Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Same crapsackverse, somewhere in the Great Hospital of Canterlot Castle, some time after Rainbow Slash came to be what she is.
I've since improved my understanding of pony anatomy (or so I'd like to think), and moved away from trying to do things too realistically, but I might revisit this style later on, who knows? It just takes too much effort to do all the details, and coloring and shading are far from being my good points even now. Plus, perspective. If you can point out any glaring flaws in this, I'll happily take them into account for if/when I try to draw something like this again.

I know it's part of the style, but that square jaw Rainbow has going looks really bad to me, at least from that angle. She looks both old and male. Secondly, the detail on the cyber eye isn't really visible at this resolution, and looks kinda blurry as a result. I couldn't tell what was happening until I remembered that's what it was.

The wing curve and Scootaloo are both really good, though, and the backgrounds generally work, especially the stained glass window.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

I know it's part of the style, but that square jaw Rainbow has going looks really bad to me, at least from that angle. She looks both old and male. Secondly, the detail on the cyber eye isn't really visible at this resolution, and looks kinda blurry as a result. I couldn't tell what was happening until I remembered that's what it was.

The wing curve and Scootaloo are both really good, though, and the backgrounds generally work, especially the stained glass window.

Yeah, like I said, I like to think that my grasp of pony anatomy improved over time. I don't think I really want to keep fixing this one, however, so I'll let it stay how it is. That's how I was drawing ponies back then.

Merged post:
Eh, ferk it. It's a small fix and I've got time.

Spoiler

Better? I've even thrown some shady work in.

(Amusingly, early in the draft for this one I wanted to show RS from the other side. I quickly realised that a wing full of metallic slice-you-to-ribbons-sharp "feathers" isn't going to work for an empathic embrace. :P)

[SlyGuyMcFly]

Hi there everyone.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Merged post:
Eh, ferk it. It's a small fix and I've got time.

Spoiler

Better? I've even thrown some shady work in.

Not a fan of the realistic texturing, but that's a style thing. You pull it off well. One thing I do notice are the shadows. Dash and Scoots are standing in the sunlight, so they should have shadows projecting towards the bottom and left of the picture, not strait left. The shading itself looks angled right, it's just the shadows.

Then there's this small nitpick: Dash's tail has each colour band a very different length (like her mane) yours looks a bit weird because it's mostly all the same length.

I really dig the posing. The way RD is not putting any weight on her bad leg, the curve of her wing, very nice.

Here's something I made. It's very simple, but I'm still learning how to draw on a tablet (it's really nothing like pencils ) and the art program that came with it.

Spoiler

[Diego Havoc]

Thank you to everyone who helped critique my last picture, it really helped. I'm not going to do a big quote post right now, so I'll just show you what I got.

I lost my connection yesterday so I couldn't post it, but I wored on that pic, tweaking it. A lot. I think Twilight's body looks a little better now, though I'm finding it hard to get decent reference pics for a pony sitting down from the front.

I think the swords look much better now, though getting the look of Twilight's sword at that angle was murder.

Spoiler

And today's picture, my first time drawing Princess Celestia's full body. Found this one tricky, but not too hard. She has weird bendy legs though. Rear left leg looks terrible, and I only just noticed >_<

Spoiler

Oh, and thank you, Thanqol, for those tutorial pics. I had most of them, but the mouth one and the horse in motion will be very helpful.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

Thank you to everyone who helped critique my last picture, it really helped. I'm not going to do a big quote post right now, so I'll just show you what I got.

I lost my connection yesterday so I couldn't post it, but I wored on that pic, tweaking it. A lot. I think Twilight's body looks a little better now, though I'm finding it hard to get decent reference pics for a pony sitting down from the front.

I think the swords look much better now, though getting the look of Twilight's sword at that angle was murder.

Spoiler

Yep, the swords look much better. I can clearly see who's swinging what where and how it all ends up. Twilight, on the other hand, just had a fat transplant from the abdomen to the "plot". XD Don't get me wrong, it looks a lot better. But you'll never see a pony sit like this. The hindquarters of a pony end exactly where their legs end, with no "bump" to sit on. I'm not sure if I'm conveying what I mean properly, so maybe I'll just do a quick redline (and make sense of it myself), stay tuned.

