Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!

[Bakuel]

Originally Posted by Noctemwolf

I friggen' love the way you draw, Bakuel!
You know, Sweetie bell looks awfully devilsh in this drawing for some reason... maybe it's the neck biting... Ow.
Big Mac does look alittle off though... Is his body not quite big enough, perhaps?

Thanks for the kind word!
I wanted to make Sweetie Bell cute, but after I finished and looked back at it, I realized she did look evil. I wasn't too sure what to do to fix it so I left it. Sweetie Bell probably has her evil side too.
Big Mac is off, I need to watch that next time around.

Originally Posted by Noctemwolf

Your Words on how his eyes and hair are Zebra-ish has got me thinking on an actual backstory for him... I do need one, since I'm planning to put him into a story I'm writing.
He is a philosopher, hence the Cutie mark... Plenty of other things too, making me wonder if Ponythread for drawing is also okay with sharing stories. 0-0* I could use some feedback on whether I'm developing it right, or if it's even any good. Seeing as the main thread moves WAAAAY to freakin' fast for me to follow anyway...

You could make a new ponyfiction thread, but I'm not too sure if it would have enough traffic to last. Or you could post it on fanfiction.net or deviantart and link to it in your post alongside more drawings.
I personally wouldn't care if you posted it here and spoilered it, but others might. OP does lay down the ground rules for this being a drawing art thread.
I feel your pain though, that thread moves so fast it's rather scary. I could never muster up the courage to post in it.

Originally Posted by Dispozition

While not pony related, have my latest art exploits. It will eventually be pony related because this might kick me out of my slump...I dunno. Anyway, here's the first two stages of my arty things. Not even a third done at this point most likely, and those clouds are starting to bug me...Might do them in SAI rather than PS.

*snip*

It looks great, especially the clouds!
I'm slightly jealous, I must learn to make more realistic clouds.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

I think your picture looks quite good! The only things I'd mention are that Big Mac's body does look a bit small and is bent a little oddly. Also, there seems to be something a little strange about the perspective of his hooves; it seems like they should maybe tilt forward a bit more?

Anyway, that is a neat picture, and I look forward to your next stuff!

Thank you! Your right, as many others have pointed out, Big Mac's body structure is pretty odd in a dozen little small and annoying ways that really add up. I should have spent more time on the pre-drawing!
I'm going to start over again from scratch with the same concept a bit later.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Nice! I'm curious to see what she'd look like once cleaned up and colored!

I'm glad you like the design! I'll try to get a colored picture of her up later.

Originally Posted by Deadly

Thanks. Applecora is an idea I've had for a while, ever since I saw a zebra chase a pony which looked a lot like AJ at a circus

As for her head... hmm, I hadn't noticed. Maybe I'll see how it looks once colored and stuff. Thanks for mentioning that.

Inspiration is truly everywhere!
Given Applejack's ignorance of Zebras, that paring could end up being incredibly amusing. Are you planning to write anything on it or is it just a picture idea?

Looking at it again, I think rather then the overall size of the head and hair, I think it has more to do with just her face area. Her eyes seem smallcompared to Zecora's.
But, then again, mind you, I am horrible with pony (and human) anatomy myself and size relations and struggle with drawing adult and child figures in the same picture.

A related pony art pic.

Spoiler

I was looking on the internet early today for a picture of Derpy using a wacom tablet to go with my comment on not trusting my judgement on sizes, due to her eyes and all.
I couldn't find one so I made my own.
It's a simple picture, so I used it to practice colors. I tried following Dispozition's advice in this thread on using other colors for shading instead of just black all the time. It may seem like a simple picture, and it is, but I'm a little bit happier with the basic shading result. It has a less harsher style then simply black. I'll try using it again.


Derpy's anatomy is off, but I was going for the chibi look. Yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking with it. I seem to love drawing stylistic fluffy clouds.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by ShadowySilence

Here is my second ponytar attempt:

Spoiler

Thanks again, by the way! The badge in particular is exquisite.

Originally Posted by Dispozition

As a rule it makes things look dirty rather than shaded, and if you want to be as depthful as you can in your shading, it just makes things black, since you use as much colour as you can. I can shoot you a few palette charts for shading if you want? I don't have that many though, I mostly eyeball it these days.

So it's the same as shadow play in pencil sketches, where there is the object, the shadow, the valses shadow, and the shiny bit; only you would use associated colors to provide the proper hue rather than just darkening or lightening right?

Thanqol, as an exercise since I don't have the tools; try to go through the provided charts and see if there is a mathematical correlation. If shadows are generally always [x] RGB spaces darker, then we can work out correlations. It becomes easier when shading is "shadowy afternoon; use a color 20 degrees cooler" rather than "green; use a third stage viridian blue" y'know?

Originally Posted by Dispozition

While not pony related, have my latest art exploits. It will eventually be pony related because this might kick me out of my slump...I dunno. Anyway, here's the first two stages of my arty things. Not even a third done at this point most likely, and those clouds are starting to bug me...Might do them in SAI rather than PS.

Spoiler

Masterful. More fuel for the fire, on the whole "I'm going to buy a computer and stalk you and maybe eat some of your brain to absorb your talent" thing.

And your applejack... Wow. Just... Wow.

Art maybe soon. Areta had a runin wiu abycatch and Fox that just screams "draw me".

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

So it's the same as shadow play in pencil sketches, where there is the object, the shadow, the valses shadow, and the shiny bit; only you would use associated colors to provide the proper hue rather than just darkening or lightening right?

Thanqol, as an exercise since I don't have the tools; try to go through the provided charts and see if there is a mathematical correlation. If shadows are generally always [x] RGB spaces darker, then we can work out correlations. It becomes easier when shading is "shadowy afternoon; use a color 20 degrees cooler" rather than "green; use a third stage viridian blue" y'know?

What, mathematics being applied to art? It'd be fantastic if it works, even if I suspect otherwise, I'll look into it and get back to you.

Art maybe soon. Areta had a runin wiu abycatch and Fox that just screams "draw me".

Woo!

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

What, mathematics being applied to art? It'd be fantastic if it works, even if I suspect otherwise, I'll look into it and get back to you.

