Ponythread Learns to Draw! Together!

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

I can't say I'm going for "a more mature" style, exactly - in fact, I'm not entirely sure what I am going for. I guess I want a healthy mix of the cartoon style and something more realistic, while retaining the same characters. Kinda like you can show an anime character in different styles and proportions, and still understand that it's the exact same character. It's cartoon ponies through a real-world lens, as it were.

this, I can help with!
Have you ever read Calvin and Hobbes? If so, do you remember how every now and again, the sketches got all serious and realistic and such?

Pick a pony with distinct features who isn't Pinkie Pie (because let's face it- that hair.) and draw that pony in FiM style.
Then draw that pony in Serious Calvin & Hobbes style.
Then draw that pony in SinFest style (SinFest dot net; language, but not as bad as you'd think. It lampshades itself constantly)
Then draw that pony in an amine style (I'd suggest Arcana dot keenspace don't com I think).
Then draw that pony in G1/G2 style.

It's tedious, but it will help you get a feel for what details are important when. And it sounds bunkum, but it's the first step I took to be able to go "line, line, circle, curve, flick- complete human face".

Line work doesn't have to outline everything you see that's distinct; that's coloring's job. Line art should be able to evoke a sense of depth with as few lines as possible. Or as few white spaces as possible, considering standard meme faces. Me gusta!

And Diego, the proportion issues are the head. It's too small; it should be bigger. No necessarily longer, but bigger. The circle you use? Experiment with increasing it's size. Alternately, reducing the barrel-ness of the chest. The pony should be self consistent, and it looks like the head and everything else are on different scales.

[Vorpalbob]

I did some pony-related drawing today, for my Nightmare Night costume.

First, I made an eye. My initial plan for mounting it was to stick it to my face with spirit gum, but I couldn't find any. When I finally got to school and nopony knew who the hell I was (okay, two people did), I decided that the hipster glasses were perfect.

Spoiler

I actually really like how it turned out. It's the first thing I've put serious effort into drawing in years, so I found it quite surprising.

Next, I would need a cutie mark. I ended up throwing this together with just a gray marker, but it worked.

Spoiler

And now, the completed package. I took this one at home, and my camera decided to focus on the edge of my desk.

Spoiler

That wasn't my only costume for today/night. My buddy Waffles and I went as Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake.

Spoiler

IT'S MY...

Spoiler

DECK IN A BOX!

This is where the Magic happens.

Finally, my pumpkin.

Spoiler

Betcha can't guess my favorite pony?

[Thanqol]

Vorpalbob is now best pony.

[Vorpalbob]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Vorpalbob is now best pony.

May I please put that in my sig?

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Vorpalbob

May I please put that in my sig?

By all means!

(I am becoming featured in an increasingly large number of sigs! Bwuahaha!)

[Level8Mudcrab]

And here's my day 2 pony. This time, I've done Pinkie Pie.

Spoiler

Looking back at it, I made a few of those lines too light. *Shrugs* I could have done a better job on the head, it does look a little squashed. I like her mane though. Again, advice appreciated. Let's see if I can keep up a pony a day.

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Vorpalbob is now best pony.

QFT. That was awesome, Vorpal! You should totally post more stuff!

Originally Posted by Level8Mudcrab

And here's my day 2 pony. This time, I've done Pinkie Pie.

Spoiler

Looking back at it, I made a few of those lines too light. *Shrugs* I could have done a better job on the head, it does look a little squashed. I like her mane though. Again, advice appreciated. Let's see if I can keep up a pony a day.

The mane looks great! It really captures the bounciness present in the show. My advice regarding the head and body would be to pull up a reference and once you've got a rough circle shape to locate your head, use the reference to figure out the relative sizes and shapes of the body and legs by comparison. That may help to keep things from looking squashed.

[Vent Reynolt]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Fantastic Legs don't quite seem thick enough, though, particularly at the back. Ponies are squishy, like marshmallows.

You're right. Now that I look at it again, the legs do seem a bit thin. Unfortunately, at this point, it might be more trouble than it's worth to try to fix.

