Ponythread Learns to Draw II

[Madcrafter]

Bah, rough and flawed, I like it. A little last thread though now. Her horn seems to grow with each iteration.

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Day 401:

Been trying to get my New Vegas to work for a while now. Gave up and copied the box art. As of posting I did get it to function for 20 minutes today.

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Time: 20 min

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Day 402:

Changeling. One of those ideas that just pops into one's head.

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Day 403:

Trying to get people to go with their flow lines.

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Day 404:

Spaceships and some Twilight poses from a good pmv. Different method of drawing ponies.

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Day 405:

Started off as something to practice some hair, evolved into a whole dragon.

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Time: 40 min

[Tiki Snakes]

Bah, rough and flawed, I like it. A little last thread though now. Her horn seems to grow with each iteration.

I'm really vague with specific details. It just depends how the marks turn out sometimes.

[Madcrafter]

Day 406:

Back to day 100 for this one, now digital and done with less quantized shading. Looking back I think I was actually better in the 100 month, even though it's all mostly lines with minimal shading.

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Time: 35 min

EDIT: And now I notice that he doesn't have eyes... I totally meant to do that.

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Day 407:

Another one of those popup ideas. Some sort of guard pony, with strange wing bits on his helmet.

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Time: 40 min

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Day 408:

Didn't finish this one. Must sleep. Gives an example of that style early in production.

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Time: 15 min

[Madcrafter]

Hear ye, hear ye!

Let it be known that on this day (well, yesterday for everyone but Thanqol) the 9th of August, 2013, day 409, I did fail the drawing challenge.

Work merged into dinner, and I headed to a friend's afterwards. Brought my drawing stuff along (both pnp and tablet) since I knew I had yet to finish one today, but forgot about it until the way home, now 12:30am. I've known since the beginning that it would happen eventually, though I always figured I would fall asleep on a long flight or something instead.

So, I guess day one of the second great drawing challenge will begin later today. Hopefully it will meet with more success. Gonna be a pain to keep records now, starting again with day one though.

[Madcrafter]

Well that was depressing.

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Day 1:

Get a fresh start. Debated going pnp for a while first, but decided to jump right in with something I love but haven't been able to do so far: watercolour. Still needs work.

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Time: 30min

[SiuiS]

Hear ye, hear ye!

Let it be known that on this day (well, yesterday for everyone but Thanqol) the 9th of August, 2013, day 409, I did fail the drawing challenge.

Work merged into dinner, and I headed to a friend's afterwards. Brought my drawing stuff along (both pnp and tablet) since I knew I had yet to finish one today, but forgot about it until the way home, now 12:30am. I've known since the beginning that it would happen eventually, though I always figured I would fall asleep on a long flight or something instead.

So, I guess day one of the second great drawing challenge will begin later today. Hopefully it will meet with more success. Gonna be a pain to keep records now, starting again with day one though.

There are two kinds if motorcycle drivers; those who have fallen, and those who are going to fall.

[Elemental]

Don't worry about it. Four hundred and eight days of drawing each day is still an accomplishment worthy of praise, and significantly more committed than anything I've ever gotten around to.

[Madcrafter]

True enough, true enough. Hopefully this run ends with more luck. Only 9999 days to go!

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Day 2:

Celestia. Different style than yesterday, and not as good. Didn't quite turn out how it looked in my head (of course).

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Time: 30 min

[Thanqol]

I keep a pen in my pocket so that I can draw a smiley face on the back of my hand in case of dire emergency.

Celestia. Different style than yesterday, and not as good. Didn't quite turn out how it looked in my head (of course).

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Time: 30 min

Celestia's neck is much longer.

[Madcrafter]

Yeah, I had all my stuff with me (and I do keep a pen in my pocket just for utility reasons). I just lost track of time, which is why I feel so bad about it.

Thankee for the Celestia tip. I'll keep it in mind, since I seem to draw the princesses a lot.

