Pony Pony Pony

Teaching myself how to draw via cute ponies.

[witchtaunter]

I hear that Mexico is kicking a ball really well lately. Seems like an appropriate time to post this commission for Vard.

[nnalyart]

[commission] Emerald Spark - ref sheet by Nnalyart

Commission for Dragmaister's fimfiction; https://www.fimfiction.net/story/441107/space-battleship-harmony

[nnalyart]

[commission] Emerald Spark - ref sheet by Nnalyart

Commission for Dragmaister's fimfiction; https://www.fimfiction.net/story/441107/space-battleship-harmony

[nnalyart]

Shining star by Nnalyart

Day 301 of drawing Princess Luna

[hoofclid]

Sometimes she just can't help herself.

[dusthiel]

ATG D21 2026 - Miracle

Day 21: Draw a pony doing the impossible / Draw a pony working miracles

[nnalyart]

300 days of Luna by Nnalyart

Day 300 of drawing Princess Luna

Thank you for supporting me through another 100 days of Daily Luna art :) now then.. let's draw some more Luna!

[nnalyart]

Night sky by Nnalyart

Day 299 of drawing Princess Luna

[nnalyart]

Snoot boop by Nnalyart

Day 298 of drawing Princess Luna

[dusthiel]

ATG D20 2026 - Apology

Day 20: Draw a pony swallowing their pride / Draw a pony making an apology

[gosupermarinespitfire]

NATG alumni event week thing week 43. The prompts were "Draw a pony in a different generation's style / Draw a pony doing something silly!"

Also on Bluesky.

[nnalyart]

Gamer Luna by Nnalyart

Day 297 of drawing Princess Luna

[nnalyart]

Gamer Luna by Nnalyart

Day 297 of drawing Princess Luna

[hoofclid]

[nnalyart]

[commission] Ami by Nnalyart

Commission for Ami 🍋

[nnalyart]

Luna's song by Nnalyart

Day 296 of drawing Princess Luna

[factual-fantasy]

[danidarkarts]

@factual-fantasy

[fynori]

i'd like to add that the shadow color isnt necessarily dictated entirely by the primary light source, but the bounce light! so for the example of a sunny environment, the reason the shadows are blue are because of the light from the blue sky reflects across the environment; but, if the character were to be under tree cover, the bounce light would be coming from the leaves and thus the shadow would look greener.

[danidarkarts]

Yee yee!!! You got it right on the nose!

Bounce light is something I didn't cover but I adore it!

Gotta work on my bounce light 💪

[labrador-entity]

My good friends this is called using a

Gamut Mask

(image via )

James Gurney is an absolute master and gives really good clarity on colour techniques. Yes, it is traditional paint focused, but the principles are the same. Yes it is informed by the environmental colour but as a painting technique it is achieved this way!

I would also suggest that in digital processing, rather than apply a regular colour layer at a mid opacity, try out the different types of layers, Eg. Screen or Multiply. This can give you at least a starting point to help direct your colour palette.

[technecat-scratchings]

Layer Blend Modes are so so so important to working in digital art. There's a ton of math that goes into figuring out how the layers should blend together, which is why some of the modes you can pick are literally called Multiply, Add, Divide, and Difference (that's subtraction). The graphics software takes the color values of your base and blend layers and runs a calculation to get your resulting layer appearance. The ones that don't have specifically mathematical sounding names are still doing calculations, but they're more complicated (think linear Algebra and higher). Some of them, like dodge and burn, are named for actual photo editing techniques.

While it's not super important to know about the mathematical side of blend modes, I think it's worth knowing at least enough about how each of the categories of blend modes works and why they do what they do; if for no other reason than having a starting point when you start experimenting with them in your work.

An overview of the basic blend modes and how they work from Genevieve's Design Studio: Accessible with minimal color knowledge; practical and illustration focused. https://youtu.be/kMc87hQrJd0?si=TWCB365pKSfWS8p0. (16 minutes) This creator also has a ton of free resources you can download, including a Blend Modes cheatsheet, but fair warning: you have to create an account to get them!

Want to learn even more about the math-y stuff? It has great film visuals! A video from FilmmakerIQ: You need some basic knowledge of RGB color models, understanding of values/luma, and at least a tenuous understanding of Algebraic formulas. (26 minutes) https://youtu.be/F7_kaTP7_W4?si=x0urqXZ8f51nQVKl