right for drawing them, so that I know exactly what I am changing to make the serious variant.
For the right-side design, I think I found the reason for my troubles with facial expressions not looking right. Sans hair and eyes, the basic body and head shape of the right-side design looks a lot like a cat. So I tend to draw it like a cat. I'm gonna have to do something about that.
The show type picture looks broadly solid; everything's in the right place.
Ever looked at a real horse?
Look at the legs. Look how weirdly thin they are. You can learn a lot about pony design and how their hooves bend and how they're jointed by noticing how they're, essentially, stylised horses.
You're going for a sort of taller, stockier, mature-er pony look? Then it might be worth increasing the length of the muzzle to balance it out. Take a look at cartoonlion's ponies; I love the style, and it's great for a slightly more mature pony look.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
The show type picture looks broadly solid; everything's in the right place.
Ever looked at a real horse?
Look at the legs. Look how weirdly thin they are. You can learn a lot about pony design and how their hooves bend and how they're jointed by noticing how they're, essentially, stylised horses.
You're going for a sort of taller, stockier, mature-er pony look? Then it might be worth increasing the length of the muzzle to balance it out. Take a look at
cartoonlion's ponies; I love the style, and it's great for a slightly more mature pony look.
I can't say I'm going for "a more mature" style, exactly - in fact, I'm not entirely sure what I am going for. I guess I want a healthy mix of the cartoon style and something more realistic, while retaining the same characters. Kinda like you can show an anime character in different styles and proportions, and still understand that it's the exact same character. It's cartoon ponies through a real-world lens, as it were.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
I can't say I'm going for "a more mature" style, exactly - in fact, I'm not entirely sure what I am going for. I guess I want a healthy mix of the cartoon style and something more realistic, while retaining the same characters. Kinda like you can show an anime character in different styles and proportions, and still understand that it's the exact same character. It's cartoon ponies through a real-world lens, as it were.
Welp, you're out of my (really limited) area of expertise. I've got no idea how that works. Good luck! :smallsmile:
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Clean up on sketch aisle five!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4152380/PegasiSbS2.png
Added covering feathers on the wings, changed the jawline and nose a little, tinkered with shading, cleaned up lines overall.
That's more or less how it works, I guess. Keep the same character, keep the same height and features, just reimagine him/her in a different universe, so to speak. No idea if it's useful for anyone else. I'm just a game master with a penchant for weird AUs. :smallsmile:
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
Clean up on sketch aisle five!
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4152380/PegasiSbS2.png
Added covering feathers on the wings, changed the jawline and nose a little, tinkered with shading, cleaned up lines overall.
That's more or less how it works, I guess. Keep the same character, keep the same height and features, just reimagine him/her in a different universe, so to speak. No idea if it's useful for anyone else. I'm just a game master with a penchant for weird AUs. :smallsmile:
Your style is actually reminiscent of a few artists, who drew the ponies in a more realistic style. Let me see if I can find an example or not.
Ah, here we go.
Said artist tend to do shipping pictures though, but you get the idea.
You can find more here.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
I recognized the style, though I didn't understand why until I looked at where the link's pointing. That's the exact same artist Thanqol linked me to not five posts ago. :smallamused:
Anyway, speaking of weird AUs:
This sketch was made before I began posting in this thread, so don't critique it too harshly. It's not even finished as a sketch, I just had this idea pop into my head and drew it. Yes, that's Fluttershy, but can you guess which universe it is?
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
I recognized the style, though I didn't understand why until I looked at where the link's pointing. That's the exact same artist Thanqol linked me to not five posts ago. :smallamused:
I think the real lesson here is that we all have huge crushes on cartoonlion and are subtly trying to mould you into our pet copy of her.
I do think the wings, especially, in your second style are quite cool.
Quote:
Anyway, speaking of weird AUs:
This sketch was made
before I began posting in this thread, so don't critique it too harshly. It's not even finished as a sketch, I just had this idea pop into my head and drew it. Yes, that's Fluttershy, but can you guess which universe it is?
No clue!
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
Generally solid :smallsmile: You've got good linework. I'm curious to see you work with colour, inking or shading.
Oh goodness! Those are the things I feel very self-conscious about...but in this thread that's no excuse! I'm thinking that once I have my initial set of the mane 6 done, I'm going to go back and ink one or two of my favorites.
For shading, I'm thinking of doing a side project that's a rip off of Kindablue's idea, but with scientists. I think a black and white model picture might help me figure out how tone works...also then I could perhaps talk more intelligently with the folks concentrating on more realistic subject matter.
Coloring in a serious way may have to wait until I get a tablet or some more reliable way to make digital art, but I've promised myself that if I fill a sketchbook I'll buy one as a present to myself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Soft Serve
Okay, sorry about not having better quality of a picture. The only camera I have is my Ipod one, and that's less than optimal.
The character is an older version of an MLP OC of mine named Smoothie. I'm not going to go into her whole background, I'm just going to give a few details.
1. At this point in time, she's a teacher. She teaches foals in the use of magic.
2. Both her element and her talent are magic. She's on the same tier as Twilight for various reasons.
3. She got control over her considerable power due to a lot of help from Lix Lorn, who also added a considerable number of spells to Smoothie's spellbook.