And today's picture, my first time drawing Princess Celestia's full body. Found this one tricky, but not too hard. She has weird bendy legs though. Rear left leg looks terrible, and I only just noticed >_<

Spoiler

Odd bendy legs and a slight squareness of the jaw, plus she needs to banish whoever made that harness for her. Other than that, a lot truer to form than my last attempt at her. (where I forgot exactly how long her legs actually are.. made her look like some kind of dwarf. And I only noticed like a month after making it.)

edit: okay, I'm not sure if it's actually correct, as it's two past midnight and I don't put too much trust in my anatomy knowledge even in normal circumstances, but at least this looks more correct, to my eye, than it was. I think I found the problem you were having with trying to depict the pose - when Twilight would be sitting, the cannons (i.e. the lower legs) are more or less parallel to the ground, and them being angled creates an illusion of an inclined plane, which doesn't match your chosen perspective.

Spoiler

I don't know if providing redline corrections without being asked to is considered in good or bad tone between artists, but feel free to make use of my insights, should you find them useful.

[Diego Havoc]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Yep, the swords look much better. I can clearly see who's swinging what where and how it all ends up. Twilight, on the other hand, just had a fat transplant from the abdomen to the "plot". XD Don't get me wrong, it looks a lot better. But you'll never see a pony sit like this. The hindquarters of a pony end exactly where their legs end, with no "bump" to sit on. I'm not sure if I'm conveying what I mean properly, so maybe I'll just do a quick redline (and make sense of it myself), stay tuned.

edit: okay, I'm not sure if it's actually correct, as it's two past midnight and I don't put too much trust in my anatomy knowledge even in normal circumstances, but at least this looks more correct, to my eye, than it was. I think I found the problem you were having with trying to depict the pose - when Twilight would be sitting, the cannons (i.e. the lower legs) are more or less parallel to the ground, and them being angled creates an illusion of an inclined plane, which doesn't match your chosen perspective.

Spoiler

I don't know if providing redline corrections without being asked to is considered in good or bad tone between artists, but feel free to make use of my insights, should you find them useful.

Ohhhhhhhhh! Okay, yeah, I getcha. I clearly misunderstood. Thanks, that actually really helps! As I said, I found it quite hard to get a reference for that kind of pose. The best I could get was this:

Spoiler

...which I think you'll agree, wasn't much help in this case ^^:

Odd bendy legs and a slight squareness of the jaw, plus she needs to banish whoever made that harness for her. Other than that, a lot truer to form than my last attempt at her. (where I forgot exactly how long her legs actually are.. made her look like some kind of dwarf. And I only noticed like a month after making it.)

Thing is, her legs are actually that bendy (And gangly too):

Spoiler

I see what you mean about the jaw, but what's wrong with the harness? Is it because it's off-centre?

[Bakuel]

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

Thank you to everyone who helped critique my last picture, it really helped. I'm not going to do a big quote post right now, so I'll just show you what I got.

I lost my connection yesterday so I couldn't post it, but I wored on that pic, tweaking it. A lot. I think Twilight's body looks a little better now, though I'm finding it hard to get decent reference pics for a pony sitting down from the front.

I think the swords look much better now, though getting the look of Twilight's sword at that angle was murder.

Spoiler

And today's picture, my first time drawing Princess Celestia's full body. Found this one tricky, but not too hard. She has weird bendy legs though. Rear left leg looks terrible, and I only just noticed >_<

Spoiler

Oh, and thank you, Thanqol, for those tutorial pics. I had most of them, but the mouth one and the horse in motion will be very helpful.

The magic sword fight is much better!
On Celestia, it looks fine besides what Sean Mirrsen pointed out. The only thing I have to add is that the wings look like their placed a little bit too far down her back. If you look at the curve of the first line on the wings on the picture you posted, they begin back there in the lower middle of her body, but still more forward then the beginnings of her hind legs.