Originally Posted by SiuiS

Mates, I've never been prouder to know any of you. And Vent; if you've spent the last decade setting things that are better than my best on fire, I think I will be very cross with you

Originally Posted by EsperDerek

*right-click, Save*

Hee-hee! Apart from the slightly thinner legs that Thanqol pointed out, I think that you did a really great job! There's no need to set it on fire, besides, I already saved a copy, so you can't dispose of the evidence.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

I agree with Esper here! Vent, you have absolutely no reason not to post more work here, your Midnight picture was really good, and I personally want to see more of your work.

Eeep! But, I'm not any good; I'm not! This digital art thing doesn't even require any skill; it's just fiddling around with the lines and shapes until it looks right.

Also, Thanqol linked to some pony tutorials earlier, and I can't recommend this one enough.

Originally Posted by EsperDerek

Love her socks, too.

Nothing but the greatest, of course.

-

Next time: I'm bringing you something out of Jade and Midnight's secret dossier. (KIDDING!!!!!)

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Vent Reynolt

Eeep! But, I'm not any good; I'm not! This digital art thing doesn't even require any skill; it's just fiddling around with the lines and shapes until it looks right.

This is how I draw everything! And I don't do any digital work. You just make the first lines light enough that you can go back and erase them. You just draw, erase, redraw and repeat!

Next time: I'm bringing you something out of Jade and Midnight's secret dossier. (KIDDING!!!!!)

You're only allowed to be kidding about the dossier. You'd better post something! Fluttershy is watching you!

[Trixie]

I'm only going to post it here because this section disappears from the OP:

Art Challenges

Spoiler

MyLP Challenge:

Do you want to try your hand at something fun? Feeling need to draw fanart? How about trying MyLP Challenge?

What it is? Just click on the linked template.

How does that work? Don't be scared, just complete the template to the best of your ability. Have one two three four examples made by other ponies

Starting thread and more examples can be found here.

...Maybe it can be worked into OP of this thread in some form, if it's still useful?

[Diego Havoc]

Originally Posted by SiuiS

And Diego, the proportion issues are the head. It's too small; it should be bigger. No necessarily longer, but bigger. The circle you use? Experiment with increasing it's size. Alternately, reducing the barrel-ness of the chest. The pony should be self consistent, and it looks like the head and everything else are on different scales.

Hmm, alright, I'll work on that. Thanks!

@Trixie: Hey, that's not a bad idea at all! I'd seen it before but I'd forgotten about it. This might make a good challenge for us. Thanks ^^ I might give it a shot this weekend.

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Trixie

I'm only going to post it here because this section disappears from the OP:

Art Challenges

Spoiler

MyLP Challenge:

Do you want to try your hand at something fun? Feeling need to draw fanart? How about trying MyLP Challenge?

What it is? Just click on the linked template.

How does that work? Don't be scared, just complete the template to the best of your ability. Have one two three four examples made by other ponies

Starting thread and more examples can be found here.

...Maybe it can be worked into OP of this thread in some form, if it's still useful?

This is an excellent idea! The last time I saw it was before I decided to try drawing ponies. I'll go edit the OP to include it

[Dispozition]

Woah, a draw thread, that's cool. Nice to see people getting together to get better at stuff (:

I guess I should participate a bit...Mostly giving advice I guess, although I can't draw myself. I guess I can colour fairly well though, so if anyone wants advice specifically on that I can offer it.
Speaking of which, here's my best WIP at the moment, out of the...5 or so I have going :-/
Link because it's very large

I currently have a massive art block stopping me from finishing it...But anywho...

I guess I might occasionally colour stuff from this thread if I want, but I likely won't do requests. If you don't want me to colour your stuff, just say so and I'll steer clear.

[Vent Reynolt]

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

You're only allowed to be kidding about the dossier. You'd better post something! Fluttershy is watching you!