4. She has no cutie mark in the picture because I can't get it drawn correctly (You wouldn't think a wizard hat would be that hard to draw, would you?) and it wouldn't be big enough to show up in the picture anyway.
So, given the info that Lix trained her, you get one guess what she's teaching the foals to do with their magic.:smallamused:
Nice work Soft! I think you have the basic strokes that go into ponies down pat! I would just second what some other posters have said about double checking proportions. The thing that's helped me some is to really try to see the lines that go into a pony, rather than the whole pony at once. If you can figure out how all the lines and curves go relative to one another, where they begin and end, you'll really start to settle down into a consistent pony style.
Also, I like the mane style! Is it by any chance influenced by Hairspray's mane from Green Isn't Your Color?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
See what you can do about getting non-lined paper, too - quality paper makes drawings look significantly better.
Can't agree enough that some basic, relatively inexpensive art supplies help a lot! Just a cheap sketchbook and pencils will do wonders for your versatility.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SiuiS
The pony is measured by the size of it's own head.
----
And I'll tell you ponies what. I'm leaving the thread for a while (says he who's posted twice since then, and once here, and dips into irc every now and again) but the extra time is going to be split between working on a character, exercise...
And diving into that Guardalopolis comic that Ponythread spawned 15 or more iterations ago.
So there you are. You guys are going to see me weeble and wobble through a comic. I hope you're happy.
-
Hats are a a pain in the Mark. And quality paper is awesome! But don't be afraid to do roughs with bad materials. You lose masterpieces, but you gain skill always.
And as a repeat from last time; drawing is 90% perception. I you see something wrong, good! Nothing sucks more than no having a way to improve. If something goes awry, focus on that! Bring it up here, go to a book store and browse. If you see a neat art style, try to duplicate what's so neat about it. So long as you come away able to see something you couldn't before, you come away understanding more.
That paragraph got away from me, so post and bed.
There is so much truth to your post SiuiS, I don't know what to do! Especially the bit about the head being the measure of a pony; when I draw them, I usually end up using it as an anchor for the rest of the drawing.
Also, we'll miss you while you're gone, but I for one hope you post the WIP comic here, at least in snatches!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
I decided to see if I can determine how to improve my designs by sticking a show-type model side-by-side with a more serious-type of the same basic design.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4152380/PegasiSbS.png
Just a quick sketch so far on both. I'd like any corrections you can provide for the
show-type on the left side. I need to understand if I have the understanding right for drawing them, so that I know exactly what I am changing to make the serious variant.
For the right-side design, I think I found the reason for my troubles with facial expressions not looking right. Sans hair and eyes, the basic body and head shape of the right-side design looks a lot like a cat. So I tend to draw it like a cat. I'm gonna have to do something about that.
The only additional thing I'll suggest is that when show pegasi are just standing with their wings unfolded, they have a bit more of a fan shape. The top feather basically goes straight up, and then the next two define an arc down to the body, with the last little one being tucked on to define the curve of the bottom of the wing.
Other than that, everything looks solid! I'm really interested to see your work as it comes along!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
I recognized the style, though I didn't understand why until I looked at where the link's pointing. That's the exact same artist Thanqol linked me to not five posts ago. :smallamused:
Anyway, speaking of weird AUs:
This sketch was made
before I began posting in this thread, so don't critique it too harshly. It's not even finished as a sketch, I just had this idea pop into my head and drew it. Yes, that's Fluttershy, but can you guess which universe it is?
Is it the Firefly universe, by any chance?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
I think the real lesson here is that we all have huge crushes on cartoonlion and are subtly trying to mould you into our pet copy of her.
I will confess to a huge crush on Cartoonlion, absolutely!
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kindablue
It looks to me like the main odditys from his face are perspective issues. He's looking in a not very common way (body upright, head tilted away and down) so it's a very hard pose to start with. While his chin is drawn right, the rest of his face is made to look more level, as if he's head's being held vertical like a traditional portrait.
For instance in the photo he's got his eyes open, but downcast to look at his cigarette - in your's due to the various facial cues he looks like he's closed his eyes. Things to note are the way the eyebrows curve down in the photo, and the position of his chin relative to the tip of his nose, the centre of his hairline and the right edge of his forehead.
His chin is in line with the bridge of his nose, while the tip of his nose is in line with the right visible edge of his forehead.
The general shape of the back of the head should be much rounder too. I've blathered on a bit in Thanquol's thread in regards to drawing people too.
That said, his shirt is done very well, and the only thing there is that his tie is perhaps a bit too thick. Overall the elements are done fine, and the linework is generally smooth, just not quite in the right spots.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kindablue
How does that work? I vaguely remember an art teacher in high school telling me that the brittler ones are darker. Are they smudgier too?
B means Black, and H means Hard - so a 6B is very black and will leave a dark mark easily, while a 6H is very hard and probably won't ever go as dark as the 6B, even with tons of shading.
This pic illustrates the different grades and how they shade from a light touch to dark:
So you can see that an HB at its darkest is about as dark as a lightly applied 9B. The darker pencils are very soft so wear down quickly and do smudge more easily. Harder pencils stay sharp longer, but it's also easier to make marks in the paper if you press too hard.
One tip I got here was to wear white cotton gloves with a few fingers cut out to reduce smudging.