Spoiler

Originally Posted by Even Human

Here's something I made. It's very simple, but I'm still learning how to draw on a tablet (it's really nothing like pencils ) and the art program that came with it.

Spoiler

Well, your picture may be simple but it's nice. So it looks like your tablet skills are coming along fine. And it really isn't anything like drawing with a pencil. To me it always seemed like it's closer to drawing with a pen-ish type thing.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Yeah, like I said, I like to think that my grasp of pony anatomy improved over time. I don't think I really want to keep fixing this one, however, so I'll let it stay how it is. That's how I was drawing ponies back then.

Merged post:
Eh, ferk it. It's a small fix and I've got time.

Spoiler

Better? I've even thrown some shady work in.

(Amusingly, early in the draft for this one I wanted to show RS from the other side. I quickly realised that a wing full of metallic slice-you-to-ribbons-sharp "feathers" isn't going to work for an empathic embrace. :P)

That's a epic wing embrace in that picture. Re-sizing the chin really helped with the femininity of Rainbow Dash. I don't really have much to add about coloring and shadows, knowing little about these things myself.
On the prescriptive on the window and scenery outside. It looks nice, but it the prespective looks a little weird. The horizon outside doesn't seem to match up with the horizon for the floor. So it all looks a little weird and off. The actually horizon of on the world of Equestria is outside, yet inside the building my mind keeps thinking the horizon is lower due to the open doorway to the left of the scene and the floor there.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

And I'm not decrying it per se, I know for a fact that there's stuff a lot worse out there. The chief problem here is that it's never going to be completed (or heck, even started properly) without some sort of divine intervention. Right now all that exists of it is the shambles of the first chapter (being written by six different people without a good editor at the head tends to do that to stories), and one segment out of seven for the second chapter, with four chapters in total. More than anything, I feel like the whole thing is a vain effort to tell a story that shouldn't be told in the first place. The sole reason why I'm still even contemplating it is that this fic creates a very odd sort of AU, with characters who are technically the same, and yet completely different. I just like odd universes for some reason.

Ah I see, so it's in some form of development hell without a real leader or editor to make it all work. That sucks, as the premise sounds good.


Pony art,

Spoiler

Still working on that scene. I've reached something of a crossroads on whether I want to add anymore background ponies or not. As I started to fill in the background with shrubs and stones and things like that, I released the scene is already somewhat busy. I also have trouble placing anymore background ponies as everywhere in the picture is taken. If I place them near Twist, then she won't really be alone anymore and won't seem as important, she's already in the background already. If I place them near the CMC then they'll get crowded. I'm really at wits end on this one. And I really want to get the majority of this picture done by next monday. It's been dragging on for a bit too long anyway.

Perspective on the roady round stones is a bit off in some places but I'll fix that. The shrubs outlines are on the edge of the right house and underneath it's window. Just so everyone knows what those squiggles are supposed to represent. And the image is going to be probably cropped to be a bit tighter around the edges.


No perspective lines,

Spoiler

Horrible lines included,

Spoiler

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by Bakuel

On the prescriptive on the window and scenery outside. It looks nice, but it the prespective looks a little weird. The horizon outside doesn't seem to match up with the horizon for the floor. So it all looks a little weird and off. The actually horizon of on the world of Equestria is outside, yet inside the building my mind keeps thinking the horizon is lower due to the open doorway to the left of the scene and the floor there.

Hm, I never noticed it. The horizon line of the outside world does seem to be higher than the horizon line of the scene inside. Well, it's an easy fix, but then the "scene" outside the window ends up being mostly clear sky, as Canterlot is above most clouds.

Ah I see, so it's in some form of development hell without a real leader or editor to make it all work. That sucks, as the premise sounds good.

It... does?

Well, if any good writers or editors here want to help with creating it, we'll be happy to accept the help! I don't know a thing about writing well (I'm more of a designated artist), and though some on our writing team do, they mostly lost interest after the first chapter.