I'm getting mixed messages here. I'm going to assume that this means that Fluttershy wants me to make this picture of Jade & Midnight's dossier.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Dispozition

Woah, a draw thread, that's cool. Nice to see people getting together to get better at stuff (:

I guess I should participate a bit...Mostly giving advice I guess, although I can't draw myself. I guess I can colour fairly well though, so if anyone wants advice specifically on that I can offer it.
Speaking of which, here's my best WIP at the moment, out of the...5 or so I have going :-/
Link because it's very large

I currently have a massive art block stopping me from finishing it...But anywho...

I guess I might occasionally colour stuff from this thread if I want, but I likely won't do requests. If you don't want me to colour your stuff, just say so and I'll steer clear.

Dispo, you are so incredible me giving you advice would seem to veer uncomfortably towards Art of the Dress territory.

However! I am still on the Paint Tool SAI trial, which you recommended to me, and I'm gradually coming to like it more. What tools are you using to colour this? I think I see the acryllic brush for the mane and some of the details, and water for additional shading? Or is that just a more transparent acryllic/blur tool? Also, do you do basic paintfill with additional detail/shading on top or do you colour it all in by hand?

Oh wait, I remember that you linked me to a video of you drawing at some point which I totally forgot to save the link to; could you relink me?

[Dispozition]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Dispo, you are so incredible me giving you advice would seem to veer uncomfortably towards Art of the Dress territory.

However! I am still on the Paint Tool SAI trial, which you recommended to me, and I'm gradually coming to like it more. What tools are you using to colour this? I think I see the acryllic brush for the mane and some of the details, and water for additional shading? Or is that just a more transparent acryllic/blur tool? Also, do you do basic paintfill with additional detail/shading on top or do you colour it all in by hand?

Oh wait, I remember that you linked me to a video of you drawing at some point which I totally forgot to save the link to; could you relink me?

Pfft, advice is always appreciated, or at least mistakes you think you see, or where you think it can be improved. Pretty much anything like that :P

I do multi-method shading these days...Normally building on each other. I normally block shading out with the water tool on simple circle and mostly default settings. Then I'll refine it with the brush, normally on rough vertical to refine lines and show the darkest shading. Then I'll go and do some random brush stuff, normally with bristle or some of the similar painterly brushes to do more detail work. It kind of depends...I'm still experimenting a lot, and I'd advise you do that too, it's one of the better ways to learn.

Oh, and I work completely on one layer for each thing. Or multiple if multiple colours are involved, but then flatten them down when I'm doing the detail shading. So for rarity, her eyes are one layer, glasses another, then mouth, hair, and body being all the layers. So 5 for the image. Sometimes I keep eyes on two layers, but it depends. But that's just me...So yeah, like I said, experiment.

As for my videos, they're on my youtube page. The Twilight one is the only one I did in SAI though. Haven't uploaded the others yet since they're all kinda awful or incomplete :P

Oh, and I do flats with a combination of the pen tool and the bucket. Depending on my mood.

[Brazen Shield]

Do. Not. Wanna.

Spoiler

Here >>

Happy Leo? I drew you >>

Spoiler

This is my favorite so far. I like the legs: I'm not even gonna bother with faces anymore till I get the body shape down.

Spoiler

Smaller one, just more body practice.

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Brazen Shield

Do. Not. Wanna.

Spoiler

Here >>

Happy Leo? I drew you >>

Spoiler

This is my favorite so far. I like the legs: I'm not even gonna bother with faces anymore till I get the body shape down.

Spoiler

Smaller one, just more body practice.

Yay! A wild Brazen Shield has posted!

The legs in the last picture are looking pretty good; you definitely got a lot of the curve in them down. My suggestion if you want to try focusing on ponies without worrying about details is to try sketching the dress forms from Art of the Dress - they don't have manes or tails to worry with (I know I mentioned this in the IRC, but I thought I'd post it in case others might want to try the idea out).