[SiuiS]

Yeah, I had all my stuff with me (and I do keep a pen in my pocket just for utility reasons). I just lost track of time, which is why I feel so bad about it.

Thankee for the Celestia tip. I'll keep it in mind, since I seem to draw the princesses a lot.

The lesson here is draw because it's fun and you want to, no other reason.
If drawing were fun, you'd doodle durin lunch. You'd make snippets during conversations on a napkin. You wouldn't lose track of a timed obligation.

[Madcrafter]

Oh? So I should be doodling all the time then, and put even less thought into it than I usually do? I have other things to do, to concentrate on, and I don't want doodling to interfere with them, and in the same vein I don't typically let anything distract me from my drawing when I am doing it. Plus it seems awful rude to draw whilst holding a conversation with someone.

And as I articulated earlier, I'm not doing this because it's fun.

EDIT: Hmm, reads a little more defensive than it's supposed to be. Should be dead neutral, except for the first two questions which should have a bit of sarcasm.

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Day 3:

Saw a performance of Hamlet last night, so that's why the ghost. Quick ten minute thing because my wrist hurts a bunch today. I've travelled far enough that it is firmly no longer watercolour, but more of a muddly mess.

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Time: 10 min

[Thanqol]

Day 3:

Saw a performance of Hamlet last night, so that's why the ghost. Quick ten minute thing because my wrist hurts a bunch today. I've travelled far enough that it is firmly no longer watercolour, but more of a muddly mess.

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Time: 10 min

I actually really like this.

[Madcrafter]

Probably because I didn't spend so much time overdoing things. Maybe I should do that more often.

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Day 4:

This one actually did come out pretty much how I envisioned it for a change.

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Time: 50 minutes?

[Tiki Snakes]

I made a poster version of that fic-cover-image I scrapped together a while back. I don't remember who it was for, or what it was about, so I decided the poster is for a mildly terrible B-Movie.

I had more fun doing this than I really should have.

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Blue and Orange Filters! Dark Gradients! a suggestion of Bloom! Hilarious pony-names!
It has it all, including an F for Foals rating.
Contains scenes of Mild Peril.

[SiuiS]

Oh? So I should be doodling all the time then, and put even less thought into it than I usually do? I have other things to do, to concentrate on, and I don't want doodling to interfere with them, and in the same vein I don't typically let anything distract me from my drawing when I am doing it. Plus it seems awful rude to draw whilst holding a conversation with someone.

And as I articulated earlier, I'm not doing this because it's fun.

B1: Well yeah, that's a stupid idea. It's also your idea; I said try harder and set yourself up for success, not dilute yourself. You're the one who defaulted to not trying, not caring, and starting with a negative attitude.

B2: and how's that working out for ya? You failed. If that bothers you, fix it. Love what you do, even if you don't aren't doin what you love. If my solution doesn't work, pick a different one; just don't sit there fixated on the problem and moping.

[Beacon of Chaos]

Hey all, long time no post. Doing the artist training ground thing, figured I'd post my progress here.

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Copied from my tumblr:

Decided to enter Equestria Daily’s Newbie Artist Training Grounds again. I’ve been trying to learn to draw (seriously) for a few years now, but it’s always nice to have a project to work on, and hopefully I’ll learn something new this way.

And I have! First lesson learned: Coloured lines look better when they are thicker. If the lines are too thin, they become hard to see, and it’s better to use black lines in such a case.

Second lesson learned: You can thicken lines in Photoshop quickly by selecting them, expanding the selection by a pixel, then filling the selection with black. It’s kind of a cheat, leaves lines looking pixelated if you zoom in too much, and probably only works for ponies and similar cartoon characters, but it works, so whatever.

Prompt: Draw a character staring into space or with a glazed look.

[Madcrafter]

Ugh, your using the line tool, in PS? I mean, I haven't tried any other programs, but they all look way better at doing that sort of thing.