That said, having a wide assortment of (good) pencils really does make things easier. Derwent make a set of 12 shades that's reasonably priced. A gum eraser is also a good piece of kit to start using early on too as it helps tremendously with cleaning up small mistakes.
For instance in this pic of mine:
I used a 6 or 8B for the darker areas, but the shading on the faces was mostly done with an HB or 2B. I did do some fine spots with a 4B. Just using a HB wouldn't give as much depth. I did the initial skeletal outlines and basic body shapes with a 4H, so it was suitably faint and easy to erase.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dirtbag
Ponythread Community Draw-thingy GO!
-snip-
Right, so I'm an insanely horrible artist. However in interests of seeing this thing succeed, if anyone has the full transcript and is willing to send it to me, I'll go through all of our general insanity and try and distill it to it's art-able parts.
Heck, I'll even put out a rough (Very Very Very Rough) Sketch for someother ponies to make more presentable.
I've you've got those logs, please PM me or something! Many thanks.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Vent Reynolt
A long time ago, Midnight noted that there is absolutely no fanart of her of a certain *ahem* genre that is particularly popular with the pony fandom. Since Midnight was practically begging to have more fanart of her drawn (If you can even call this "art"), I decided to do what I could to make this for her. Unfortunately, I had all but given up completely about halfway through.
You guys have inspired me to finally finish what I started a while back! So here it is.
Presenting, Midnight completely naked. :smallwink:
Aside from the pair of socks she's putting on.
:smallsigh: I know it's embarrassingly terrible, but darn it, Inkwell and Kairaven set the bar for Midnight artwork too darn high!
Speaking of Kairaven, the reference I used was
Kairaven's adult Midnight:
Don't expect me to post anything else anytime soon; the reason I don't do artwork at all is that every single time I look at anything that I am responsible for creating, I want to set it, and any evidence that it ever existed, on fire! (This is not a hyperbole)
*right-click, Save*
Hee-hee! Apart from the slightly thinner legs that Thanqol pointed out, I think that you did a really great job! There's no need to set it on fire, besides, I already saved a copy, so you can't dispose of the evidence.
Love her socks, too. :smallwink:
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
I've always had some problem with action poses (and poses in general), because I seem to have a broken mental renderer when it comes to these things. One or two limbs always end up doing something wrong. Like here:
I'm pretty sure one of the forelegs is positioned wrong. I better pull up a reference and compare.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
the_druid_droid
Nice work Soft! I think you have the basic strokes that go into ponies down pat! I would just second what some other posters have said about double checking proportions. The thing that's helped me some is to really try to see the lines that go into a pony, rather than the whole pony at once. If you can figure out how all the lines and curves go relative to one another, where they begin and end, you'll really start to settle down into a consistent pony style.
Alright. This is just my first attempt. I'm sure I'll get better as I move on.
Quote:
Also, I like the mane style! Is it by any chance influenced by Hairspray's mane from Green Isn't Your Color?
No idea. I just chose a mane style I thought looked cool.
I don't think it was very clear, but there are supposed to be strips of cloth on her tail. No particular reason, I just thought it looked kinda cool.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
EsperDerek
*right-click, Save*
Hee-hee! Apart from the slightly thinner legs that Thanqol pointed out, I think that you did a really great job! There's no need to set it on fire, besides, I already saved a copy, so you can't dispose of the evidence.
Love her socks, too. :smallwink:
I agree with Esper here! Vent, you have absolutely no reason not to post more work here, your Midnight picture was really good, and I personally want to see more of your work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
I've always had some problem with action poses (and poses in general), because I seem to have a broken mental renderer when it comes to these things. One or two limbs always end up doing something wrong. Like here:
I'm pretty sure one of the forelegs is positioned wrong. I better pull up a reference and compare.
My main thoughts are:
1.) Those wings are AWESOME! They really set the tone of the whole pose, and it's great :smallbiggrin:
2.) One issue with the forelegs might be that they look just a bit long in comparison to the rear ones. Also, the accentuated "knuckle" on the hoof closest to us might look better if it was downplayed just a bit.
3.) The head seems just a tiny bit small in comparison to the body
Awesome pose though! I am extremely excited to see what you start pulling together for the large project.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Soft Serve
Alright. This is just my first attempt. I'm sure I'll get better as I move on.
Definitely! It's an excellent start, and there's nowhere to go but up :smallsmile:
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Zorg
It looks to me like the main odditys from his face are perspective issues. He's looking in a not very common way (body upright, head tilted away and down) so it's a very hard pose to start with. While his chin is drawn right, the rest of his face is made to look more level, as if he's head's being held vertical like a traditional portrait.
For instance in the photo he's got his eyes open, but downcast to look at his cigarette - in your's due to the various facial cues he looks like he's closed his eyes. Things to note are the way the eyebrows curve down in the photo, and the position of his chin relative to the tip of his nose, the centre of his hairline and the right edge of his forehead.
His chin is in line with the bridge of his nose, while the tip of his nose is in line with the right visible edge of his forehead.
The general shape of the back of the head should be much rounder too. I've blathered on a bit in Thanquol's thread in regards to drawing people too.
That said, his shirt is done very well, and the only thing there is that his tie is perhaps a bit too thick. Overall the elements are done fine, and the linework is generally smooth, just not quite in the right spots.