[Noctemwolf]

Well, enough drawing. Time to go Work on my NaNoWriMo Novel... Muwaha. Oh, I'll come back and look over artwork too, if you guys like. =)

[the_druid_droid]

And now for some Rarity:

Line by Line, Drawing it Together

Spoiler

Based on this:

Spoiler

Thoughts:
I went back and forth between loving and hating this as I drew. I think that my big successes were getting the curly bits in the mane down, and capturing some of the dynamic pose of the original.

On the other hand, I wonder if my proportions weren't off in places, and my pace was kind of slow on this one.

[Vorpalbob]

This is related to my next project:

If Calvin were a pony, what would Hobbes be?

In the meantime, here is my first attempt at drawing a full pony.
I cheated: It's a filly
Please keep in mind, this is the only thing I've drawn in three years that I've actually put serious effort into, other than that eye, but that's just an eye.

Reference picture

Spoiler

And now, my feeble efforts.

Spoiler

The picture just felt lacking, so I added the amp for fun, and did some shading on the mane and tail.

[Thanqol]

Originally Posted by Vorpalbob

This is related to my next project:

If Calvin were a pony, what would Hobbes be?

Smartypants!

In the meantime, here is my first attempt at drawing a full pony.
I cheated: It's a filly
Please keep in mind, this is the only thing I've drawn in three years that I've actually put serious effort into, other than that eye, but that's just an eye.

Reference picture

Spoiler

And now, my feeble efforts.

Spoiler

The picture just felt lacking, so I added the amp for fun, and did some shading on the mane and tail.

That's really good for a first try! It's not bad at all, it just might look a little worse than it is due to smudging/leftover construction lines. If that was inked and coloured you'd see that none of the lines are really wrong (though the microphone forehoof is kinda thin)

[Vorpalbob]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Smartypants!



That's really good for a first try! It's not bad at all, it just might look a little worse than it is due to smudging/leftover construction lines. If that was inked and coloured you'd see that none of the lines are really wrong (though the microphone forehoof is kinda thin)

I originally drew it thicker, but couldn't get the tapering right, so I just left it.

Smartypants, eh? I bet I could do that.

[SiuiS]

Originally Posted by Thanqol

Dispo, you are so incredible me giving you advice would seem to veer uncomfortably towards Art of the Dress territory.

However! I am still on the Paint Tool SAI trial, which you recommended to me, and I'm gradually coming to like it more. What tools are you using to colour this? I think I see the acryllic brush for the mane and some of the details, and water for additional shading? Or is that just a more transparent acryllic/blur tool? Also, do you do basic paintfill with additional detail/shading on top or do you colour it all in by hand?

Oh wait, I remember that you linked me to a video of you drawing at some point which I totally forgot to save the link to; could you relink me?

Originally Posted by Dispozition

Pfft, advice is always appreciated, or at least mistakes you think you see, or where you think it can be improved. Pretty much anything like that :P

I do multi-method shading these days...Normally building on each other. I normally block shading out with the water tool on simple circle and mostly default settings. Then I'll refine it with the brush, normally on rough vertical to refine lines and show the darkest shading. Then I'll go and do some random brush stuff, normally with bristle or some of the similar painterly brushes to do more detail work. It kind of depends...I'm still experimenting a lot, and I'd advise you do that too, it's one of the better ways to learn.

Oh, and I work completely on one layer for each thing. Or multiple if multiple colours are involved, but then flatten them down when I'm doing the detail shading. So for rarity, her eyes are one layer, glasses another, then mouth, hair, and body being all the layers. So 5 for the image. Sometimes I keep eyes on two layers, but it depends. But that's just me...So yeah, like I said, experiment.

As for my videos, they're on my youtube page. The Twilight one is the only one I did in SAI though. Haven't uploaded the others yet since they're all kinda awful or incomplete :P

Oh, and I do flats with a combination of the pen tool and the bucket. Depending on my mood.

You're using lingo I don't understand about a particular branch of art I really want to get into and I hate you both for making it sound so easy.

I hate you with the fury of a half-eaten slice of french
Toast.