I mean, I use the Path tool to draw show-like, but it takes forever, for I'm usually just re-configuring old paths I have from other documents. Something like what Deadly uses (Paint Tool SAI?) would probably work way easier.

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Days 5, 6:

Was busy prepping for and then attending my grandfather's birthday. Just some faces (pic is terrible) and some more done over experiments trying to find a better way to mix colour in PS (didn't find one).

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Day 7:

Hooray, ATG. Startin' with a low bar here.

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[Beacon of Chaos]

Ugh, your using the line tool, in PS? I mean, I haven't tried any other programs, but they all look way better at doing that sort of thing.

I mean, I use the Path tool to draw show-like, but it takes forever, for I'm usually just re-configuring old paths I have from other documents. Something like what Deadly uses (Paint Tool SAI?) would probably work way easier.

Um, no, I'm not using the line or path tool. I'm just drawing with the brush.

[Madcrafter]

Um, no, I'm not using the line or path tool. I'm just drawing with the brush.

Ooohh, just using the selection on hand drawn lines. Interesting method. In that case I will commend you on getting your lines so nice and accurate, that isn't so easy.

[Ichneumon]

I've felt inspired by this thread and started a new project. I've always wanted to learn to draw better, and I've always wanted to draw a comic by hand, but I've never had the discipline & the endurance. Now, I've taken it upon myself to do both, by trying to draw one, simple thing, anything, each day. Namely, 1 panel a day.

This is my first attempt, day 1, and also the first panel: a man walking in the snow.

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It's drawn by hand, scanned and then added text in Photoshop. The scene is drawn, using some guidelines from an online video on how to draw mountains.

I've always had trouble drawing humanoid figures and now that it is finished, I'm not that content with how the silhouette looks, I should have done more than a very basic figure. That's something I'll have to work on. I'm especially interested in drawing poses and figures, so that's what I'll be doing a lot. Hopefully it's still recognizable as a human figure?

[Beacon of Chaos]

Day 2 of the Artist Training Ground. Prompt: Draw a pony walking OR! Draw a pony on a journey.

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Spike is best pony. So here’s Spike on his Dragon Quest journey.

You guys… I think I… kinda enjoyed doing this. It was satisfying. I mean, it was kind of tricky because I don’t draw Spike much, and while I can see a few errors (forgot the lines across his stomach, irises too small), they don’t really bug me. Even the background, which was a 5 minute half-ass job, looks okay to me. The only thing I regret is not shading it, so I think I may go back and try that later.

Ooohh, just using the selection on hand drawn lines. Interesting method. In that case I will commend you on getting your lines so nice and accurate, that isn't so easy.

Thanks. And no, it's not easy, but a combination of a line stabilizer program, a huge canvas, and sheer bloody-mindedness when it comes to fixing and editing goes a long way.

I've felt inspired by this thread and started a new project. I've always wanted to learn to draw better, and I've always wanted to draw a comic by hand, but I've never had the discipline & the endurance. Now, I've taken it upon myself to do both, by trying to draw one, simple thing, anything, each day. Namely, 1 panel a day.

Excellent! Welcome aboard and good luck with your challenge. I'm sure you'll do great!

It's drawn by hand, scanned and then added text in Photoshop. The scene is drawn, using some guidelines from an online video on how to draw mountains.

I've always had trouble drawing humanoid figures and now that it is finished, I'm not that content with how the silhouette looks, I should have done more than a very basic figure. That's something I'll have to work on. I'm especially interested in drawing poses and figures, so that's what I'll be doing a lot. Hopefully it's still recognizable as a human figure?

Firstly, good job on the mountains. Simple yet recognisable.

Secondly, yes the figure looks human. If I had to nitpick, I'd say that the trailing leg looks a little odd. It looks bigger than the front leg, though this may be because (s)he's walking through snow.

But besides that, it's good! I look forward to seeing your next pictures.