Less mathematics; and more a formula to express intuitive understanding. With a color wheel and a slider that goes between black & white, say, I could see good shades always being a degree counter-clockwise, twice that distance downward, and move the slider 2 millimeters. Or on a periodic table-style chart, a good shade is always two up, three right. Generally speaking.

Woo!

Gracious I even spent time trying to properly catch any typos. That clinches it, I'm going to bed XD

It's inspired many moments worth drawing, but I don't have a grasp on the characters or chosen esthetic. I'll throw that to the wind though. You've drawn bycatch, I can draw this.

[Deadly]

Originally Posted by Bakuel

Inspiration is truly everywhere!
Given Applejack's ignorance of Zebras, that paring could end up being incredibly amusing. Are you planning to write anything on it or is it just a picture idea?

Yeah, I've been wanting to write a story about them ever since, but Applejack is a tough nut... she doesn't inspire me like the other ponies do, so I haven't really been able to come up with a story. I think I got a sudden idea the other day, however, but I have plenty of other stories to write so... it'll probably be a while before I get to this.

[Dispozition]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

So it's the same as shadow play in pencil sketches, where there is the object, the shadow, the valses shadow, and the shiny bit; only you would use associated colors to provide the proper hue rather than just darkening or lightening right?

Thanqol, as an exercise since I don't have the tools; try to go through the provided charts and see if there is a mathematical correlation. If shadows are generally always [x] RGB spaces darker, then we can work out correlations. It becomes easier when shading is "shadowy afternoon; use a color 20 degrees cooler" rather than "green; use a third stage viridian blue" y'know?

I do this a lot when eyeballing it fails me. I'll generally chuck a tone down by 20-60 across the board on the RGB scale and see where that goes. Sometimes works, sometimes not. A lot of it is practice.

Masterful. More fuel for the fire, on the whole "I'm going to buy a computer and stalk you and maybe eat some of your brain to absorb your talent" thing.

And your applejack... Wow. Just... Wow.

Heh, my talent is low and awful :P
When I get to this stage I'll understand why you'd want to do that. Honestly, you'll all overtake me soon enough I'm sure, since I hardly practice. I've come about as far in 4 years as you lot can probably do in one.

And my AJ is also on hold now, just like my Rarity plot...So many pieces of mine are just on hold until I break my artblock and get confident again.

Also have an extra 20 or so minutes of work on my picture. Just adding some blocking. I might start working on detailing it soon enough, and working on the shape.

Spoiler

Oh, and I missed this earlier, sorry.

Originally Posted by Bakuel

It looks great, especially the clouds!
I'm slightly jealous, I must learn to make more realistic clouds.

A lot of it is in the brushes if you're going for pure realism. My eventual goal is to be doing clouds like Makoto Shinkai does. (warning, pic is a big one)

Spoiler

Although probably a bit 'scrappier' to fit with the Licheus style that I'm also gunning for...Eventually. Right now I'm just trying to pin down a style in general...But that's off topic to the clouds!

A lot of realistic clouds is in the brushes and the amount of detail work you do to them. The ones in my picture are three layers, one brush, and 4 or 5 colours. If I wanted them to look a lot better, I'd use two or three brushes, probably still three layers, and way more colours. I'd also spend more than 10 minutes them.


Also, as a side note, seeing more Zecora would make me squee a lot. Because she's my favourite character from the show. Seriously, I love her :3

[Sean Mirrsen]

Various events prevented me from drawing at all for the past few days, so I'm trying to do at least something to keep my momentum and get back on course.

These aren't much to look at, but since I'm not averse to post random unfinished stuff I do, have them anyway:

Spoiler

Their only significance, besides being the only things I managed to draw for the last five days (well, I still have time today, so maybe not the only things), is that I've drawn them in Corel Painter 12 rather than Photoshop that I've used lately. I find Painter good for sketches, but as soon as I try to use any of the usual methods for digital drawing, it ends up being a kludge for some reason. I never quite understood why it keeps giving me so much trouble. At least this latest incarnation works flawlessly with my tablet, unlike the previous one. Lack of middle-click scrolling annoys me to no end though.

Also, on the second image, can anyone give me good pointers on properly conveying dynamics in poses? The few things I read on the matter didn't give me quite enough insights to prevent characters from appearing static.

edit: and sorry for not participating in the discussion, but I'm fairly incompetent when it comes to color theory and lighting/shading, and the intricacies of zebra shipping elude me as well. I do like Dispozition's clouds though.

edit2: updated the second one with a more detailed version.

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Bakuel

A related pony art pic.

Spoiler

I was looking on the internet early today for a picture of Derpy using a wacom tablet to go with my comment on not trusting my judgement on sizes, due to her eyes and all.
I couldn't find one so I made my own.
It's a simple picture, so I used it to practice colors. I tried following Dispozition's advice in this thread on using other colors for shading instead of just black all the time. It may seem like a simple picture, and it is, but I'm a little bit happier with the basic shading result. It has a less harsher style then simply black. I'll try using it again.


Derpy's anatomy is off, but I was going for the chibi look. Yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking with it. I seem to love drawing stylistic fluffy clouds.

This is actually showing up as a broken link for me. I'm not sure why...

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Various events prevented me from drawing at all for the past few days, so I'm trying to do at least something to keep my momentum and get back on course.

These aren't much to look at, but since I'm not averse to post random unfinished stuff I do, have them anyway:

Spoiler

Their only significance, besides being the only things I managed to draw for the last five days (well, I still have time today, so maybe not the only things), is that I've drawn them in Corel Painter 12 rather than Photoshop that I've used lately. I find Painter good for sketches, but as soon as I try to use any of the usual methods for digital drawing, it ends up being a kludge for some reason. I never quite understood why it keeps giving me so much trouble. At least this latest incarnation works flawlessly with my tablet, unlike the previous one. Lack of middle-click scrolling annoys me to no end though.

Also, on the second image, can anyone give me good pointers on properly conveying dynamics in poses? The few things I read on the matter didn't give me quite enough insights to prevent characters from appearing static.

I am stupidly fond of ponies with clockwork/steampunk wings. I don't even know why...

Anyway, the only thing I can think of, dynamism-wise is that you might consider having Rainbow's (is it Rainbow?) legs splayed out more, to capture more of the feel of a pony mid-sprint. With the legs under the body, it looks more like a walking pace, even if it is a snapshot mid-run.