Thanks for the feedback. I'll take care to plan these out more before I start from now on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Zorg
B means Black, and H means Hard - so a 6B is very black and will leave a dark mark easily, while a 6H is very hard and probably won't ever go as dark as the 6B, even with tons of shading.
This pic illustrates the different grades and how they shade from a light touch to dark:
So you can see that an HB at its darkest is about as dark as a lightly applied 9B. The darker pencils are very soft so wear down quickly and do smudge more easily. Harder pencils stay sharp longer, but it's also easier to make marks in the paper if you press too hard.
Thanks, I'll remember that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Zorg
One tip I got here was to wear white cotton gloves with a few fingers cut out to reduce smudging.
Yeah, I had to redo some things completely because I kept smudging them with my sweaty ape hands. I was definitely planning on wearing a pair of gloves from now on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Zorg
That said, having a wide assortment of (good) pencils really does make things easier. Derwent make a set of 12 shades that's reasonably priced. A gum eraser is also a good piece of kit to start using early on too as it helps tremendously with cleaning up small mistakes.
For instance in this pic of mine:
I used a 6 or 8B for the darker areas, but the shading on the faces was mostly done with an HB or 2B. I did do some fine spots with a 4B. Just using a HB wouldn't give as much depth. I did the initial skeletal outlines and basic body shapes with a 4H, so it was suitably faint and easy to erase.
Thanks for the recommendation.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Right, so I promised some of my early wing sketches. Well here you go, it's not much it but shows progression... somewhat. The main thing to note is that when the wing is spread out, the feather tips make a curve.
Also there were a couple of my really early attempts at ponies on the reverse side of the page, and I couldn't be bothered to edit them out ^^:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
My big advice to you is line colour/width. The reason this looks odd is because you've got very thin straight black lines. They cut through the picture like lasers, separating everything from everything else. Experiment with thicker lines, as well as colour.
Also, the clothing in particular looks extremely flat. Try having a look at clothing bends and folds - once you start to get your head around that, things will improve dramatically! :smallsmile:
Eyes look good, though!
Hmm, does it really look that odd with the black lines? I guess I'll try to experiment with the lines as Deadly suggested.
RE: Clothing. Folds of cloth are my one true foe when it comes to drawing. Hands (which many people seem to have trouble with) are fairly easy for me, but getting realistic folds is something that baffles me. Perhaps I'll try doing some test sketches later.
Thank you for the suggestions! And yes, I'm fairly happy with the eyes. :smallsmile:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Deadly
A quick and dirty example, which I hope clarifies the idea
Yes, it is a little more fiddly this way, but really not too bad IMO. I'm not familiar with Flash, but I don't think you get truly irregular strokes without it getting a little fiddly like this. And personally I find that the little extra work needed is more than made up for by just how much better it looks in the end.
Alright, I see what you mean. I'll give it a shot.
Speaking of lines and colours and stuff, here are two of my earlier pieces for a little Flash animation project I work on in my spare time.
I've very happy with how Braeburn turned out, but something about Spitfire's foreleg bugs me and yet I'm not sure what.
EDIT:
Did some more sketches tonight. This time: ponies from different angles.
Anyway, tried to put SiuiS' tips on using pony head sizes for proportions (I admit I knew about it anyway, but this is the first time I've actually paid attention to it).
-
Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Diego Havoc
Speaking of lines and colours and stuff, here are two of my earlier pieces for a little Flash animation project I work on in my spare time.
I've very happy with how Braeburn turned out, but something about Spitfire's foreleg bugs me and yet I'm not sure what.
Braeburn looks great.
Spitfire's body seems maybe a little long, I'm not sure. As for the front leg, it doesn't look too bad to me, but maybe the bend closest to her mouth should be a little more narrow.
-
Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
I can't say I'm going for "a more mature" style, exactly - in fact, I'm not entirely sure what I am going for. I guess I want a healthy mix of the cartoon style and something more realistic, while retaining the same characters. Kinda like you can show an anime character in different styles and proportions, and still understand that it's the exact same character. It's cartoon ponies through a real-world lens, as it were.
this, I can help with!
Have you ever read Calvin and Hobbes? If so, do you remember how every now and again, the sketches got all serious and realistic and such?
Pick a pony with distinct features who isn't Pinkie Pie (because let's face it- that hair.) and draw that pony in FiM style.
Then draw that pony in Serious Calvin & Hobbes style.
Then draw that pony in SinFest style (SinFest dot net; language, but not as bad as you'd think. It lampshades itself constantly)
Then draw that pony in an amine style (I'd suggest Arcana dot keenspace don't com I think).
Then draw that pony in G1/G2 style.
It's tedious, but it will help you get a feel for what details are important when. And it sounds bunkum, but it's the first step I took to be able to go "line, line, circle, curve, flick- complete human face".
Line work doesn't have to outline everything you see that's distinct; that's coloring's job. Line art should be able to evoke a sense of depth with as few lines as possible. Or as few white spaces as possible, considering standard meme faces. Me gusta!
And Diego, the proportion issues are the head. It's too small; it should be bigger. No necessarily longer, but bigger. The circle you use? Experiment with increasing it's size. Alternately, reducing the barrel-ness of the chest. The pony should be self consistent, and it looks like the head and everything else are on different scales.
