[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

It's okay, I know that things can get lost in ponythread, though I did post during a slow time. Still, no biggie.

Yeah, I've tried drawing wings. Good grief! This is something I did ages ago, completely in Flash. It looks good, but it took me ages. Oh, and do you know how hard it is to draw a pony sitting down? From the front!?

Spoiler

But yeah, references and guidelines are a big help. I had at least 4-5 references up for doing the above picture. When I get a chance I'll post the sketches I did while trying to get the wings right, maybe it will help others.

Definitely post the wing sketches! They are decidedly hard to draw, and so I think all the collective knowledge we can muster for them will be important!

I'm also thinking about throwing together a little 'how DD approaches drawing ponies' series of images once I get a bit more comfortable, both to encourage and guide the couple of really nervous lurkers we seem to have, and so I can get critique on my early-stage roughing in techniques, since that's where mistakes can haunt you later, it seems... For those of you that feel a bit more experienced with pony (and general) art, I'd love to see your own versions - a set of pictures showing your progression from initial concept sketch to finished product.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

I must be used to the humanoid limb thickness proportions. I've pulled up an equine anatomy chart, and now I also notice the forelegs should be thinner. Okay, that seems an easy fix. Anything else? In particular, I've been wrestling (figuratively) with Fluttershy's look far longer than necessary, and it still seems odd to me.

Spike is off because I drew him completely from memory, again adding a touch of my personal brand of "realism". :) I'll pull up a good reference episode and redraw him.

ninja edit: The necks are longer because I'm proportioning them differently, slightly away from the regular "cartoonish" designs. I'm not going to be using the show's "Flash-y" colored outlines, and the less realistic designs look far worse with thin black outline.

My one suggestion would be to consider going with a wing style closer to the show's for the pegasi. Although your wings look good, the fact that the top of the wing is angled rather than straight comes out a bit odd on the finished product of a semi-cartoon style pony - I think it looks a bit too realistic, for lack of a better word. I sort of think that a straight wing top and more of a fan-shape would still convey the feel you want, but look a bit more natural on the body style you're using.

EDIT: Alternatively, you might keep the current style, but make the wings a bit longer and 'poofier' so they look a little more filled out.