Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!

[Capt. Ido Nos]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

EDIT: I guess it's just your thread Ido. Sorry.

Say who what now?

[Vorpalbob]

As I'm sure many of you are aware, shenanigans occur in the IRC.

This image is inspired by one such occurrence of shenanigans.

Specifically, my RP character Flashpoint calling in a 'favor' from Pinkie, in return for some 'Special Cupcakes'. Ponsoon yelled, "PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN."

Here, have Saucy Pinkie.

Spoiler

That RP kinda died, but whatevs. Gave me a chance to work on drawing ponies wearing things.

I guess my ex's obsession with wearing corsets (which I hated) did have one payoff: I now know how to draw them.

[ShadowySilence]

I haven't popped in here for a while, hello again everyone!

Special cupcakes?

I have been trying to improve my vectoring skills through Inkscape (I am too cheap to buy anything ), and I ended up working on a picture of an OC I thought up a while back.

Maxwell Hyden (OC):

Spoiler

The three things I am having trouble with mainly are the colors (I feel like I can never get colors correct), the lack of textures (I always have trouble giving textured appearances), and the pants/feet.

[Geno9999]

Originally Posted by Geno9999

Okay, I whipped something up on Champions Online:
(NEW EPISODE SPOILERS)

Spoiler

The Mare Do Well
And the close-up.
I did it as close as I could in 5~10 minutes Champions Online editor. I couldn't find a "Wrapped" detail for her gloves, nor could I find a cape with the appropriate shoulder flaps.

Posted from another thread!

[Diego Havoc]

@Geno9999: Haha, that's pretty neat!

Alright, I finished it. I didn't shade it as much as I was planning to, but honestly, I think this looks better. I added a few details, darkened the inside of the cape, and cleaned up a few odd looking lines. Overall, I'm happy leaving it like this.

Spoiler

'fraid I don't have anything constructive to add to anyone else's pics. Sorry :/

[Sean Mirrsen]

Some discussion (and the beginnings of a fusion fic) on another forum prompted me to try and draw this scene.

Spoiler

Just a sketchity sketch at the moment. I'd like to ask you if you can see more ways in which I butchered perspective and anatomy here than I can see. (I can see none, which I know to be objectively false)

Also, Rainbow Dash seems to be the most prominent character in my drawings as of late. I'm not sure how to react to that... is it a good thing or a bad thing?

[Noctemwolf]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Some discussion (and the beginnings of a fusion fic) on another forum prompted me to try and draw this scene.

Spoiler

Just a sketchity sketch at the moment. I'd like to ask you if you can see more ways in which I butchered perspective and anatomy here than I can see. (I can see none, which I know to be objectively false)

Also, Rainbow Dash seems to be the most prominent character in my drawings as of late. I'm not sure how to react to that... is it a good thing or a bad thing?

0-0 wow man! I really like the picture! If there's anything I can see wrong, It might be that Rainbow Dash's left leg looks a little wonky IMO, but otherwise. FINISH IT!

What Fic is it that prompted this artwork, by the way? I'm interested now...

[Sean Mirrsen]

It's a Jurassic Park fusion, and there's only a few separate segments, no complete fic.

[Trixie]

The 'jump from the fence' scene?

Also, by fusion, do you mean crossover...?

[Sean Mirrsen]

Sort of. It's mostly movie plot, part novel plot, characters replaced with show's main and supporting cast, events slightly altered to take the differences into account. A crossover is a general term for one universe meeting another. A Fusion is a total character replace sub-variant. (warning, TVTropes link)

And yes, it's the fence scene. It hasn't actually been written yet, interestingly, it was just the discussion of the possibility of that scene that made me want to draw it.

[legomaster00156]

From the main ponythread comes a request/challenge/what-have-you. We are attempting to create "The Next Big Meme". The basic idea is ponies with umbrella hats. These umbrella hats will have accessories on the tops that give a little hint as to the character's talent and/or personality. A few ideas are in the following quote. We need someone to draw these so we can distribute them over the Interwebz and make them an official meme.