-
Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
I did some pony-related drawing today, for my Nightmare Night costume.
First, I made an eye. My initial plan for mounting it was to stick it to my face with spirit gum, but I couldn't find any. When I finally got to school and nopony knew who the hell I was (okay, two people did), I decided that the hipster glasses were perfect.
Next, I would need a cutie mark. I ended up throwing this together with just a gray marker, but it worked.
And now, the completed package. I took this one at home, and my camera decided to focus on the edge of my desk. http://i.imgur.com/DrMmg.png
That wasn't my only costume for today/night. My buddy Waffles and I went as Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake.
Finally, my pumpkin.
Betcha can't guess my favorite pony?
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Vorpalbob is now best pony.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
Vorpalbob is now best pony.
http://i.imgur.com/pUT8r.png
http://i.imgur.com/dB204.png
http://i.imgur.com/EvxT1.png
May I please put that in my sig?
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Vorpalbob
By all means!
(I am becoming featured in an increasingly large number of sigs! Bwuahaha!)
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
And here's my day 2 pony. This time, I've done Pinkie Pie.
Looking back at it, I made a few of those lines too light. *Shrugs* I could have done a better job on the head, it does look a little squashed. I like her mane though. Again, advice appreciated. Let's see if I can keep up a pony a day.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
Vorpalbob is now best pony.
QFT. That was awesome, Vorpal! You should totally post more stuff!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Level8Mudcrab
And here's my day 2 pony. This time, I've done Pinkie Pie.
Looking back at it, I made a few of those lines too light. *Shrugs* I could have done a better job on the head, it does look a little squashed. I like her mane though. Again, advice appreciated. Let's see if I can keep up a pony a day.
The mane looks great! It really captures the bounciness present in the show. My advice regarding the head and body would be to pull up a reference and once you've got a rough circle shape to locate your head, use the reference to figure out the relative sizes and shapes of the body and legs by comparison. That may help to keep things from looking squashed.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
Fantastic :smallbiggrin: Legs don't quite seem thick enough, though, particularly at the back. Ponies are squishy, like marshmallows.
You're right. Now that I look at it again, the legs do seem a bit thin. Unfortunately, at this point, it might be more trouble than it's worth to try to fix. :smalltongue:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SiuiS
Mates, I've never been prouder to know any of you. And Vent; if you've spent the last decade setting things that are better than my best on fire, I think I will be very cross with you :smallwink:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
EsperDerek
*right-click, Save*
Hee-hee! Apart from the slightly thinner legs that Thanqol pointed out, I think that you did a really great job! There's no need to set it on fire, besides, I already saved a copy, so you can't dispose of the evidence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
the_druid_droid
I agree with Esper here! Vent, you have absolutely no reason not to post more work here, your Midnight picture was really good, and I personally want to see more of your work.
:smallredface::smallredface::smallredface:
Eeep! But, I'm not any good; I'm not! This digital art thing doesn't even require any skill; it's just fiddling around with the lines and shapes until it looks right.
Also, Thanqol linked to some pony tutorials earlier, and I can't recommend this one enough.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
EsperDerek
Love her socks, too. :smallwink:
Nothing but the greatest, of course.
-
Next time: I'm bringing you something out of Jade and Midnight's secret dossier. (KIDDING!!!!!) :smallwink:
-
Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Vent Reynolt
:smallredface::smallredface::smallredface:
Eeep! But, I'm not any good; I'm not! This digital art thing doesn't even require any skill; it's just fiddling around with the lines and shapes until it looks right.
This is how I draw everything! And I don't do any digital work. You just make the first lines light enough that you can go back and erase them. You just draw, erase, redraw and repeat!
Quote:
Next time: I'm bringing you something out of Jade and Midnight's secret dossier. (KIDDING!!!!!) :smallwink:
You're only allowed to be kidding about the dossier. You'd better post something! Fluttershy is watching you! http://i.imgur.com/2E2Va.png
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
I'm only going to post it here because this section disappears from the OP:
Art Challenges
Spoiler
Show
MyLP Challenge:
Do you want to try your hand at something fun? Feeling need to draw fanart? How about trying MyLP Challenge?
What it is? Just click on the linked
template.
How does that work? Don't be scared, just complete the template to the best of your ability. Have
one two three four examples made by other ponies :smalltongue:
Starting thread and more examples can be found
here.
...Maybe it can be worked into OP of this thread in some form, if it's still useful?
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SiuiS
And Diego, the proportion issues are the head. It's too small; it should be bigger. No necessarily longer, but bigger. The circle you use? Experiment with increasing it's size. Alternately, reducing the barrel-ness of the chest. The pony should be self consistent, and it looks like the head and everything else are on different scales.
Hmm, alright, I'll work on that. Thanks!
@Trixie: Hey, that's not a bad idea at all! I'd seen it before but I'd forgotten about it. This might make a good challenge for us. Thanks ^^ I might give it a shot this weekend.
-
Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Trixie
I'm only going to post it here because this section disappears from the OP:
Art Challenges
Spoiler
Show
MyLP Challenge:
Do you want to try your hand at something fun? Feeling need to draw fanart? How about trying MyLP Challenge?