Pony art,

Spoiler

Still working on that scene. I've reached something of a crossroads on whether I want to add anymore background ponies or not. As I started to fill in the background with shrubs and stones and things like that, I released the scene is already somewhat busy. I also have trouble placing anymore background ponies as everywhere in the picture is taken. If I place them near Twist, then she won't really be alone anymore and won't seem as important, she's already in the background already. If I place them near the CMC then they'll get crowded. I'm really at wits end on this one. And I really want to get the majority of this picture done by next monday. It's been dragging on for a bit too long anyway.

Perspective on the roady round stones is a bit off in some places but I'll fix that. The shrubs outlines are on the edge of the right house and underneath it's window. Just so everyone knows what those squiggles are supposed to represent. And the image is going to be probably cropped to be a bit tighter around the edges.


No perspective lines,

Spoiler

Horrible lines included,

Spoiler

The only thing I can think of for background ponies is creating a sort of "alone in a crowd" feel, where there are ponies moving or talking in the background, but none pay attention to Twist. Use subdued colors for them (if/when you get around to coloring) to emphasize Twist and the CMC against them, so that the viewer's attention is still on them, but it is clear that everyone else's isn't. I don't know if that made sense, just something that popped into my mind just now.

Merged post:
Back to beating up Nightmare Moon, revision take 2:

Spoiler

It'll look best if you look at it zoomed out - I never went beyond 50% when sketching this variant.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4152380/MLP_...tsAreHere9.jpg

Trying a variation of the previous pose with a more pronounced reaction, and moving AJ slightly away so that it doesn't look like her attack has already connected, so NMM is only reacting to RD's near miss, and preemptively recoiling from AJ and Rarity. Not sure what I wanted to do with the expression there, just tried something different to see if it worked.

Also, I tried doing a new drawing yesterday, but managed to make it worse than the drawings I did a year ago, so I scrapped it. For some unfathomable reason, experience gained drawing ponies doesn't fully translate to drawing humanoids. Who woulda thunk it?

edit: don't know why, but I can't see the image in the spoiler.
I can see it fine through the link though, so I'll add that under the spoiler as well.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Trying a variation of the previous pose with a more pronounced reaction, and moving AJ slightly away so that it doesn't look like her attack has already connected, so NMM is only reacting to RD's near miss, and preemptively recoiling from AJ and Rarity. Not sure what I wanted to do with the expression there, just tried something different to see if it worked.

I'm not seeing any problems with that setup; the angle is generally better and nothing feels out of place.

And oh! Just had an idea for what to do with Fluttershy - have her tending to/protecting Twilight somehow. Right now she kind of derps the entire picture with her passivity.

Also, I tried doing a new drawing yesterday, but managed to make it worse than the drawings I did a year ago, so I scrapped it. For some unfathomable reason, experience gained drawing ponies doesn't fully translate to drawing humanoids. Who woulda thunk it?

Urgh, I know, right?

Translates curiously well to drawing Powerpuff girls though.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

I'm not seeing any problems with that setup; the angle is generally better and nothing feels out of place.

And oh! Just had an idea for what to do with Fluttershy - have her tending to/protecting Twilight somehow. Right now she kind of derps the entire picture with her passivity.

That was one of my first considerations, actually, (but for Rarity of all people) until it became apparent that I'll need to change the whole scene angle and setup if I want her not to completely obscure NMM. I'll fiddle around with the idea some more, but I'm not having high hopes for coming up with a good solution. It would probably involve changing AJ's mode/direction of attack to free up some image space on the low center near NMM. On that note, I just remembered that in a bicycle kick that's not yet connected, the forward striking leg must not be straight, as that'll make the attacker lose too much momentum and won't allow consecutive hits.

On a completely unrelated note, I recently had an idea for a short comic titled "Appleduck season". No, "appleduck" is not a typo. It's a mini-crossover with Warner-verse. I don't know if it'll be as hilarious as it seems in my head though.

[Tectonic Robot]

Hey, you crazy people. I just wanted to say I was taking a drawing class at my highschool. That sort of counts as learning to draw, right?

[Sean Mirrsen]

Well, it is kinda like learning to draw. Except we don't get to see the gory details.


Trying to add details and outline the scene now:

Spoiler

Not too sure with composition now that I moved Fluttershy, could use someone else's critical eye here.