[Tiki Snakes]

I'm often floating around here somewhere.

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I think this is the silliest and most pointless Bleakmane pic I've done so far. Bless.

[Thanqol]

I've always had trouble drawing humanoid figures and now that it is finished, I'm not that content with how the silhouette looks, I should have done more than a very basic figure. That's something I'll have to work on. I'm especially interested in drawing poses and figures, so that's what I'll be doing a lot. Hopefully it's still recognizable as a human figure?

Firstly there's some grammar issues in the text, but that's beside the point.

To do humanoid silhouettes you've really got to keep an eye on hips. If there's one thing I've learned recently it's that hips are super important. Hips are twice the width of the head!

[Madcrafter]

Hrm yes, you will have to tell me more about this line stabilization you speak of it sounds useful. Is it just part of the program you use, or an addon or something?

As for you Ichneumon, I'd also add to the above that whoever it is looks awful thin to be traipsing around the frozen wastes. I would think some bulkier winter clothes would be likely. Also the front foot looks long, unless they are wearing snowshoes. Like the wind swirls.

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Day 8:

Seems we all like mountains. ATG 2.

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Time: 20min

I realized today, that since I'm going on vacation next week, I won't actually be able to finish the ATG completely in proper time, which is a bit of a shame. Might do the missed ones at the end, since they have decent prompts.

[Ichneumon]

Thanks for the advise, everyone! It's all very useful. My next drawing (today) is going to focus on a humanoid figure, so I can immediately try doing it better! The hips-thing really is something new, and hadn't noticed before.

Firstly there's some grammar issues in the text, but that's beside the point.

Purely for my own education (I'm a non-native English speaker). What issues were there?

Oh, and I really like your mountain drawing, Madcrafter!

[Thanqol]

Purely for my own education (I'm a non-native English speaker). What issues were there?

Oh, and I really like your mountain drawing, Madcrafter!

I must find the cabin soon. Not only my life depends on it, for I'll freeze to death otherwise for sure, but also the fate of the world... I must find it. Everything depends on it. Everything!

It's a bit of a jumbled mess of a paragraph. Let's dissect.

Not only my life depends on it, for I'll freeze to death otherwise for sure,

This middle bit doesn't need to be here. It's unrelated clutter.

but also the fate of the world...

Avoid using ellipses unless you've got a darn good reason.

Also, in general, the tone of the thing doesn't fit the image. It's a picture of a silhouette and a calm mountainside and yet it sounds like it's an INTENSE DESPERATE THING that would be better suited by a close-up of the guy's face.

[SiuiS]

It's a bit of a jumbled mess of a paragraph. Let's dissect.

Not only my life depends on it, for I'll freeze to death otherwise for sure,

This middle bit doesn't need to be here. It's unrelated clutter.

It's exposition, mostly. And if the only reason to tell someone something is to clue in the audience, don't do it; the guy wouldn't go over how he's goin to die, he's already done that.

Avoid using ellipses unless you've got a darn good reason.

Solid advice in general.

Also, in general, the tone of the thing doesn't fit the image. It's a picture of a silhouette and a calm mountainside and yet it sounds like it's an INTENSE DESPERATE THING that would be better suited by a close-up of the guy's face.

Really, all you need is the figure huddled, shivering, hugging itself, OR hunched forward like in a dogged run. The zoom level can be kept, though without finesse it is not ideal. I'm not actually sure which is best. Draw several, try them out?

[Ichneumon]

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. The text is a bit overly dramatic for what the scene shows.

If I understand you, SiusS, correctly, you basically say: Don't tell, show! Which is very good advise. In the following days I'll try to draw the same scene, with your suggestions in mind and try it out.

[Madcrafter]

I like (ab)using ellipses in conversational text. How else am I going to trail off with the written word?

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Day 9:

ATG 3, Pinkie Spy.

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Time: 35 minutes