Aaaand now for something from me! It's not pony-related, but it took me long enough, and I need to post something... Anyway, the purpose of this exercise was to explore shapes and negative space, so I drew a chair in 3/4 view, representing the negative space, rather than all the detailed chair lines.

Spoiler

Some things I learned:
- It's important to pick your unit of measure early; I used the back curve of the seat as mine, and in order to get things looking passable I spent a lot of time measuring against it
- It's surprisingly easy to be fooled by your eyes. This is actually why I made rough measurements as I went along - to make sure the curves ended where I thought they ended and that things were remotely in proportion
- Negative space drawing look very different from the object until they're almost done. Yet another reason to make measurements!

Hopefully some actual pony stuff will follow soon-ish.

[Bakuel]

Originally Posted by Dispozition

A lot of it is in the brushes if you're going for pure realism. My eventual goal is to be doing clouds like Makoto Shinkai does. (warning, pic is a big one)
*snip*
Although probably a bit 'scrappier' to fit with the Licheus style that I'm also gunning for...Eventually. Right now I'm just trying to pin down a style in general...But that's off topic to the clouds!

A lot of realistic clouds is in the brushes and the amount of detail work you do to them. The ones in my picture are three layers, one brush, and 4 or 5 colours. If I wanted them to look a lot better, I'd use two or three brushes, probably still three layers, and way more colours. I'd also spend more than 10 minutes them.

I'll try that. Thanks for the tip!
I like fluffy abstract curly clouds. But sometimes I would like a more realistic feel for some pictures.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

This is actually showing up as a broken link for me. I'm not sure why...

Heh, first the forum eats my post and regurgitates it later, then a few days later someone points out the link was broken the whole time.
I fixed it. At least I think.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

I am stupidly fond of ponies with clockwork/steampunk wings. I don't even know why...

Anyway, the only thing I can think of, dynamism-wise is that you might consider having Rainbow's (is it Rainbow?) legs splayed out more, to capture more of the feel of a pony mid-sprint. With the legs under the body, it looks more like a walking pace, even if it is a snapshot mid-run.

I agree with the druid droid. As a general rule, the more stable the pose, the more static or slow moving it appears to the viewer. For running horses and ponies, it's generally best to make the legs either splayed forward or tucked in underneath the stomach area.
The drawing is great, of course! But I don't think you needed me to tell you that. Is it from a certain story?

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Aaaand now for something from me! It's not pony-related, but it took me long enough, and I need to post something... Anyway, the purpose of this exercise was to explore shapes and negative space, so I drew a chair in 3/4 view, representing the negative space, rather than all the detailed chair lines.

Spoiler

*snip*
Some things I learned:
- It's important to pick your unit of measure early; I used the back curve of the seat as mine, and in order to get things looking passable I spent a lot of time measuring against it
- It's surprisingly easy to be fooled by your eyes. This is actually why I made rough measurements as I went along - to make sure the curves ended where I thought they ended and that things were remotely in proportion
- Negative space drawing look very different from the object until they're almost done. Yet another reason to make measurements!

Hopefully some actual pony stuff will follow soon-ish.

Negative space?
I'm going to have to try that exercise one day.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

I am stupidly fond of ponies with clockwork/steampunk wings. I don't even know why...

Well, it's neither in this case, although "magitek", which it is, could reasonably fit under either. And I'm pretty sure I like them because I like machines in general. Especially implausibly complex ones.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Anyway, the only thing I can think of, dynamism-wise is that you might consider having Rainbow's (is it Rainbow?) legs splayed out more, to capture more of the feel of a pony mid-sprint. With the legs under the body, it looks more like a walking pace, even if it is a snapshot mid-run.

Hmm... yeah, I sort of thought about that too, but thing is, in this case it's supposed to be the "end" of a motion, like one of those stereotypical ninja slashes. I guess I just need to experiment with the pose, but it's kinda hard to do when you're not working with vectors.

As to whether or not that's Rainbow... ho, now dot's an interestin' metzaphysical qvestion, to quote a certain Jägermonster. Well, she is, and she isn't. So far my favorite nickname for her was Rainbow Slash.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Aaaand now for something from me! It's not pony-related, but it took me long enough, and I need to post something... Anyway, the purpose of this exercise was to explore shapes and negative space, so I drew a chair in 3/4 view, representing the negative space, rather than all the detailed chair lines.

Spoiler

Some things I learned:
- It's important to pick your unit of measure early; I used the back curve of the seat as mine, and in order to get things looking passable I spent a lot of time measuring against it
- It's surprisingly easy to be fooled by your eyes. This is actually why I made rough measurements as I went along - to make sure the curves ended where I thought they ended and that things were remotely in proportion
- Negative space drawing look very different from the object until they're almost done. Yet another reason to make measurements!

Hmm, that's an interesting exercise. I should try that sometime - I usually depend heavily on details and structure to form the object's shape. Thankfully, there's a mighty overabundance of chairs visible from where I'm sitting.

Originally Posted by Bakuel

I agree with the druid droid. As a general rule, the more stable the pose, the more static or slow moving it appears to the viewer. For running horses and ponies, it's generally best to make the legs either splayed forward or tucked in underneath the stomach area.

Quadrupeds in general are kinda hard to convey motion for, because they never seem out of balance unless most of their legs are off the ground. In this case it's even harder, but I'll experiment.

Originally Posted by Bakuel

The drawing is great, of course! But I don't think you needed me to tell you that. Is it from a certain story?

Actually, while I don't need being told when something is great, I always need being told when something is wrong, and I appreciate feedback in general. So, thanks!

And whether or not it's from a story is an equally interesting "metzaphysical qvestion". It is from a story, but that story hasn't been written yet, so...

Oh, and I switched from Painter back to Photoshop yesterday to give Rainbow her colors back:

Spoiler

Yeah, it looks even more static when cleaned up. I'll have to think about using motion blur and light streaks to convey that for the final image... assuming I even get to that stage this time. I'm not too happy with the shading here either, and the tail's a little too much of a mess (not to mention I just cut it off like that).