Celestia and Luna, I think, should have their respective lunar bodies on their umbrella hats. Discord would have a glass of chocolate milk, half-filled (the half in question being the top).
Twilight would have a book. Rarity would have a diamond. Pinkie's, as said, would be a cupcake (with balloons coming out of it). Fluttershy would have a weeping dragon cute fluffy bunny on it. Rainbow Dash would simply have her Cutie Mark, because, really, what else describes her that well? Finally, Applejack will have, of course, an apple.
Getting into minor characters, Doctor Whooves will have a miniature TARDIS. Derpy will have a muffin. The Wonderbolts will have fireworks (I'd like to see someone manage that). Applebloom will have a hammer and nail. Scootaloo will have her famous scooter. Sweetie Belle will have a music note.

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by ShadowySilence

I haven't popped in here for a while, hello again everyone!

Special cupcakes?

I have been trying to improve my vectoring skills through Inkscape (I am too cheap to buy anything ), and I ended up working on a picture of an OC I thought up a while back.

Maxwell Hyden (OC):

Spoiler

The three things I am having trouble with mainly are the colors (I feel like I can never get colors correct), the lack of textures (I always have trouble giving textured appearances), and the pants/feet.

I don't know much about colors or textures yet, but if you're shooting for a "fuller" feel with the body, my main suggestion would be to try and block it out with geometric shapes (like spheres and cylinders) first, to get a feel for where the mass should be.

Sorry I can't be more help :/

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

@Geno9999: Haha, that's pretty neat!

Alright, I finished it. I didn't shade it as much as I was planning to, but honestly, I think this looks better. I added a few details, darkened the inside of the cape, and cleaned up a few odd looking lines. Overall, I'm happy leaving it like this.

Spoiler

'fraid I don't have anything constructive to add to anyone else's pics. Sorry :/

I like it! The one nitpick is that usually in the show, the irises are set so that they touch a corner of the eye, rather than just floating in space. Otherwise, I think it's a very cool crossover!

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Some discussion (and the beginnings of a fusion fic) on another forum prompted me to try and draw this scene.

Spoiler

Just a sketchity sketch at the moment. I'd like to ask you if you can see more ways in which I butchered perspective and anatomy here than I can see. (I can see none, which I know to be objectively false)

Also, Rainbow Dash seems to be the most prominent character in my drawings as of late. I'm not sure how to react to that... is it a good thing or a bad thing?

My main thoughts are that RD's front (stage)-right leg curves out a little too much at the bottom. Also, I can't figure out how Scoots is supposed to be laying; but maybe my brain just isn't deciphering the body lines properly. Other than that, I love this pic and the idea behind it, and if I had any money I would give it to you to make more!

And now for my own doodles! I've been drawing some Canterlot Royal guards to try and figure out something about pony armor, so here goes:

Spoiler

[ShadowySilence]

Spoiler

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

I don't know much about colors or textures yet, but if you're shooting for a "fuller" feel with the body, my main suggestion would be to try and block it out with geometric shapes (like spheres and cylinders) first, to get a feel for where the mass should be.

Sorry I can't be more help :/

I will have to give that a try, hopefully as I keep trying out new things I will find something that both works and that I like the look of.

Please don't apologize, any help at all is welcomed!

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

My main thoughts are that RD's front (stage)-right leg curves out a little too much at the bottom. Also, I can't figure out how Scoots is supposed to be laying; but maybe my brain just isn't deciphering the body lines properly. Other than that, I love this pic and the idea behind it, and if I had any money I would give it to you to make more!

I've had trouble imagining the setup myself, so it's no wonder it's hard to decipher. Now that I finally got to see the scene again (my copy of Jurassic Park is on VHS, and the player's broken), it appears Tim!Scoots should be lying on the back, but here I've decided to have her on the side, with the back facing the view. The whole thing was thrown together in about 20 minutes since it was the end of the work day and I didn't want the scene to escape my mind.