What it is? Just click on the linked
template.
How does that work? Don't be scared, just complete the template to the best of your ability. Have
one two three four examples made by other ponies :smalltongue:
Starting thread and more examples can be found
here.
...Maybe it can be worked into OP of this thread in some form, if it's still useful?
This is an excellent idea! The last time I saw it was before I decided to try drawing ponies. I'll go edit the OP to include it :smallsmile:
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Woah, a draw thread, that's cool. Nice to see people getting together to get better at stuff (:
I guess I should participate a bit...Mostly giving advice I guess, although I can't draw myself. I guess I can colour fairly well though, so if anyone wants advice specifically on that I can offer it.
Speaking of which, here's my best WIP at the moment, out of the...5 or so I have going :-/
Link because it's very large
I currently have a massive art block stopping me from finishing it...But anywho...
I guess I might occasionally colour stuff from this thread if I want, but I likely won't do requests. If you don't want me to colour your stuff, just say so and I'll steer clear.
-
Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
the_druid_droid
I'm getting mixed messages here. I'm going to assume that this means that Fluttershy wants me to make this picture of Jade & Midnight's dossier. http://i.imgur.com/N2nfK.png
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dispozition
Woah, a draw thread, that's cool. Nice to see people getting together to get better at stuff (:
I guess I should participate a bit...Mostly giving advice I guess, although I can't draw myself. I guess I can colour fairly well though, so if anyone wants advice specifically on that I can offer it.
Speaking of which, here's my best WIP at the moment, out of the...5 or so I have going :-/
Link because it's very large
I currently have a massive art block stopping me from finishing it...But anywho...
I guess I might occasionally colour stuff from this thread if I want, but I likely won't do requests. If you don't want me to colour your stuff, just say so and I'll steer clear.
Dispo, you are so incredible me giving you advice would seem to veer uncomfortably towards Art of the Dress territory.
However! I am still on the Paint Tool SAI trial, which you recommended to me, and I'm gradually coming to like it more. What tools are you using to colour this? I think I see the acryllic brush for the mane and some of the details, and water for additional shading? Or is that just a more transparent acryllic/blur tool? Also, do you do basic paintfill with additional detail/shading on top or do you colour it all in by hand?
Oh wait, I remember that you linked me to a video of you drawing at some point which I totally forgot to save the link to; could you relink me? :smallsmile:
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
Dispo, you are so incredible me giving you advice would seem to veer uncomfortably towards Art of the Dress territory.
However! I am still on the Paint Tool SAI trial, which you recommended to me, and I'm gradually coming to like it more. What tools are you using to colour this? I think I see the acryllic brush for the mane and some of the details, and water for additional shading? Or is that just a more transparent acryllic/blur tool? Also, do you do basic paintfill with additional detail/shading on top or do you colour it all in by hand?
Oh wait, I remember that you linked me to a video of you drawing at some point which I totally forgot to save the link to; could you relink me? :smallsmile:
Pfft, advice is always appreciated, or at least mistakes you think you see, or where you think it can be improved. Pretty much anything like that :P
I do multi-method shading these days...Normally building on each other. I normally block shading out with the water tool on simple circle and mostly default settings. Then I'll refine it with the brush, normally on rough vertical to refine lines and show the darkest shading. Then I'll go and do some random brush stuff, normally with bristle or some of the similar painterly brushes to do more detail work. It kind of depends...I'm still experimenting a lot, and I'd advise you do that too, it's one of the better ways to learn.
Oh, and I work completely on one layer for each thing. Or multiple if multiple colours are involved, but then flatten them down when I'm doing the detail shading. So for rarity, her eyes are one layer, glasses another, then mouth, hair, and body being all the layers. So 5 for the image. Sometimes I keep eyes on two layers, but it depends. But that's just me...So yeah, like I said, experiment.
As for my videos, they're on my youtube page. The Twilight one is the only one I did in SAI though. Haven't uploaded the others yet since they're all kinda awful or incomplete :P
Oh, and I do flats with a combination of the pen tool and the bucket. Depending on my mood.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Do. Not. Wanna.
Here >>
Happy Leo? I drew you >>
This is my favorite so far. I like the legs: I'm not even gonna bother with faces anymore till I get the body shape down.
Smaller one, just more body practice.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Brazen Shield
Do. Not. Wanna.
Here >>
Happy Leo? I drew you >>
This is my favorite so far. I like the legs: I'm not even gonna bother with faces anymore till I get the body shape down.
Smaller one, just more body practice.
Yay! A wild Brazen Shield has posted!
The legs in the last picture are looking pretty good; you definitely got a lot of the curve in them down. My suggestion if you want to try focusing on ponies without worrying about details is to try sketching the dress forms from Art of the Dress - they don't have manes or tails to worry with (I know I mentioned this in the IRC, but I thought I'd post it in case others might want to try the idea out).
-
Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Well, enough drawing. Time to go Work on my NaNoWriMo Novel... Muwaha. Oh, I'll come back and look over artwork too, if you guys like. =)
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
And now for some Rarity:
Line by Line, Drawing it Together
Based on this:
Thoughts:
I went back and forth between loving and hating this as I drew. I think that my big successes were getting the curly bits in the mane down, and capturing some of the dynamic pose of the original.