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Oh, and I switched from Painter back to Photoshop yesterday to give Rainbow her colors back:

Spoiler

Yeah, it looks even more static when cleaned up. I'll have to think about using motion blur and light streaks to convey that for the final image... assuming I even get to that stage this time. I'm not too happy with the shading here either, and the tail's a little too much of a mess (not to mention I just cut it off like that).

Tail colours are the wrong way up. Rainbow's purple starts at the top of the tail and bottom of the mane; when she's flying, they should line up. Also, that's a fantastic concept, I need to read this story now, and looking at this has actually made something click in my mind about shading and colouring. I'll get back to you on that.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Her tail colors are odd however you look at them. But now that you mention it, I do seem to remember it being the other way around (drawing without reference again.. I just like doing that for some reason). The shading on it is a mess anyway, so no big loss to redo.

Oh, and you do not want to read that story. Like, really. Not until the first chapter is rewritten to be, well, presentable. As it is, it's one giant crime against humanity. The image depicts a hypothetical event from the third chapter, we don't even have a proper draft for that one yet. I'm still wary of posting these, as technically they should count as spoilers, but since nothing's set in stone for those future chapters, I'm allowing myself some leeway. For all I know there won't be even a second chapter, if the group falls apart completely. Not a spoiler if the depicted events don't happen, right?

I just like RD, and I like machinery, so the character concept is particularly appealing to me. It's went through a few iterations, though the base design remained, I just kept tweaking the artificial limbs. I could post those too, if you want a look.

[the_druid_droid]

Hmm, so now that the thread's been up for a while, I have a proposal to throw out, aimed in particular at anyone who's new or would like to post, but is uncertain about where to start.

Would people be interested in having a running volunteer prompt? There wouldn't be any expectation to participate, particularly if you have ongoing art projects or a consistent source of inspiration. Instead, it would be more or less a suggestion every week or so to help get the creative wheels turning, a bit like the prompts for the artist's training grounds on Equestria Daily (though much less frequently updated). Anyone would be free to make something for it or ignore it, as they chose.

As of right now, this is just a suggestion I'm toying around with, but I'd be interested in others' input, especially from people who feel like they're having trouble getting started or continuing to draw.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

I just like RD, and I like machinery, so the character concept is particularly appealing to me. It's went through a few iterations, though the base design remained, I just kept tweaking the artificial limbs. I could post those too, if you want a look.

Please do; prosthetics always interest me!

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Hmm, so now that the thread's been up for a while, I have a proposal to throw out, aimed in particular at anyone who's new or would like to post, but is uncertain about where to start.

Would people be interested in having a running volunteer prompt? There wouldn't be any expectation to participate, particularly if you have ongoing art projects or a consistent source of inspiration. Instead, it would be more or less a suggestion every week or so to help get the creative wheels turning, a bit like the prompts for the artist's training grounds on Equestria Daily (though much less frequently updated). Anyone would be free to make something for it or ignore it, as they chose.

As of right now, this is just a suggestion I'm toying around with, but I'd be interested in others' input, especially from people who feel like they're having trouble getting started or continuing to draw.

Sounds like a great idea!

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Please do; prosthetics always interest me!

I probably shouldn't ask... personal interest?

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Hmm, so now that the thread's been up for a while, I have a proposal to throw out, aimed in particular at anyone who's new or would like to post, but is uncertain about where to start.

Would people be interested in having a running volunteer prompt? There wouldn't be any expectation to participate, particularly if you have ongoing art projects or a consistent source of inspiration. Instead, it would be more or less a suggestion every week or so to help get the creative wheels turning, a bit like the prompts for the artist's training grounds on Equestria Daily (though much less frequently updated). Anyone would be free to make something for it or ignore it, as they chose.

As of right now, this is just a suggestion I'm toying around with, but I'd be interested in others' input, especially from people who feel like they're having trouble getting started or continuing to draw.

I'd say it's interesting. I too sometimes find myself floundering around in search of inspiration, so random suggestions to spark creativity would be great.

I've yet to make a new sketch today, so for now some history of Rainbow Slash.

Spoiler

When the concept first appeared, I threw this sketch together:

Spoiler

Then I added the rest of the deail:

Spoiler

And did a first (horrible) attempt at coloring:

Spoiler

Utterly horrified by the result, I went back to the sketch, modified the pose and some detail:

Spoiler

The magitek eye was in limbo at the moment, so the eyepatch version was found about 20% cooler:

Spoiler

Then I colored it in my usual way:

Spoiler

And then added some final tweaks:

Spoiler

That was the final iteration of that version, this lil' avvie not counted:


Then, later, I went on to try a different pose, something cooler-looking.

Spoiler

The magitek eye was still in limbo at that point, but the eyepatch would have to go on the foreground eye according to the story, and so the design ended up with both eyes intact:

Spoiler

Thankfully, no redesigns were deemed necessary, so I went straight to coloring. I see now that I again colored the tail in the wrong order, but at the moment I'm somewhat too lazy to fix it.

Spoiler

That's the final iteration of that version.

There is another one currently, which established the design you could see in the tree-slashing image I posted, but I'm not posting it until the fate of the second chapter of the story is clearer, specifically because it's from a part I was instrumental to the writing of. But I again colored the tail wrong... *headdesk* I really should pay more attention to the designs of the characters I'm drawing.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

I probably shouldn't ask... personal interest?

Nope, I'm one of those people with absolutely no surprises / disabilities / illnesses / any other minority types of any kind. I just like custom prosthetics because they've often got very interesting things to say about the people who wear them. For instance, Edward in Fullmetal Alchemist sticks to his plain humaniform automail even when there's all sorts of advanced combat variations about the place - he's committed to regaining his human limbs and rejects exploring his transhuman options. That's interesting.

What interests me about your pieces is that all the damage seems to be on one side - what happened? That's the kind of thing that spurs my imagination.

I'd say it's interesting. I too sometimes find myself floundering around in search of inspiration, so random suggestions to spark creativity would be great.

Similarly, my daily process often involves kicking open my art folder and sketching whatever catches my eye.

I've yet to make a new sketch today, so for now some history of Rainbow Slash.
And then added some final tweaks:

Spoiler

That was the final iteration of that version, this lil' avvie not counted:

Urgh, the chin/expression on this one just kills it for me. Other than that, I think the design is far too cluttered. Too many things happening at the same time, no unity, no elegance. I'm not a fan at all.