Right now I've hit a metaphorical brick wall because now that I've got a reference, I'm compelled to accurately render Lex's expression (crying her eyes out while trying to smile due to being happy that Tim is alive) onto Applebloom. The problem is I've no idea how that expression actually works, and trying to represent it with the simpler lines, and on a pony's face, makes it end up as any emotion BUT the one I'm trying to make it convey. Well, it's good practice, but it breaks my stride a bit. I'll post an update if I get it right.

Also, that armor looks show-accurate, so if you drew it without tracing, it's great. I only now noticed how difficult it must be to turn your head in one of those. No wonder they keep still most of the time.

[Diego Havoc]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Some discussion (and the beginnings of a fusion fic) on another forum prompted me to try and draw this scene.

Cool. I recognised it as Jurrasic Park straight away!

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

I like it! The one nitpick is that usually in the show, the irises are set so that they touch a corner of the eye, rather than just floating in space. Otherwise, I think it's a very cool crossover!

Huh, yeah, didn't really think of that. Maybe they should have been even bigger then (seriously the size of pony eyes continues to amaze me). But thanks, glad you liked it ^^

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

And now for my own doodles! I've been drawing some Canterlot Royal guards to try and figure out something about pony armor, so here goes:

Spoiler

Looks pretty darn close to the show. And I have only now just realised that the guards wear very similar shoes to Celestia.

[Pokonic]

Looks pretty darn close to the show. And I have only now just realised that the guards wear very similar shoes to Celestia.

It could be that they are a special heavy-duty grade. After all, a ruler who has existed for a good thousand years should not have to replace there wardrobe every few decades! Royal gaurds get the same shoes because, well, they go well with white/black/grey coats.

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Also, that armor looks show-accurate, so if you drew it without tracing, it's great. I only now noticed how difficult it must be to turn your head in one of those. No wonder they keep still most of the time.

Thanks! I didn't trace; just pulled up a screenshot on one side of the screen and tried to follow along with my sketching program on the other. There are a couple little proportion/line issues but I am pretty happy with it. Though really, the main goal was to figure out a little about how barding fits so I can use it in an upcoming drawing in modified style.

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

Huh, yeah, didn't really think of that. Maybe they should have been even bigger then (seriously the size of pony eyes continues to amaze me). But thanks, glad you liked it ^^

Yeah, pony eyes are huge! And from trying to draw them I noticed that they almost always touch the edge of the white area...they're surprisingly hard to get just right, actually.

Looks pretty darn close to the show. And I have only now just realised that the guards wear very similar shoes to Celestia.

Yeah, they have a fleur-de-lis pattern, which I only noticed when I tried to reproduce it - funny how I'd just skimmed over that before...

[Sean Mirrsen]

I keep getting randomly sidetracked to do odd things here and there. A fellow forumite asked me, and so it came to be. Twilight Sparkle in a labcoat:

Spoiler

Ponies facing the camera look odd, especially if you try to draw them semi-realistically. Plus the odd lighting conditions don't help. All in all, barely avoids uncanny valley (very barely) and shading is spotty and weird, but I suppose it could've been worse.

I really need to practice more, my usual drawing schedule has been derailed to hell and back by real life.

[Pokonic]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

I keep getting randomly sidetracked to do odd things here and there. A fellow forumite asked me, and so it came to be. Twilight Sparkle in a labcoat:

Spoiler

Ponies facing the camera look odd, especially if you try to draw them semi-realistically. Plus the odd lighting conditions don't help. All in all, barely avoids uncanny valley (very barely) and shading is spotty and weird, but I suppose it could've been worse.

I really need to practice more, my usual drawing schedule has been derailed to hell and back by real life.