[Diego Havoc]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Well, it is kinda like learning to draw. Except we don't get to see the gory details.


Trying to add details and outline the scene now:

Spoiler

Not too sure with composition now that I moved Fluttershy, could use someone else's critical eye here.

This is looking seriously awesome. I think the layout looks fine, but that's just me. Also I just noticed that that's not a candle on Pinkie's cake XD.


Anyway, I did edit the Trixie Twi fight pic, got it uploaded, then realised I'd made a mistake on the legs x_x So, that will come later.


And now, Diego's Drawing Adventure act 19, in which our hero attempts to draw a robotic pony from slightly below, with positive results.

Spoiler

Based on this RP thread.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

This is looking seriously awesome. I think the layout looks fine, but that's just me. Also I just noticed that that's not a candle on Pinkie's cake XD.

Did you know that flour is explosive? Well, no reason cakes can't be too.

And now, Diego's Drawing Adventure act 19, in which our hero attempts to draw a robotic pony from slightly below, with positive results.

Spoiler

That looks very nice. Kind of like something you'd see in a 60s "sci-fi" film. Zeerust up the wazoo, yet very stylish in its own way. It really needs wheels though. Remember some comments earlier about how my robots lack a shoulder joint? Same thing, except in your case it seems firmly bolted in place.

Based on this RP thread.

How in the fifteen billion thermonuclear blazes of the Galaxy did I never hear of that site before? *goes off to register*

[Diego Havoc]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Did you know that flour is explosive? Well, no reason cakes can't be too.

Heh heh, awesome. Perfect for Pinkie.

That looks very nice. Kind of like something you'd see in a 60s "sci-fi" film. Zeerust up the wazoo, yet very stylish in its own way. It really needs wheels though.

Yeah, it's supposed to be a rusty clockwork golem from ages past. Very Dr. Who-ish, since the RP thread (and the clockworks themselves) were created by Doctor Whooves' player.

Remember some comments earlier about how my robots lack a shoulder joint? Same thing, except in your case it seems firmly bolted in place.

Actually I think I must have glossed over that. Looking back (and looking up some realistic horse tutorials) I realise what I've done. I'll bare it in mind for the next time, but I don't know if I'll fiddle about with this one anymore.

How in the fifteen billion thermonuclear blazes of the Galaxy did I never hear of that site before? *goes off to register*

It's been in my sig for about 6 months :P Glad to know you're interested in joining up. It's a great community.

[the_druid_droid]

Ok, I'm finally back in town and sort-of settled. Hopefully I'll get back to posting and commenting pretty soon. In the meantime, I'm glad to see everyone posting and practicing!

EDIT: Have some hastily-drawn animals! Who doesn't love those?

Spoiler

I'm actually semi-ok with these, considering how quickly I drew them...I did use a reference for both though, because a week of drawing with only a phone has taught me that I'm still not skilled enough to draw things straight from my head without hating most of them.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Well, I guess I'll just be crossposting these between here and there then.

Updated last scene with most of the outlines. Now need to decide whether Pinkie and Rarity get to keep their poses.

Also, I still hate backgrounds.

Spoiler

[Diego Havoc]

Yeah, Rarity's pose looks better but... I dunno, I feel that her right foreleg doesn't quite look right. I can't really give advice on how I would change it though. Maybe similar to how Fluttershy has her leg?

Anyway, today's offering is a quick gift for Thanqol, because why not?

Spoiler

And the final version of the ATG pic:

Spoiler

[Noctemwolf]

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

Yeah, Rarity's pose looks better but... I dunno, I feel that her right foreleg doesn't quite look right. I can't really give advice on how I would change it though. Maybe similar to how Fluttershy has her leg?

Anyway, today's offering is a quick gift for Thanqol, because why not?

Spoiler

And the final version of the ATG pic:

Spoiler

Oh Twilight... even when fighting you still have a book.

I like them man! Is it Thanqol's birthday or something? (I ask because of the cake in the first picture).

Another announcement:
I bought myself a Bamboo Tablet. Now I can draw digitally. I feel so professional.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Noctemwolf

Oh Twilight... even when fighting you still have a book.