Thankfully, no redesigns were deemed necessary, so I went straight to coloring. I see now that I again colored the tail in the wrong order, but at the moment I'm somewhat too lazy to fix it.

Spoiler

That's the final iteration of that version.

A lot better; more femininity shows through, and the design is much more streamlined. I especially love those rainbow orb joint things, those are ace.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Fully agree on the first version being too cluttered. I specifically "applied pressure" to the writers of the story to have all the heavy damage focused on one side, so that the design could be less of a "mishmash of mishmachinery". And the expression... well, I never was much of a master with those.

As to what happened... eh, if you're unlucky, you'll find out in full detail, in due time. If you're lucky, we will have rewritten it by then. When I looked at the injury list the writer first gave me, my reaction was "are you sure she didn't just crash into a grain harvester? " I still have to shut down my brain for reading parts of the current version. Hopefully we'll manage to make it readable by the general audience. Somehow...

[Diego Havoc]

I've been a bad pony and not drawing lately. I have no real excuses beyond "I've been very tired lately", which isn't much of a reason.

In order to try and make up for it, I drew somepony I find rather difficult to do: Rarity. Specifically her head, just to practice her eyes and hair.

Spoiler

Top left: the first one I drew, and the best of the bunch, in my opinion. The eyes are slightly out of proportion, but for the most part I think it looks good.

Top Right: And here's where it went wrong XD Ugh, everything is off here. Moving on XD

Bottom Right: Retrying the above pose, with better results. Rarity's hair is tricky, but not as hard as I expected. I would not recommend drawing it without references though. Looks better with mouth closed too.

Bottom Left: The front view, based on the eye-flutter scene in episode 10. The mane is okay here, not great, but I think it looks good despite that (and also the off-centre eyes)

Lessons learned: 1) Draw more often, get better. 2) Rarity's hair requires decent reference pics. Remember that it doesn't look the same when mirrored. 3) I thought Pony eyes were huge. Then I realised that their ears are even larger o_o

[Tectonic Robot]

Ah, people who are learning to draw. I salute all of you and your valiant efforts! I shall cheer from the sidelines.

[Bakuel]

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

I've been a bad pony and not drawing lately. I have no real excuses beyond "I've been very tired lately", which isn't much of a reason.

In order to try and make up for it, I drew somepony I find rather difficult to do: Rarity. Specifically her head, just to practice her eyes and hair.

*snip*

These look alright, I like the bottom left one the most. The eyes are more expressive. I must point out that the line that makes up pony noses in the three-quarter view is attached to the eye which is furthest from the viewer. If that makes sense at all.

Originally Posted by Tectonic Robot

Ah, people who are learning to draw. I salute all of you and your valiant efforts! I shall cheer from the sidelines.

Cheer on! And comment! Say what you like and are not sure about. I'm sure it would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

I probably shouldn't ask... personal interest?

I'd say it's interesting. I too sometimes find myself floundering around in search of inspiration, so random suggestions to spark creativity would be great.

I've yet to make a new sketch today, so for now some history of Rainbow Slash.
*snip*
Then, later, I went on to try a different pose, something cooler-looking.
*snip*

There is another one currently, which established the design you could see in the tree-slashing image I posted, but I'm not posting it until the fate of the second chapter of the story is clearer, specifically because it's from a part I was instrumental to the writing of. But I again colored the tail wrong... *headdesk* I really should pay more attention to the designs of the characters I'm drawing.

I'll just parrot Thanqol and state that the second picture is just all around better for all the reasons he mentioned. The first was too bulky and buff for Dash, the second is nice is sleek and streamlined.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Hmm, so now that the thread's been up for a while, I have a proposal to throw out, aimed in particular at anyone who's new or would like to post, but is uncertain about where to start.

Would people be interested in having a running volunteer prompt? There wouldn't be any expectation to participate, particularly if you have ongoing art projects or a consistent source of inspiration. Instead, it would be more or less a suggestion every week or so to help get the creative wheels turning, a bit like the prompts for the artist's training grounds on Equestria Daily (though much less frequently updated). Anyone would be free to make something for it or ignore it, as they chose.

As of right now, this is just a suggestion I'm toying around with, but I'd be interested in others' input, especially from people who feel like they're having trouble getting started or continuing to draw.

This sounds like a pretty fun idea and I would try to contribute if this starts up. Granted, I generally don't have trouble thinking of an idea to draw (good idea or not), but I like the idea of following prompts as it would probably force me to draw characters and scenes I wouldn't otherwise.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Her tail colors are odd however you look at them. But now that you mention it, I do seem to remember it being the other way around (drawing without reference again.. I just like doing that for some reason). The shading on it is a mess anyway, so no big loss to redo.

Oh, and you do not want to read that story. Like, really. Not until the first chapter is rewritten to be, well, presentable. As it is, it's one giant crime against humanity. The image depicts a hypothetical event from the third chapter, we don't even have a proper draft for that one yet. I'm still wary of posting these, as technically they should count as spoilers, but since nothing's set in stone for those future chapters, I'm allowing myself some leeway. For all I know there won't be even a second chapter, if the group falls apart completely. Not a spoiler if the depicted events don't happen, right?

I just like RD, and I like machinery, so the character concept is particularly appealing to me. It's went through a few iterations, though the base design remained, I just kept tweaking the artificial limbs. I could post those too, if you want a look.

Sounds like it's going through a pretty painful draft process, hope it turns out ok.
And don't think of the pictures as spoilers, think of them as teasers for publicity.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Also, on the second image, can anyone give me good pointers on properly conveying dynamics in poses? The few things I read on the matter didn't give me quite enough insights to prevent characters from appearing static.

You asked for general advice on making more dynamic scenes, so I decided to go ahead and type up the general guidelines that I try to follow, with varying results. Some of these you may have already heard, but I *really* like making action scenes, they are more work, but properly executed they can be wonderful! If I post this it may start a dialogue if nothing else.
Feel free to crictize or correct any of this, I'm still trying to learn more about them myself. And sorry, but I tend to blabber.

Also note, all uses of "you" in this description don't refer to anyone particular. It's just that saying "one can do this", or "one can do that" all the time sounds pompous.

