Eyes and cutie mark tips?

Buffy the Vampire Pony

Teeny Tiny Baby Pony
Joined
Sep 15, 2016
Messages
39
Hi everypony,
So my partner suggested I try doing some customs and I've tried a multiple times but I always have trouble with the eyes and cutie marks. I particularly like doing G1 and G3 characters on a G4 base but really struggle trying to fit cutie marks on the 8cm figure's rumps. I also have a lot of trouble keeping lines smooth and neat on the eyes and eyelashes.

This is my most recent, G3 Thistle Whistle to G4
*I had to alter her cutie mark slightly to fit on her rump because it was so small and you can barely see the individual dotted swirls.
P1013111.JPG


Does anyone have any suggestions for the eyes and cutie marks? Any criticism and advice would be much appreciated, thanks.
 
First I would recommend using a finer paintbrush. I can see the lines around the eye and the eyelashes are a bit thicker than they should be. Try to find a new one whose bristles form a nice point. It doesn't need to be expensive or anything, but it will make painting delicate lines a lot easier if the bristles aren't flayed out at all. This will also make it easier to fit the cutie mark on. (those G4's really are very tiny, aren't they? On the other hand, a full body repaint is a lot less time-consuming)

I can also see that you have spread the paint too thickly. Try to use just a little bit of paint on your brush, and if the colour isn't strong enough, wait until it is dry (you can alternate between the cutie mark and eyes to make waiting easier) and continue adding more thin layers.

You will notice very quickly if you are using less paint that it starts to dry on the brush and is very awkward to spread on the pony. Use a bit of water to thin it (I recommend mixing your colour on a palette and adding a bit of water to it from a jar at your side a you go.) It is really really easy to use too much water, which will stop the paint from sticking to the pony and drying properly, so I would recommend to practise painting your design on paper first.
I hope that helped! good luck on you future customs:winkpony:
 
First I would recommend using a finer paintbrush. I can see the lines around the eye and the eyelashes are a bit thicker than they should be. Try to find a new one whose bristles form a nice point. It doesn't need to be expensive or anything, but it will make painting delicate lines a lot easier if the bristles aren't flayed out at all. This will also make it easier to fit the cutie mark on. (those G4's really are very tiny, aren't they? On the other hand, a full body repaint is a lot less time-consuming)

I can also see that you have spread the paint too thickly. Try to use just a little bit of paint on your brush, and if the colour isn't strong enough, wait until it is dry (you can alternate between the cutie mark and eyes to make waiting easier) and continue adding more thin layers.

You will notice very quickly if you are using less paint that it starts to dry on the brush and is very awkward to spread on the pony. Use a bit of water to thin it (I recommend mixing your colour on a palette and adding a bit of water to it from a jar at your side a you go.) It is really really easy to use too much water, which will stop the paint from sticking to the pony and drying properly, so I would recommend to practise painting your design on paper first.
I hope that helped! good luck on you future customs:winkpony:

Thank you so much for all your advice, I will try and follow it to the best of my ability :)
 
Tons of practice, and thinly layering paint on, letting it dry completely before layering more paint on top.

Building up layers gives depth no matter what pigments you choose

My customs looked like lumpy piles of poo for my first couple years

People tend to get impatient and expect perfect results but all you need to do is be proud that you did a thing, and then grow from it
 
Practice makes perfect. My first customs were horrendous compared to now. Even then mine still can use some fine tuning. Keep at it and don't get frustrated.
 
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