I like them man! Is it Thanqol's birthday or something? (I ask because of the cake in the first picture).

Darn skippy it's my birthday! Also, congrats on the tablet

[Sean Mirrsen]

Happy birthday again, Thanqol. Sorry, had no inspiration for a fitting celebratory picture today.

In other news, at the rate it's steadily decreasing, my laptop will run out of available RAM before I even get to shading on this scene.

Spoiler

If anyone has some kind of book on the mechanics of billowy clouds torn apart by violent directed air currents, I'll happily borrow it from them.

Still not entirely happy with everything, but it'll have to do. I gotta finish it at some point, after all.

Btw, has anyone else noticed how these Rangers form the other digital color set? Rangers usually go from RGB, while these are CMYK.

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Happy birthday again, Thanqol. Sorry, had no inspiration for a fitting celebratory picture today.

In other news, at the rate it's steadily decreasing, my laptop will run out of available RAM before I even get to shading on this scene.

Spoiler

If anyone has some kind of book on the mechanics of billowy clouds torn apart by violent directed air currents, I'll happily borrow it from them.

Still not entirely happy with everything, but it'll have to do. I gotta finish it at some point, after all.

Btw, has anyone else noticed how these Rangers form the other digital color set? Rangers usually go from RGB, while these are CMYK.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this finished! I also just noticed the cake that the Pink Ranger has...

EDIT: Might as well post it here, in case it gets lost in the shuffle of Ponythread. Have a Mask-inspired birthday present, Thanqol!

Spoiler

[Sean Mirrsen]

Crossposting from Thanqol's thread, because it really would've belonged better in my own, but I don't have one; Pinkie and Rainbow Dash racing in bulldozers:

Spoiler

And a pair of tiny practice sketches, one inspired by Thanqol's ideas:

Spoiler

I don't really see all of the main six as Manticores, because a Manticore is a specific set of parameters, a very specific race - lion body, wings, scorpion tail. Only RD would qualify to be a real Manticore, I think.

Merged post:
Back to the scene. A few fixes and major detail colors.

Spoiler

Still waiting for inspiration on that damn background...

edit: again not showing for me for some reason. Link:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4152380/MLP_...sAreHere15.jpg

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Crossposting from Thanqol's thread, because it really would've belonged better in my own, but I don't have one; Pinkie and Rainbow Dash racing in bulldozers:

Spoiler

And a pair of tiny practice sketches, one inspired by Thanqol's ideas:

Spoiler

I don't really see all of the main six as Manticores, because a Manticore is a specific set of parameters, a very specific race - lion body, wings, scorpion tail. Only RD would qualify to be a real Manticore, I think.

Merged post:
Back to the scene. A few fixes and major detail colors.

Spoiler

Still waiting for inspiration on that damn background...

edit: again not showing for me for some reason. Link:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4152380/MLP_...sAreHere15.jpg

Hmm, background-wise you could always riff off the ruins that show up in a lot of background shots in that episode. In a broken-down castle you could have lots of archways, shattered windows, fountains, columns, etc...

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Hmm, background-wise you could always riff off the ruins that show up in a lot of background shots in that episode. In a broken-down castle you could have lots of archways, shattered windows, fountains, columns, etc...

I did actually throw something like that together, but mostly in search of inspiration rather than actual plan at this point. Also, experiment with NMM's color scheme vs. outlines:

Spoiler

[Derjuin]

Sort of a request from the current IA, I decided to try my own sort of twist on the overdone "Horsemen of the Apocalypse" thing.

Spoiler

I ended up cribbing coloration and a few other things from this painting, though the background was just some generic grasslandy road thing I whipped up in a few minutes. I didn't really feel like doing a full pony version of that painting, though resisting the urge to include the whole lamb/rainbow/book from the top of the painting was very difficult.

[Diego Havoc]

Didn't get a chance to upload anything yesterday, and I almost forgot today, but here's my draw stuff.