Spoiler

There are three different principles to follow when creating action scenes, I don’t always follow them perfectly myself, but when I do the results are generally better then normal.
A note, motion blurs, speed lines and other tricks are fine and add a lot to a scene. But it's always good to practice having a lively scene without these, there is always the danger that one begins to use them as a crutch. Even without these, your art should appear to be in movement. Blurs and so on are just icing on the cake.

1. Pose,

Spoiler

Try to find a pose which conveys motion. As I said before, the more stable the pose of a figure, the more weight it has directly on the ground, the more static it will appear to the viewer. Choose a pose where the figure bends and twists, show a person leaning into a punch, show a horse or pony rearing on its hind legs, mid gallop or so on.
Don’t be afraid to show unfinished actions. If a viewer sees a figure in the middle of an action, they can easily imagine it in motion and it will leave them wondering and imagining how the action scene will end. Always a good thing.
If you are doing more unrealistic illustrations, cartoons, comics, mangas, or what have you, don’t be afraid to exaggerate the pose. Or even more realistic works. The American Western artist Frederic Remington (an inspiration of mine when drawing horses) often drew using photographic references and he was one of the first painters to properly show a horse with a realistic gallop. However, he admitted to exaggerating the actions of his subjects to show motion, he didn't let reality get in the way of a good picture! Of course, there is fine line between artful exaggeration and a odd mess.

2. Reaction,

Spoiler

When drawing, the force of the illustrated action can be easily measured by its reaction. I'm not strictly referring to the Newtonian reaction, but the person or thing reacting the action. For example, a man being punched is reacting to the punch. There probably is better language for this, but I have no formal art training.
If you draw someone punching, the viewer will gauge the force of the punch by the reaction of the person being punched. Thus you can create some ridiculous comic style scenes by creating insane reactions. For example, you can draw a picture of a person flicking someone else, causing them to fly through a wall. And it would look fine, if ludicrous. The reactions of an action don't just include people, but also dust clouds, debris, or anything else. If you include proper reactions in your action scene, it will come to life very easily.

A long time ago I brought a how to draw book written by several comic book authors, most of it was obscure and gave little practical advice. However, one of the writers actually gave some very good tips on action and reaction. The central one was to draw the reaction first, then the action. Now this may seem counter intuitive as the reaction follows the action, but (at least for me) it really works. During the pre-drawing stage, draw the person being punched or kicked first and then draw the person doing the kicking, I’m really not sure why this works out better and looks more natural. I guess because the action must match the reaction it is easier to work backwards. I don't know, it is something to try at the very least.

3. Dynamic Camera Angle,

Spoiler

The final one is camera angle. Certain action scenes look better from certain points of view. Now, in my personal opinion, front and three-quarters view are the easiest to portray dynamic action scenes. There is something about action that is coming toward you or away which makes it more personal, and thus interesting. You can also place the action in the background and the reaction in the foreground as well. Then the viewer has more empathy with the person reacting.
The profile view is the hardest, or when the action is moving strictly left from right or vice-versa. Because then the viewer is more a spectator viewing the action and thus the action seems to have less of an effect on them. However, the view is useful at times, though hard to get right. I find it is useful in battle scenes were you want to portray opposite forces and give equal picture weight to both.

However, there is a second reason why the front and three quarters views are better at conveying action and that is because it is easy to set up a vanishing point. Nothing adds to an action scene then foreshortening and a vanishing point. Properly done, the action will leap off the page, improperly and it’ll look like a jumbled mess. However, even a simple one vanishing point scene can be pretty tricky, as it is; I rarely do it on account of time and laziness.

And here is some pony art,

Spoiler

I tried a vanishing point scene and a action scene without violence. So I drew Applejack and Winona. I'm still exploring colors, I'll probably clean up the image later. I tried to do a background! With grass! And clouds! And lazy mountains!
All with varying results. Still, first time for everything. Even if it falls flat.

[Diego Havoc]

Originally Posted by Tectonic Robot

Ah, people who are learning to draw. I salute all of you and your valiant efforts! I shall cheer from the sidelines.

*Lassos Tectonic* Get over here and draw, you!

Originally Posted by Bakuel

These look alright, I like the bottom left one the most. The eyes are more expressive. I must point out that the line that makes up pony noses in the three-quarter view is attached to the eye which is furthest from the viewer. If that makes sense at all.

I think I get what you're saying, yeah. I'll test it out sometime.

Originally Posted by Bakuel

And here is some pony art,

Spoiler

I tried a vanishing point scene and a action scene without violence. So I drew Applejack and Winona. I'm still exploring colors, I'll probably clean up the image later. I tried to do a background! With grass! And clouds! And lazy mountains!
All with varying results. Still, first time for everything. Even if it falls flat.

Looks good!

Oh, and I read your tips for action scenes. Very interesting stuff! Thanks for that. I'm sure I'll be able to use it at some point.

[Tectonic Robot]

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

*Lassos Tectonic* Get over here and draw, you!

Nah, nah, I'll just watch!

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Bakuel

You asked for general advice on making more dynamic scenes, so I decided to go ahead and type up the general guidelines that I try to follow, with varying results. Some of these you may have already heard, but I *really* like making action scenes, they are more work, but properly executed they can be wonderful! If I post this it may start a dialogue if nothing else.
Feel free to crictize or correct any of this, I'm still trying to learn more about them myself. And sorry, but I tend to blabber.

Also note, all uses of "you" in this description don't refer to anyone particular. It's just that saying "one can do this", or "one can do that" all the time sounds pompous.

Spoiler

There are three different principles to follow when creating action scenes, I don’t always follow them perfectly myself, but when I do the results are generally better then normal.
A note, motion blurs, speed lines and other tricks are fine and add a lot to a scene. But it's always good to practice having a lively scene without these, there is always the danger that one begins to use them as a crutch. Even without these, your art should appear to be in movement. Blurs and so on are just icing on the cake.

