Dakota's Workshop

[MerryAnvil]

I have been busy working on customs these last few weeks! Aside from Coriander Cumin, who I finished in like...two days, I also have a few more in the works and figured I'd post pics of them!

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New!

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Had another baby fakie bait lying around in very poor condition, but this one had sort of floppy-looking lips. I was trying to figure out what to do with it when I remembered that the elderly ponies on FiM have the same sort of lips! I've always liked Apple Rose's design, so I decided to go with her <3 I think I'll probably go with yarn for her hair.


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First we have Levon Song, who is actually finished apart from his little glasses <3 He was kind of an experimental custom. I've never sculpted manes and tails for customs before, so I figured I'd give it a shot. It didn't turn out too badly, but I still think I could've done a better job. Oh well, next time! He was made from a G4 Pinkie Pie brushable, painted in acrylics, and his mane and tail were sculpted from Sculpey. Finally, I added a gloss varnish to his painted details (eyes, nose, lips, symbols) to make them less matte and stand out more, just like the Hasbro factory ponies.

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Next, a boy I started and nearly finished yesterday! I have a serious soft spot for background/underappreciated FiM ponies (gee, can't you tell? Literally all my customs thus far have been FiM background ponies) and Burnt Oak is one of my faves! He just has such a nice feeling to him. Also he reminds me a bit of Sam Elliott for some reason, and he's one of my mother's favorite actors. So I decided to do a custom of him! This was my first time using a Fashion Style-size G4 for a custom (I used that extra Pinkie I just got in that shopgoodwill lot recently), and I have to say, they are much easier to work with than the regular brushable size. I highly prefer them. I am super, super happy with how all his painted features came out. I was really nervous about painting his eyes since it would stand out if I made any mistakes, and I think it came out just fine! I decided to try and copy the actual G4 painting style exactly, instead of doing my own thing with the soft shading and blushing as I usually do. I used the same gloss varnish method, and it looks great on him. I need to order him some hair and rehair him still, and get him a bandanna/hat, but he's coming along nicely.

[glitterball]

Lovely work!
Burnt Oak has a lovely body colour, did you brush or spray paint them?
One day I will be brave enough to have a play with a G4 custom 

[gemini_pony]

I love that sculpted hair.

[Roogna]

I love those burning eyes

[Griffin]

The eyes on the first pony are gorgeous! Great job on both of them!

[MerryAnvil]

Lovely work!
Burnt Oak has a lovely body colour, did you brush or spray paint them?
One day I will be brave enough to have a play with a G4 custom 

Thank you! He really does <3 I brushed them both! It's a little more noticeable than I'd like on Levon Song, but that's because I was having a lot of problems with getting the coats of paint to layer properly (also I had an oopsie moment where he fell into a bit of yellow paint while he was drying and I couldn't get it all out, even when I layered over it. Drat!) I put several more coats of sealant than I usually do on Burnt Oak, and it gave him a nice, smooth finish that hides a lot of the brush strokes. I definitely think I'l be doing that more going forward.

Ahh you should! I had a lot of fun with these, G4s are neat to customize!

I love that sculpted hair.

Ahh really? Thank you! <3

I love those burning eyes

Thanks!

The eyes on the first pony are gorgeous! Great job on both of them!

Thank you so much! I think I've finally figured out a way to translate my flat art style onto the 3D custom medium >u< <3

[Griffin]

The eyes on the first pony are gorgeous! Great job on both of them!

Thank you so much! I think I've finally figured out a way to translate my flat art style onto the 3D custom medium >u< <3

That is the BEST feeling! I remember when I first started, it took me a few years (well, I only made a couple of ponies per year to be honest) to get comfortable with symbol painting because I was not used to acrylics - watercolour was my preferred 2D medium. Getting better brushes helped too, of course, but mostly I think it is about getting a feel of how the paint behaves. And it's not simple to jump from painting on flat surfaces to painting on ponies, either! You need to retrain your hand and eye coordination. It's a wonderful feeling when your hard work pays off.

[MerryAnvil]

New custom added! Apple Rose <3

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Had another baby fakie bait lying around in very poor condition, but this one had sort of floppy-looking lips. I was trying to figure out what to do with it when I remembered that the elderly ponies on FiM have the same sort of lips! I've always liked Apple Rose's design, so I decided to go with her <3 I think I'll probably go with yarn for her hair.

[Elva]

Burnt Oak s definitely one of my favourite FiM characters! Can't wait to see the finished custom