Yesterday, after the new episode, I realised I had never drawn AJ. Nor have I drawn a pony bucking before. So I did this:

Spoiler

Based on:

Today I was tired and headachey, so I just did some minor practice things:

Spoiler

Barely worth posting, but I'll feel guilty if I don't post, thanks to the one-a-day challenge thing.

@Derjuin: Looks good! They are the cutest bringers of the apocalyse I've ever seen! I like the green one on the left ^^

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

I did actually throw something like that together, but mostly in search of inspiration rather than actual plan at this point. Also, experiment with NMM's color scheme vs. outlines:

Spoiler

I think the background is a start, but the pillars look a little uniform; I'd consider swapping in another architectural feature somewhere to break it up a bit.

Originally Posted by Derjuin

Sort of a request from the current IA, I decided to try my own sort of twist on the overdone "Horsemen of the Apocalypse" thing.

Spoiler

I ended up cribbing coloration and a few other things from this painting, though the background was just some generic grasslandy road thing I whipped up in a few minutes. I didn't really feel like doing a full pony version of that painting, though resisting the urge to include the whole lamb/rainbow/book from the top of the painting was very difficult.

Looks pretty good! Apoca-ponies seems to be pretty popular. I'm afraid I don't have many critiques, as I'm not sure how far you want your personal style to differ from the show's...

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

Didn't get a chance to upload anything yesterday, and I almost forgot today, but here's my draw stuff.

Yesterday, after the new episode, I realised I had never drawn AJ. Nor have I drawn a pony bucking before. So I did this:

Spoiler

Based on:

Looking good! The only things I'd point out is that the hair doesn't seem quite full enough - it needs more volume. Also, the front legs may be just a tad off proportionally, but the rest looks solid!

This picture also gave me a flashback to my attempt at drawing AJ, since I used a screenshot very similar to this one; it wasn't until I noticed that her hat was off her head that I could tell the difference...

Today I was tired and headachey, so I just did some minor practice things:

Spoiler

Barely worth posting, but I'll feel guilty if I don't post, thanks to the one-a-day challenge thing.

Hey, even that counts! I know that while I was away in CA, I definitely did a lot of shorter study-type drawings, and I definitely haven't posted everything I've done, but I have kept up so far. Let's keep up the good momentum!

[Derjuin]

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

Didn't get a chance to upload anything yesterday, and I almost forgot today, but here's my draw stuff.

Yesterday, after the new episode, I realised I had never drawn AJ. Nor have I drawn a pony bucking before. So I did this:

Spoiler

Based on:

This reminds me that I haven't been keeping up with the show. Looks good though! I would probably mirror Druid_Droid's suggestion about volume. There's also the little ear detail (the curved line inside the ear), but I didn't actually notice it until after like 3 comparisons so it's probably not a big deal.

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

Today I was tired and headachey, so I just did some minor practice things:

Spoiler

Barely worth posting, but I'll feel guilty if I don't post, thanks to the one-a-day challenge thing.

Practice is (almost) always better than nothing, so don't feel too bad about not being able to post some huge thing .

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

@Derjuin: Looks good! They are the cutest bringers of the apocalyse I've ever seen! I like the green one on the left ^^

Thanks! That one's Death.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Looks pretty good! Apoca-ponies seems to be pretty popular. I'm afraid I don't have many critiques, as I'm not sure how far you want your personal style to differ from the show's...

I tend to do twists on established styles (see current OotS avatar), but I think the biggest reason for the difference here is because I don't really use source material imported directly into Inkscape. I copy my proportion blobs and self-made references from one file to the next, but then it's sort of freestyle after that. :I I tend to use the same eye (copied and mussed and fussed with countless times to make new ones for each pony, ofc) and head/leg/body size, which makes certain poses trickier since I don't have one of, say, a pony laying down, or sitting. Perhaps I should start doing that, eh?

[Bakuel]

I'm late again in posting, a small misstep meant I had to redo some of the stuff in my drawing. It's been years since I started working in gimp, yet I still make these amateurish mistakes.

I'm a stranger but,
Happy day-after-birthday Thanqol! Cause that's when the real party starts. *nods sagely*
I wonder what is the proper etiquette for day late happy birthdays from strangers.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

It... does?