Seriously though! Dispo does good work, and Thanq's skin tone is getting there. The performed gulf between us is insane... I need to start throwing money in a jar and harassing Jade so I can get a desktop and catch up.
Fabulous.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

And now for some Rarity:

Line by Line, Drawing it Together

Spoiler

Based on this:

Spoiler

Thoughts:
I went back and forth between loving and hating this as I drew. I think that my big successes were getting the curly bits in the mane down, and capturing some of the dynamic pose of the original.

On the other hand, I wonder if my proportions weren't off in places, and my pace was kind of slow on this one.

The dynamism excels,
Here. I love this Rarity. For proportions, he legs are too long; too much up and down. Since her legs are splayed, she should be closer to the ground. It took me a minute of looking at pic and reference at the same time though, to pin down what I thought was wrong.

Oh my goodness that pose... That pose! That pose.
Yes Rarity, yes. Yes you are awesome.

*k-sleep*

[Athaniar]

Dispo, your art is great, don't think otherwise.

Originally Posted by the_druid_droid

And now for some Rarity:

Line by Line, Drawing it Together

Spoiler

I really like her mane! No, really, it's very good, the shape of her mane and tail are excellent. The pose is also very good.


Also, here is my attempt at drawing my Paladin avatar:

Spoiler

[Level8Mudcrab]

And for today I've drawn Applejack.

Spoiler

Referencing this:

Spoiler

My biggest issue with this one is definately Applejack's expression. Not really happy with how that turned out. And eyes. I still hate eyes.

Originally Posted by Athaniar

Also, here is my attempt at drawing my Paladin avatar:

Spoiler

Looks great. I love the patterns on the armour.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by Athaniar

Dispo, your art is great, don't think otherwise.
Also, here is my attempt at drawing my Paladin avatar:

Spoiler

It may be accurate to your avatar, but the design gives the impression that his forelegs and wings are attached to the same joint, i.e. the human equivalent of arms growing out of the abdomen. Otherwise, fairly decent. Good job on the armor details, and nicely done facial expression, too.

And here's what I've been (and still am) working on:

Spoiler

It's (going to be) a title page for a fanfic, this one, to be precise. (FiMFiction link) It's a Dwarf Fortress/MLP crossover collaborative fic-in-the-making, with my part of the collaboration being the art assets and the occasional editing remark.

As a sort of an experiment, I tried using a non-smoothed 1px brush to do the final lines, and.. well, it's not my tool. (the current character guidelines are the result) I'm redoing the lines with my usual smoothed 1px brush, and in the meantime I'd like some kind of suggestions for improving the background/scenery. There's no helping the perspective at this point, but I'd like to get as much of what can still be fixed as possible done right.

Some things I can point out myself - such as that the house designs are atrocious (even disregarding the sketchiness) and are channeling rural Russia instead of whatever it is Ponyville homes are supposed to be. I'll be fixing that shortly. I'm fairly sure the scenery is also wrong for the specific place the view is supposed to represent, the grass is extraneous, etc.

So, any suggestions?

[Athaniar]

Originally Posted by Level8Mudcrab

Looks great. I love the patterns on the armour.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

It may be accurate to your avatar, but the design gives the impression that his forelegs and wings are attached to the same joint, i.e. the human equivalent of arms growing out of the abdomen. Otherwise, fairly decent. Good job on the armor details, and nicely done facial expression, too.

Hm, yes, I see how it could give that impression (even though it was not intended to look that way). I'll have to think about clarifying that in further works. Thank you both, though. For the pattern on the armor I was going for something "aerial".

[Sean Mirrsen]

Originally Posted by Athaniar

Hm, yes, I see how it could give that impression (even though it was not intended to look that way). I'll have to think about clarifying that in further works. Thank you both, though. For the pattern on the armor I was going for something "aerial".

Well, it's swirly, so works as "aerial", I guess. I think the last time I tried to draw engraved armor it was this lil' thing:

Spoiler

Aand since I'm pulling up old pencilled robots, here, have a few more:

Spoiler

Laser-headed robot dinosaur motorcycle!