Its the snout, or rather the distinct lack of them when they are facing forword. Thats why the "May The Best Pet Win!" memeic expressions look so gosh darn creepy. Mostly, a super happy pony looks cute from the side, but facing the veiwers....

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Capt. Ido Nos

Say who what now?

I've tried responding to your drawthread in detail around 8-10 times now. I keep getting 503'd, and after all that, it takes me a while to get the gusto to try again.

The short version is porn. Learn figure drawing through porn.

Originally Posted by Vorpalbob

As I'm sure many of you are aware, shenanigans occur in the IRC.

This image is inspired by one such occurrence of shenanigans.

Specifically, my RP character Flashpoint calling in a 'favor' from Pinkie, in return for some 'Special Cupcakes'. Ponsoon yelled, "PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN."

Here, have Saucy Pinkie.

Spoiler

That RP kinda died, but whatevs. Gave me a chance to work on drawing ponies wearing things.

I guess my ex's obsession with wearing corsets (which I hated) did have one payoff: I now know how to draw them.

Intriguing. A question I have to ask, from seeing other ponies in corsets - a phrase which completes my daily list of 'really? I said that out loud?' - why does she have a bust?

Very well done though. Not user about the color choice though. It works! But I wouldn't have expected it to. I must work on this whole color theory thing at some point.

Originally Posted by ShadowySilence

I haven't popped in here for a while, hello again everyone!

Special cupcakes?

I have been trying to improve my vectoring skills through Inkscape (I am too cheap to buy anything ), and I ended up working on a picture of an OC I thought up a while back.

Maxwell Hyden (OC):

Spoiler

The three things I am having trouble with mainly are the colors (I feel like I can never get colors correct), the lack of textures (I always have trouble giving textured appearances), and the pants/feet.

Pants/feet troubles generally occur when you build a head and torso, and hang everything else from them. The legs seem useless and muppet-y when that happens. The only suggestion I have are broad guidelines - make a circle so you know the rough head position, then use one or two lines to map the flow of the image. But I struggle with this very thing, so...

The second thing, is gradient use. It has to be done real subtly, and often in concert with cell shading (or whatever it's called adding blocks of different color to stuff). A shortcut is to add a top "shade" layer, that's black and has graduated transparency, or graduated white in cases like this where it's dark and you need things lighter closer to the light source.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

I keep getting randomly sidetracked to do odd things here and there. A fellow forumite asked me, and so it came to be. Twilight Sparkle in a labcoat:

Spoiler

Ponies facing the camera look odd, especially if you try to draw them semi-realistically. Plus the odd lighting conditions don't help. All in all, barely avoids uncanny valley (very barely) and shading is spotty and weird, but I suppose it could've been worse.

I really need to practice more, my usual drawing schedule has been derailed to hell and back by real life.

They do look different head on. It becomes easier when you realize they don't have equine skulls. They have humanoid skulls with equine bodies. They're an anthropomorphic dream - or nightmare.

[Pokonic]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

They do look different head on. It becomes easier when you realize they don't have equine skulls. They have humanoid skulls with equine bodies. They're an anthropomorphic dream - or nightmare.

A hundred times this. I bet that Celestia would look downright terrifing if we got a shot of her facing the vewers directly, let alown her smiling.

[Trixie]

Originally Posted by Pokonic

Its the snout, or rather the distinct lack of them when they are facing forword. Thats why the "May The Best Pet Win!" memeic expressions look so gosh darn creepy. Mostly, a super happy pony looks cute from the side, but facing the veiwers....

Actually, I think it's the mouths and muzzle deformation. All of the disturbing scenes have them smiling, while quite a few normal ones with straight lips are nowhere near as disturbing.

Hmm, I need to make comparison shot.

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Trixie

Actually, I think it's the mouths and muzzle deformation. All of the disturbing scenes have them smiling, while quite a few normal ones with straight lips are nowhere near as disturbing.

Hmm, I need to make comparison shot.