Rainbow Dash is half-machine, Twilight has nightmare limbs, and you said it was a attempt to outdo Cupcakes. Sounds like something worth reading to me.

Call me crazy, but I like stories were everything goes horribly wrong then crashes and burns.

Spoiler

Don't judge my tastes!

Can't help with the writing, as I am rather bad at it but I hope it's done one day.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Also, I tried doing a new drawing yesterday, but managed to make it worse than the drawings I did a year ago, so I scrapped it. For some unfathomable reason, experience gained drawing ponies doesn't fully translate to drawing humanoids. Who woulda thunk it?

I can relate, I have problems coloring and shading human skin and hair. The skills in doing bright and varied colored pony hair do not seem to translate well...

Also, your new scene is shaping up great! It's nice and jammed packed with action! I can't wait to see the finished product.
I can't really think of any nit-picks at the moment and can't think of any exceptional ideas for a background.

Originally Posted by Noctemwolf

Another announcement:
I bought myself a Bamboo Tablet. Now I can draw digitally. I feel so professional.

Congratulations on the tablet! Quick draw and post something!

Originally Posted by Derjuin

Sort of a request from the current IA, I decided to try my own sort of twist on the overdone "Horsemen of the Apocalypse" thing.

Spoiler

I ended up cribbing coloration and a few other things from this painting, though the background was just some generic grasslandy road thing I whipped up in a few minutes. I didn't really feel like doing a full pony version of that painting, though resisting the urge to include the whole lamb/rainbow/book from the top of the painting was very difficult.

Apocalypse ponies, the end times will be cute. Very nice!

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

Ok, I'm finally back in town and sort-of settled. Hopefully I'll get back to posting and commenting pretty soon. In the meantime, I'm glad to see everyone posting and practicing!

EDIT: Have some hastily-drawn animals! Who doesn't love those?

Spoiler

I'm actually semi-ok with these, considering how quickly I drew them...I did use a reference for both though, because a week of drawing with only a phone has taught me that I'm still not skilled enough to draw things straight from my head without hating most of them.

I love hastily drawn animals!
The snout seems less defined on the deer, unlike the fox, which has some shading underneath his, the deer seems to be lacking it so it's snout and neck seem merged a bit more.
I can't help but feel the head on both of them should be a little bit more defined from the neck. I know shading is supposed to help add depth and dimension for realistic stuff like this. You already seems to have some shading going on there, maybe make it more pronounced, darker stuff darker, lighter stuff a bit more lighter?

Originally Posted by Diego Havoc

Didn't get a chance to upload anything yesterday, and I almost forgot today, but here's my draw stuff.

Yesterday, after the new episode, I realised I had never drawn AJ. Nor have I drawn a pony bucking before. So I did this:

Spoiler

Based on:

Today I was tired and headachey, so I just did some minor practice things:

Spoiler

Barely worth posting, but I'll feel guilty if I don't post, thanks to the one-a-day challenge thing.

AJ looks good and on model!
But I must be annoying and point out that she seems to be floating because her front legs are higher then the tree trunk.
Also your eyes are very nice. And I must echo Derjuin, practice is better then nothing.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

The only thing I can think of for background ponies is creating a sort of "alone in a crowd" feel, where there are ponies moving or talking in the background, but none pay attention to Twist. Use subdued colors for them (if/when you get around to coloring) to emphasize Twist and the CMC against them, so that the viewer's attention is still on them, but it is clear that everyone else's isn't. I don't know if that made sense, just something that popped into my mind just now.

Thanks for the comment and advice! Alone in the crowd. I like it! I tried to follow it.
Pony art!

Spoiler

I tried it, but I kinda ran out of good places to place ponies. So I add three more ponies. Still at least it seems more crowded now. The only other place that is open is the foreground, but I can't seem to be able to place one there correctly without it being distracting. So I'll just leave that open for now. So this is pretty much the final line-art, now I just need to clean it up and color it. Yay. I guess. Either this picture is taking too long or I should spend more time drawing. I'm thinking the latter.