1. Pose,

Spoiler

Try to find a pose which conveys motion. As I said before, the more stable the pose of a figure, the more weight it has directly on the ground, the more static it will appear to the viewer. Choose a pose where the figure bends and twists, show a person leaning into a punch, show a horse or pony rearing on its hind legs, mid gallop or so on.
Don’t be afraid to show unfinished actions. If a viewer sees a figure in the middle of an action, they can easily imagine it in motion and it will leave them wondering and imagining how the action scene will end. Always a good thing.
If you are doing more unrealistic illustrations, cartoons, comics, mangas, or what have you, don’t be afraid to exaggerate the pose. Or even more realistic works. The American Western artist Frederic Remington (an inspiration of mine when drawing horses) often drew using photographic references and he was one of the first painters to properly show a horse with a realistic gallop. However, he admitted to exaggerating the actions of his subjects to show motion, he didn't let reality get in the way of a good picture! Of course, there is fine line between artful exaggeration and a odd mess.

2. Reaction,

Spoiler

When drawing, the force of the illustrated action can be easily measured by its reaction. I'm not strictly referring to the Newtonian reaction, but the person or thing reacting the action. For example, a man being punched is reacting to the punch. There probably is better language for this, but I have no formal art training.
If you draw someone punching, the viewer will gauge the force of the punch by the reaction of the person being punched. Thus you can create some ridiculous comic style scenes by creating insane reactions. For example, you can draw a picture of a person flicking someone else, causing them to fly through a wall. And it would look fine, if ludicrous. The reactions of an action don't just include people, but also dust clouds, debris, or anything else. If you include proper reactions in your action scene, it will come to life very easily.

A long time ago I brought a how to draw book written by several comic book authors, most of it was obscure and gave little practical advice. However, one of the writers actually gave some very good tips on action and reaction. The central one was to draw the reaction first, then the action. Now this may seem counter intuitive as the reaction follows the action, but (at least for me) it really works. During the pre-drawing stage, draw the person being punched or kicked first and then draw the person doing the kicking, I’m really not sure why this works out better and looks more natural. I guess because the action must match the reaction it is easier to work backwards. I don't know, it is something to try at the very least.

3. Dynamic Camera Angle,

Spoiler

The final one is camera angle. Certain action scenes look better from certain points of view. Now, in my personal opinion, front and three-quarters view are the easiest to portray dynamic action scenes. There is something about action that is coming toward you or away which makes it more personal, and thus interesting. You can also place the action in the background and the reaction in the foreground as well. Then the viewer has more empathy with the person reacting.
The profile view is the hardest, or when the action is moving strictly left from right or vice-versa. Because then the viewer is more a spectator viewing the action and thus the action seems to have less of an effect on them. However, the view is useful at times, though hard to get right. I find it is useful in battle scenes were you want to portray opposite forces and give equal picture weight to both.

However, there is a second reason why the front and three quarters views are better at conveying action and that is because it is easy to set up a vanishing point. Nothing adds to an action scene then foreshortening and a vanishing point. Properly done, the action will leap off the page, improperly and it’ll look like a jumbled mess. However, even a simple one vanishing point scene can be pretty tricky, as it is; I rarely do it on account of time and laziness.

This actually sounds quite interesting and helpful. I'll be sure to keep it in mind as I work on my future drawings (which I should work on soon...I haven't been posting like I should...)

Originally Posted by Tectonic Robot

Nah, nah, I'll just watch!

C'mon now, where's the harm in trying? And don't worry about inspiration, because I have just the thing - a prompt!

Attention Drawthreaders!
Since the response to my suggestion about a semi-regular prompt was well-received, I've decided to go ahead and give it a shot, starting this week!

For the coming week, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pick one of your favorite ponies from the show and draw them in a dynamic pose. It could be Trixie putting on her show, Celestia raising the sun, AJ applebucking, or really anything you like - but give those ponies the spark of action! Also, if you want to add more, or put in a background, or fool around with new art stuff, go wild...the prompt is there mostly as a seed; if you have any questions, feel free to post them here and get feedback from your fellow artists. Now...go forth and draw!

[Derjuin]

After fiddling around in inkscape, I decided to try a non-profile picture. Keldeo really didn't want to be in the experiment, but it happened anyway.

Spoiler

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Attention Drawthreaders!
Since the response to my suggestion about a semi-regular prompt was well-received, I've decided to go ahead and give it a shot, starting this week!

For the coming week, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pick one of your favorite ponies from the show and draw them in a dynamic pose. It could be Trixie putting on her show, Celestia raising the sun, AJ applebucking, or really anything you like - but give those ponies the spark of action! Also, if you want to add more, or put in a background, or fool around with new art stuff, go wild...the prompt is there mostly as a seed; if you have any questions, feel free to post them here and get feedback from your fellow artists. Now...go forth and draw!

Ooh, I'm going to ...well, give this an attempt. I gotta find a Fluttershy colorfont thinger now (and/or just be lazy and use eyedropper). Not sure if I'll have time to do much for it though, what with holidays and such.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

C'mon now, where's the harm in trying? And don't worry about inspiration, because I have just the thing - a prompt!

Attention Drawthreaders!
Since the response to my suggestion about a semi-regular prompt was well-received, I've decided to go ahead and give it a shot, starting this week!

For the coming week, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pick one of your favorite ponies from the show and draw them in a dynamic pose. It could be Trixie putting on her show, Celestia raising the sun, AJ applebucking, or really anything you like - but give those ponies the spark of action! Also, if you want to add more, or put in a background, or fool around with new art stuff, go wild...the prompt is there mostly as a seed; if you have any questions, feel free to post them here and get feedback from your fellow artists. Now...go forth and draw!

I'm personally looking for more elaborate and complex challenges; complicated, specific requests make my mind strain trying to figure out how to make it work, in a good way. If anypony's got ideas for complex characters or moments, toss 'em into my thread. I'll almost certainly give this one a shot at some point soonish though.

[Sean Mirrsen]

I've tried tossing this idea into another forum's quick fiction ideas thread, but nobody picked it up. If anyone wants to try something ridiculously complex, you could try to draw something of it.

Basically, it's a what-if. What if the Elements of Harmony didn't unleash the Orbital Friendship Cannon, but did something entirely different? Try to draw the result of this "something". Possible inspirations: Voltron, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, any of the Power Rangers series.

As for my own art, I switched to drawing that other image I refuse to show here, but at the insistence of others I began another project. This is basically a scale experiment - I want to see if I can make a large, detailed image. In this case it's a humongous 1900x1024, and is still very, very much a sketch.