Two iterations of a character from my first RTD:



The player team from the aforementioned RTD game doing something they didn't quite get around to doing after all.

Bonus points if you can identify the BattleMech.

[the_druid_droid]

Originally Posted by Vorpalbob

This is related to my next project:

If Calvin were a pony, what would Hobbes be?

In the meantime, here is my first attempt at drawing a full pony.
I cheated: It's a filly
Please keep in mind, this is the only thing I've drawn in three years that I've actually put serious effort into, other than that eye, but that's just an eye.

Reference picture

Spoiler

And now, my feeble efforts.

Spoiler

The picture just felt lacking, so I added the amp for fun, and did some shading on the mane and tail.

I'm with Thanqol on this, the picture is excellent, first attempt or no, and there's not really anything wrong with the line work.

We will be watching your career with great interest!

Originally Posted by SiuiS

The dynamism excels,
Here. I love this Rarity. For proportions, he legs are too long; too much up and down. Since her legs are splayed, she should be closer to the ground. It took me a minute of looking at pic and reference at the same time though, to pin down what I thought was wrong.

Oh my goodness that pose... That pose! That pose.
Yes Rarity, yes. Yes you are awesome.

*k-sleep*

Yeah, I'm not a fan of how the legs turned out overall. I think I made them too skinny and not splayed out enough vs. the original pose. Your suggestion about length is also helpful. I'm going to try and focus on hoof proportions and height more in my next one.

Originally Posted by Athaniar

Also, here is my attempt at drawing my Paladin avatar:

Spoiler

This looks pretty accurately like your avatar. I might suggest adding more swoop to the tail, but nothing else really stands out.

Originally Posted by Level8Mudcrab

And for today I've drawn Applejack.

Spoiler

Referencing this:

Spoiler

My biggest issue with this one is definately Applejack's expression. Not really happy with how that turned out. And eyes. I still hate eyes.

The hair again is very well done! The legs seem small though, especially in comparison to the body. Notice how compact AJ's body is in the reference, and how curvy the lines are that define her pose; if you can capture that, you're 90% there with the expression.

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

It may be accurate to your avatar, but the design gives the impression that his forelegs and wings are attached to the same joint, i.e. the human equivalent of arms growing out of the abdomen. Otherwise, fairly decent. Good job on the armor details, and nicely done facial expression, too.

And here's what I've been (and still am) working on:

Spoiler

It's (going to be) a title page for a fanfic, this one, to be precise. (FiMFiction link) It's a Dwarf Fortress/MLP crossover collaborative fic-in-the-making, with my part of the collaboration being the art assets and the occasional editing remark.

As a sort of an experiment, I tried using a non-smoothed 1px brush to do the final lines, and.. well, it's not my tool. (the current character guidelines are the result) I'm redoing the lines with my usual smoothed 1px brush, and in the meantime I'd like some kind of suggestions for improving the background/scenery. There's no helping the perspective at this point, but I'd like to get as much of what can still be fixed as possible done right.

Some things I can point out myself - such as that the house designs are atrocious (even disregarding the sketchiness) and are channeling rural Russia instead of whatever it is Ponyville homes are supposed to be. I'll be fixing that shortly. I'm fairly sure the scenery is also wrong for the specific place the view is supposed to represent, the grass is extraneous, etc.

So, any suggestions?

I'm afraid I don't have enough landscape experience to suggest anything you haven't already pointed out, but I really like the way it's shaping up!

Originally Posted by Sean Mirrsen

Well, it's swirly, so works as "aerial", I guess. I think the last time I tried to draw engraved armor it was this lil' thing:

Spoiler

Aand since I'm pulling up old pencilled robots, here, have a few more:

Spoiler

Laser-headed robot dinosaur motorcycle!


Two iterations of a character from my first RTD:



The player team from the aforementioned RTD game doing something they didn't quite get around to doing after all.

Bonus points if you can identify the BattleMech.

I'm really curious: how did you come up with the details on all those robot pictures? I love them, but I have no idea how I'd draw something similar; it seems so complicated...