Yeah, the smiling head-on ponies are a little disturbing. I still get creeped out by the one shot of Fluttershy singing in Cutie Mark Chronicles.

Anyway, I sketched some more ponies; still working on barding and clothes (particularly archaic ones, for the D&D ponies). Work is below:

Spoiler

So the armored pony is my attempt at altering the armor design a bit for my ponyfied Cavalier. I'm keeping the helmet mostly the same, except for the doohickey at the top, which I like better as a plume. I'm still not settled on how I want the breastplate to look, so suggestions are welcome. The Twi sketch is to get a feel for ponies in robes, for my cleric/sorcerer. At the bottom is an attempt at ponies in robes in perspective, but those still feel off...suggestions are definitely helpful there.

Also, as a note, I've been trying to figure out how to take the next step and ink up my rough sketches using the tablet, but I'm having a lot of trouble because the thicker brushes seem to wiggle at the slightest motion and mess up the curves I'm going for. Does anyone have any ideas about that?

[Noctemwolf]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Yeah, the smiling head-on ponies are a little disturbing. I still get creeped out by the one shot of Fluttershy singing in Cutie Mark Chronicles.

Hmm? I don't remember being creeped out by smiling head on ponies... well, maybe Twilight in Lesson Zero, but...

Anyway, I sketched some more ponies; still working on barding and clothes (particularly archaic ones, for the D&D ponies). Work is below:

Spoiler

So the armored pony is my attempt at altering the armor design a bit for my ponyfied Cavalier. I'm keeping the helmet mostly the same, except for the doohickey at the top, which I like better as a plume. I'm still not settled on how I want the breastplate to look, so suggestions are welcome. The Twi sketch is to get a feel for ponies in robes, for my cleric/sorcerer. At the bottom is an attempt at ponies in robes in perspective, but those still feel off...suggestions are definitely helpful there.

I like the Armor the guards have in the show. I also loved Twilight's Halloween costume! You did well on these! as to the back view of the robes... Looks pretty good to me. It does kinda look a little odd (perhaps the way it appears to be hanging? straight down from their hindquarters)? But then again it would kinda hang down like that I guess, especially with the tail and all... I dunno. I've never tried to fit clothing on a pony before.
Oh, breastplate looks just fine to me! and agreed on the plumage... Less Spartan, More Eastern.

Also, as a note, I've been trying to figure out how to take the next step and ink up my rough sketches using the tablet, but I'm having a lot of trouble because the thicker brushes seem to wiggle at the slightest motion and mess up the curves I'm going for. Does anyone have any ideas about that?

No clue as to this mate, I don't use tablets to draw . (REALLYREALLYREALLYWANNA)!

Also, A recent work of mine:

Spoiler

Say Hello to Sojourner!
I did this one with basically no reference... except for the posing which I based off the other drawing (Which was based off of a pony creator Pony).
I tried to make him a little more beefy I suppose? Less like a filly and more like a colt... His chest seems to stick out a little too far, and he is slightly taller than three heads (Of which I am Okay with. I wanted him to be slightly taller).
Not completely finished as of yet. I'm not sure if I'm going to change his hair or not, and the lines need to be blackened. Also uncertain as to his eyes... I want him to have a serious expression on his face,a nd the round eyes don't quite mesh with that; Zecora's eye style works better. He IS a unicorn and not a Zebra, though. I dunno...

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Also, as a note, I've been trying to figure out how to take the next step and ink up my rough sketches using the tablet, but I'm having a lot of trouble because the thicker brushes seem to wiggle at the slightest motion and mess up the curves I'm going for. Does anyone have any ideas about that?

I wouldn't call what I do to my sketches "inking", but I usually just take the same brush I used to do the sketch (it's basically a pencil), turn the opacity on the sketch layer down, and just follow the lines on a new layer, with harder and more deliberate strokes. It's mostly just retracing the whole thing, cleaning the sketch up. I don't think I ever did "inking" in the way I imagine it should be done. Maybe I should, sometime.