I'll post it as a link so you can view it zoomed out: Link

[Diego Havoc]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Attention Drawthreaders!
Since the response to my suggestion about a semi-regular prompt was well-received, I've decided to go ahead and give it a shot, starting this week!

For the coming week, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pick one of your favorite ponies from the show and draw them in a dynamic pose. It could be Trixie putting on her show, Celestia raising the sun, AJ applebucking, or really anything you like - but give those ponies the spark of action! Also, if you want to add more, or put in a background, or fool around with new art stuff, go wild...the prompt is there mostly as a seed; if you have any questions, feel free to post them here and get feedback from your fellow artists. Now...go forth and draw!

Hmm, I have had an actiony idea in my head for a while. I may just give it a go. Though I'll need to find some decent sized paper, because all my sketches so far have been on A5 and it's kinda limiting.

Originally Posted by Thanqol

I'm personally looking for more elaborate and complex challenges; complicated, specific requests make my mind strain trying to figure out how to make it work, in a good way. If anypony's got ideas for complex characters or moments, toss 'em into my thread. I'll almost certainly give this one a shot at some point soonish though.

Hmmm.... how about drawing a pony swimming? Something like the backstroke or the butterfly. That might be a challenge.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

I've tried tossing this idea into another forum's quick fiction ideas thread, but nobody picked it up. If anyone wants to try something ridiculously complex, you could try to draw something of it.

Basically, it's a what-if. What if the Elements of Harmony didn't unleash the Orbital Friendship Cannon, but did something entirely different? Try to draw the result of this "something". Possible inspirations: Voltron, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, any of the Power Rangers series.

Yes. Yes I am going to do this now.

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

Hmmm.... how about drawing a pony swimming? Something like the backstroke or the butterfly. That might be a challenge.

Challenge is doing this and not drawing a sea pony. I'll give it a shot!

[Bakuel]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

This actually sounds quite interesting and helpful. I'll be sure to keep it in mind as I work on my future drawings (which I should work on soon...I haven't been posting like I should...)

I'm glad you found it interesting.
I always worry about posting about these things, I'm always afraid I'm going to type something stupid. It's almost like I subconsciously think that I'll contaminate the internet forever.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

C'mon now, where's the harm in trying? And don't worry about inspiration, because I have just the thing - a prompt!

Attention Drawthreaders!
Since the response to my suggestion about a semi-regular prompt was well-received, I've decided to go ahead and give it a shot, starting this week!

For the coming week, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pick one of your favorite ponies from the show and draw them in a dynamic pose. It could be Trixie putting on her show, Celestia raising the sun, AJ applebucking, or really anything you like - but give those ponies the spark of action! Also, if you want to add more, or put in a background, or fool around with new art stuff, go wild...the prompt is there mostly as a seed; if you have any questions, feel free to post them here and get feedback from your fellow artists. Now...go forth and draw!

Sounds great!
I have a great idea to draw for this, I just hope I can finish it in time.

Originally Posted by Derjuin

After fiddling around in inkscape, I decided to try a non-profile picture. Keldeo really didn't want to be in the experiment, but it happened anyway.

*snip*

Looking good!
One day you should do the four musketeers in a group action pose, ready to take on the world.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

I've tried tossing this idea into another forum's quick fiction ideas thread, but nobody picked it up. If anyone wants to try something ridiculously complex, you could try to draw something of it.

Basically, it's a what-if. What if the Elements of Harmony didn't unleash the Orbital Friendship Cannon, but did something entirely different? Try to draw the result of this "something". Possible inspirations: Voltron, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, any of the Power Rangers series.

I had an odd vision of the mane six combining to form a giant robot. But knowing this fandom, I'm sure that's already been done before.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

As for my own art, I switched to drawing that other image I refuse to show here, but at the insistence of others I began another project. This is basically a scale experiment - I want to see if I can make a large, detailed image. In this case it's a humongous 1900x1024, and is still very, very much a sketch.

I'll post it as a link so you can view it zoomed out: Link

Wow! That's really all I can say
Is that Ponyville on the ground? I think I recognize the library.
I can't wait to see it finished, it's the perfect background size for my monitor.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

I've tried tossing this idea into another forum's quick fiction ideas thread, but nobody picked it up. If anyone wants to try something ridiculously complex, you could try to draw something of it.

Basically, it's a what-if. What if the Elements of Harmony didn't unleash the Orbital Friendship Cannon, but did something entirely different? Try to draw the result of this "something". Possible inspirations: Voltron, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, any of the Power Rangers series.

As for my own art, I switched to drawing that other image I refuse to show here, but at the insistence of others I began another project. This is basically a scale experiment - I want to see if I can make a large, detailed image. In this case it's a humongous 1900x1024, and is still very, very much a sketch.

I'll post it as a link so you can view it zoomed out: Link

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

Looks good!

Oh, and I read your tips for action scenes. Very interesting stuff! Thanks for that. I'm sure I'll be able to use it at some point.

I'm glad you like the picture and I'm glad the tips helped!


Well, I finished the picture I posted before so I can move on to new things.

Spoiler

I got so tired of my messy lines that I decided to try a more painting approach to the picture. With limited results, but it was a learning experience! I realized that the grass needed highlights, so I fixed that with some light gold. The mountains are still lazy, but I tried to fix them up a bit. Equestrian background mountains are stylized anyway, or at least that's my excuse. There are some perspective problems, but they always are. I'm mildly happy with the image.

[Pokonic]

Originally Posted by Bakuel

I'm glad you found it interesting.
I always worry about posting about these things, I'm always afraid I'm going to type something stupid. It's almost like I subconsciously think that I'll contaminate the internet forever.

Spoiler

I got so tired of my messy lines that I decided to try a more painting approach to the picture. With limited results, but it was a learning experience! I realized that the grass needed highlights, so I fixed that with some light gold. The mountains are still lazy, but I tried to fix them up a bit. Equestrian background mountains are stylized anyway, or at least that's my excuse. There are some perspective problems, but they always are. I'm mildly happy with the image.

Pic's adorable. Landscape is fine, but Applejacks mouth looks...off. The mouth usualy should never extend to where the chin should be in a face-forword shot, or at least with ponies. Wiona is great, tho.