It’s probably pretty clear by now that my style is different from that of My Little Pony’s official style, and sometimes jumps around depending on the context of what I’m drawing. I’ve tried drawing in the show style, but there are things I don’t like about it, and it gives me some trouble. And that’s totally fine, draw how you want to! Not good at drawing ponies at all? Sites like deviantArt have lots of helpful guides. Normally I don’t recommend this, but base editing is also an option too, as long as you credit the original designer of the base and link back to them (this is a must!!).
But anyhow, here’s a guide on switching between different styles.
When I draw, I tend to add extra fluff, change body shape, and add extra smaller details. Here, you can see I changed Pinkie Pie’s mane style slightly, gave her a grey underside, and made her hooves have color to match her cutie mark. I gave her a rounder, shorter body shape and a squarer muzzle. She’s got extra fluff, so that she looks more cuddly and friendly. If you’re going for a realistic style, it’s good to look at actual photos of horses and ponies to get a feel for how their bodies are shaped/how they move/etc.
Another example of something I like to do is add tail feathers on Pegasi and give them more wing detail:
Now for going from a personal style to show style. Typically the characters have one of two standard body types (male/female). But not every pony in the show uses them, and some of them can be fairly unique. These make the character stand out more, and contribute to that first impression that somebody gets of them. Age and lifestyle may play into a pony’s shape. It might be a good idea to perhaps consider what build you want your pony to have. Let’s look at a few:
Here’s a quick guide on drawing eyes the way the show does:
Now here’s an example of personal style to show style, using Dusk Horizon:
When trying to figure out how to draw in show style, don’t be afraid to look at references. Sketching out the basic body shapes over a screenshot or while looking at one might even be helpful if you’re practicing (but don’t trace and then try to pass it off as your own work!). MLP uses vectored Flash puppets (though you don’t necessarily need a vector graphics drawing program or Flash), so it’s good practice to work in pieces, starting with the body, then the eyes, then the hair, etc.. Don’t worry about being perfect because even the show itself has mistakes and inconsistencies at times.
Because show style doesn’t typically use markings, we’re going to remove some of them. The face is more rounded, the ears are a very basic shape, and the legs have less joint detail. Usually only certain male ponies have separate hoof colors, so those get removed too. Things like traditional unicorn tails, curved horns, and extra feathers on pegasi would be changed here. In short, it’s all about simplifying. The show also uses colored lines, which is important to note–if the line color is light, just go over it with black first to be safe, and then color.
Helping Hoof 