[Dispozition]

Hey guys, popping in here again after being inactive FOREVER. Art blocks are awful >:

Gotta say all of you are going great :D Wish I could draw, but oh well~

Have a WIP colouring because I need to show some of my work of somewhere right now...I'm going crazy with no feedback.

Spoiler

Obviously only half finished. The hair needs some tweaking, and the shirt is far from done, but it's a bit of a new style for me (only using the SAI waterbrush tool) and I'd like some feedback. I want to make in lineless eventually, but I don't think I'll be able to.

[Diego Havoc]

Originally Posted by Pokonic

A hundred times this. I bet that Celestia would look downright terrifing if we got a shot of her facing the vewers directly, let alown her smiling.

Like here? (19m56s)

[Pokonic]

No, not like that. Think more like a lowered-down smiling face than what was in the first episode. To be fair, now I wonder if her facial structure would alow such deformitys of the face. Her proportions are more in line with "normal" horses than any pony, and her face is longer, with eyes nearly on the side.

[the_druid_droid]

Thanks for the suggestion, Sean. I'm having some luck with the ballpoint pen tool and slow, repeated strokes to make thicker lines. I suppose we'll see how it goes.

Also, I would offer feedback for you Dispo, but all I can really do is fanboy and envy you; that AJ looks fantastic.

Now for something a little different! This is another drawing exercise, I traced my hand holding a pencil onto a piece of glass with marker, then used that as a reference to re-sketch my hand on a similar sized region with a toned background, the idea being that by redrawing the tracing by eye, I would get the foreshortening right and still learn about drawing, and hopefully have a halfway passable hand-blob. Unfortunately, the scanner didn't like my background so much, but here it is anyway.

Spoiler

Extra Special Edit Update: I found a way to ink that seems to work fairly well, though it's a bit slow. Here's the results for one of the barding pictures.

Spoiler

[ShadowySilence]

Spoiler

Originally Posted by SiuiS

Pants/feet troubles generally occur when you build a head and torso, and hang everything else from them. The legs seem useless and muppet-y when that happens. The only suggestion I have are broad guidelines - make a circle so you know the rough head position, then use one or two lines to map the flow of the image. But I struggle with this very thing, so...

The second thing, is gradient use. It has to be done real subtly, and often in concert with cell shading (or whatever it's called adding blocks of different color to stuff). A shortcut is to add a top "shade" layer, that's black and has graduated transparency, or graduated white in cases like this where it's dark and you need things lighter closer to the light source.

Thank you for the advice, I do agree with the muppet-y effect you mentioned. I will have to look into cell shading and other overall shading techniques, it seems that is the best way to give a fuller look.

Spoiler

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Yeah, the smiling head-on ponies are a little disturbing. I still get creeped out by the one shot of Fluttershy singing in Cutie Mark Chronicles.

Anyway, I sketched some more ponies; still working on barding and clothes (particularly archaic ones, for the D&D ponies). Work is below:

Spoiler

So the armored pony is my attempt at altering the armor design a bit for my ponyfied Cavalier. I'm keeping the helmet mostly the same, except for the doohickey at the top, which I like better as a plume. I'm still not settled on how I want the breastplate to look, so suggestions are welcome. The Twi sketch is to get a feel for ponies in robes, for my cleric/sorcerer. At the bottom is an attempt at ponies in robes in perspective, but those still feel off...suggestions are definitely helpful there.

Also, as a note, I've been trying to figure out how to take the next step and ink up my rough sketches using the tablet, but I'm having a lot of trouble because the thicker brushes seem to wiggle at the slightest motion and mess up the curves I'm going for. Does anyone have any ideas about that?

I love how the hat and beard look!

My one concern is that the body looks like it ends kind of early.



Here is my second ponytar attempt:

Spoiler