On the other hand, I wonder if my proportions weren't off in places, and my pace was kind of slow on this one.
-
Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
This is related to my next project:
If Calvin were a pony, what would Hobbes be?
In the meantime, here is my first attempt at drawing a full pony.
I cheated: It's a filly
Please keep in mind, this is the only thing I've drawn in three years that I've actually put serious effort into, other than that eye, but that's just an eye.
Reference picture
And now, my feeble efforts.
http://i.imgur.com/0bxcP.png
-
Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Vorpalbob
This is related to my next project:
If Calvin were a pony, what would Hobbes be?
Smartypants!
Quote:
In the meantime, here is my first attempt at drawing a full pony.
I cheated: It's a filly
Please keep in mind, this is the only thing I've drawn in three years that I've actually put serious effort into, other than that eye, but that's just an eye.
Reference picture
And now, my feeble efforts.
http://i.imgur.com/0bxcP.png
That's really good for a first try! :smallbiggrin: It's not bad at all, it just might look a little worse than it is due to smudging/leftover construction lines. If that was inked and coloured you'd see that none of the lines are really wrong (though the microphone forehoof is kinda thin)
-
Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
Smartypants!
That's really good for a first try! :smallbiggrin: It's not bad at all, it just might look a little worse than it is due to smudging/leftover construction lines. If that was inked and coloured you'd see that none of the lines are really wrong (though the microphone forehoof is kinda thin)
I originally drew it thicker, but couldn't get the tapering right, so I just left it.
Smartypants, eh? I bet I could do that.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
Dispo, you are so incredible me giving you advice would seem to veer uncomfortably towards Art of the Dress territory.
However! I am still on the Paint Tool SAI trial, which you recommended to me, and I'm gradually coming to like it more. What tools are you using to colour this? I think I see the acryllic brush for the mane and some of the details, and water for additional shading? Or is that just a more transparent acryllic/blur tool? Also, do you do basic paintfill with additional detail/shading on top or do you colour it all in by hand?
Oh wait, I remember that you linked me to a video of you drawing at some point which I totally forgot to save the link to; could you relink me? :smallsmile:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Dispozition
Pfft, advice is always appreciated, or at least mistakes you think you see, or where you think it can be improved. Pretty much anything like that :P
I do multi-method shading these days...Normally building on each other. I normally block shading out with the water tool on simple circle and mostly default settings. Then I'll refine it with the brush, normally on rough vertical to refine lines and show the darkest shading. Then I'll go and do some random brush stuff, normally with bristle or some of the similar painterly brushes to do more detail work. It kind of depends...I'm still experimenting a lot, and I'd advise you do that too, it's one of the better ways to learn.
Oh, and I work completely on one layer for each thing. Or multiple if multiple colours are involved, but then flatten them down when I'm doing the detail shading. So for rarity, her eyes are one layer, glasses another, then mouth, hair, and body being all the layers. So 5 for the image. Sometimes I keep eyes on two layers, but it depends. But that's just me...So yeah, like I said, experiment.
As for my videos, they're on my
youtube page. The Twilight one is the only one I did in SAI though. Haven't uploaded the others yet since they're all kinda awful or incomplete :P
Oh, and I do flats with a combination of the pen tool and the bucket. Depending on my mood.
You're using lingo I don't understand about a particular branch of art I really want to get into and I hate you both for making it sound so easy.
I hate you with the fury of a half-eaten slice of french
Toast.
Seriously though! Dispo does good work, and Thanq's skin tone is getting there. The performed gulf between us is insane... I need to start throwing money in a jar and harassing Jade so I can get a desktop and catch up.
Fabulous.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
the_druid_droid
And now for some Rarity:
Line by Line, Drawing it Together
Based on this:
Thoughts:
I went back and forth between loving and hating this as I drew. I think that my big successes were getting the curly bits in the mane down, and capturing some of the dynamic pose of the original.
On the other hand, I wonder if my proportions weren't off in places, and my pace was kind of slow on this one.
The dynamism excels,
Here. I love this Rarity. For proportions, he legs are too long; too much up and down. Since her legs are splayed, she should be closer to the ground. It took me a minute of looking at pic and reference at the same time though, to pin down what I thought was wrong.
Oh my goodness that pose... That pose! That pose.
Yes Rarity, yes. Yes you are awesome.
*k-sleep*
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Dispo, your art is great, don't think otherwise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
the_druid_droid
And now for some Rarity:
Line by Line, Drawing it Together
I really like her mane! No, really, it's very good, the shape of her mane and tail are excellent. The pose is also very good.
Also, here is my attempt at drawing my Paladin avatar:
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
And for today I've drawn Applejack.
Referencing this:
My biggest issue with this one is definately Applejack's expression. Not really happy with how that turned out. And eyes. I still hate eyes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Athaniar
Also, here is my attempt at drawing my Paladin avatar:
Looks great. I love the patterns on the armour.
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Athaniar
Dispo, your art is great, don't think otherwise.
Also, here is my attempt at drawing my Paladin avatar:
It may be accurate to your avatar, but the design gives the impression that his forelegs and wings are attached to the same joint, i.e. the human equivalent of arms growing out of the abdomen. Otherwise, fairly decent. Good job on the armor details, and nicely done facial expression, too.
And here's what I've been (and still am) working on:
It's (going to be) a title page for a fanfic, this one, to be precise. (FiMFiction link) It's a Dwarf Fortress/MLP crossover collaborative fic-in-the-making, with my part of the collaboration being the art assets and the occasional editing remark.
As a sort of an experiment, I tried using a non-smoothed 1px brush to do the final lines, and.. well, it's not my tool. (the current character guidelines are the result) I'm redoing the lines with my usual smoothed 1px brush, and in the meantime I'd like some kind of suggestions for improving the background/scenery. There's no helping the perspective at this point, but I'd like to get as much of what can still be fixed as possible done right.
Some things I can point out myself - such as that the house designs are atrocious (even disregarding the sketchiness) and are channeling rural Russia instead of whatever it is Ponyville homes are supposed to be. I'll be fixing that shortly. I'm fairly sure the scenery is also wrong for the specific place the view is supposed to represent, the grass is extraneous, etc.
So, any suggestions?
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Level8Mudcrab
Looks great. I love the patterns on the armour.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
It may be accurate to your avatar, but the design gives the impression that his forelegs and wings are attached to the same joint, i.e. the human equivalent of arms growing out of the abdomen. Otherwise, fairly decent. Good job on the armor details, and nicely done facial expression, too.
Hm, yes, I see how it could give that impression (even though it was not intended to look that way). I'll have to think about clarifying that in further works. Thank you both, though. For the pattern on the armor I was going for something "aerial".
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Athaniar
Hm, yes, I see how it could give that impression (even though it was not intended to look that way). I'll have to think about clarifying that in further works. Thank you both, though. For the pattern on the armor I was going for something "aerial".
Well, it's swirly, so works as "aerial", I guess. I think the last time I tried to draw engraved armor it was this lil' thing:
Aand since I'm pulling up old pencilled robots, here, have a few more:
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Re: Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Vorpalbob
This is related to my next project:
If Calvin were a pony, what would Hobbes be?
In the meantime, here is my first attempt at drawing a full pony.
I cheated: It's a filly
Please keep in mind, this is the only thing I've drawn in three years that I've actually put serious effort into, other than that eye, but that's just an eye.
Reference picture
And now, my feeble efforts.
http://i.imgur.com/0bxcP.png
I'm with Thanqol on this, the picture is excellent, first attempt or no, and there's not really anything wrong with the line work.
We will be watching your career with great interest!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SiuiS
The dynamism excels,
Here. I love this Rarity. For proportions, he legs are too long; too much up and down. Since her legs are splayed, she should be closer to the ground. It took me a minute of looking at pic and reference at the same time though, to pin down what I thought was wrong.
Oh my goodness that pose... That pose! That pose.
Yes Rarity, yes. Yes you are awesome.
*k-sleep*
Yeah, I'm not a fan of how the legs turned out overall. I think I made them too skinny and not splayed out enough vs. the original pose. Your suggestion about length is also helpful. I'm going to try and focus on hoof proportions and height more in my next one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Athaniar
Also, here is my attempt at drawing my Paladin avatar:
This looks pretty accurately like your avatar. I might suggest adding more swoop to the tail, but nothing else really stands out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Level8Mudcrab
And for today I've drawn Applejack.
Referencing this:
My biggest issue with this one is definately Applejack's expression. Not really happy with how that turned out. And eyes. I still hate eyes.
The hair again is very well done! The legs seem small though, especially in comparison to the body. Notice how compact AJ's body is in the reference, and how curvy the lines are that define her pose; if you can capture that, you're 90% there with the expression.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
It may be accurate to your avatar, but the design gives the impression that his forelegs and wings are attached to the same joint, i.e. the human equivalent of arms growing out of the abdomen. Otherwise, fairly decent. Good job on the armor details, and nicely done facial expression, too.
And here's what I've been (and still am) working on:
It's (going to be) a title page for a fanfic,
this one, to be precise. (FiMFiction link) It's a Dwarf Fortress/MLP crossover collaborative fic-in-the-making, with my part of the collaboration being the art assets and the occasional editing remark.
As a sort of an experiment, I tried using a non-smoothed 1px brush to do the final lines, and.. well, it's not my tool. (the current character guidelines are the result) I'm redoing the lines with my usual smoothed 1px brush, and in the meantime I'd like some kind of suggestions for improving the background/scenery. There's no helping the perspective at this point, but I'd like to get as much of what can still be fixed as possible done right.
Some things I can point out myself - such as that the house designs are atrocious (even disregarding the sketchiness) and are channeling rural Russia instead of whatever it is Ponyville homes are supposed to be. I'll be fixing that shortly. I'm fairly sure the scenery is also wrong for the specific place the view is supposed to represent, the grass is extraneous, etc.
So, any suggestions?
I'm afraid I don't have enough landscape experience to suggest anything you haven't already pointed out, but I really like the way it's shaping up!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Sean Mirrsen
Well, it's swirly, so works as "aerial", I guess. I think the last time I tried to draw engraved armor it was this lil' thing:
Aand since I'm pulling up old pencilled robots, here, have a few more:
I'm really curious: how did you come up with the details on all those robot pictures? I love them, but I have no idea how I'd draw something similar; it seems so complicated...