Painting tips

[Astor]

So, I have more trouble painting the eyes and cutie mark. I use a very thin brush but I still have a bit of trouble with getting ok lines. Any tips to get a perfect job on the eyes and cutiemark??I use the water down method for smoother results.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I wonder if you could use painters tape to get crisp edges..

[Blackness]

Sadly I think if painting such tiny details were easy, everyone would do it!

Practice and patience. I've been making customs for years and still struggle with eye painting - one slip and you can ruin hours of work. Holding your breath while you paint can help keep a steady hand but otherwise it all comes down to practice I believe.

[pinkkittywinks]

Don't be too hard on yourself, it is hard

Practice is the first thing that comes to mind when doing eyes. Though, painting G4 eyes is harder, as they don't have the moulded eye shape like other generations, plus the eyes vary according to each character.

I think "committing" to you line is important, if you waver you are more likely to get a wavy line Other things that can make a line wavy is tiredness, if I am tired I find it harder to get things right or lines straight.

I always have a stash of cotton buds near by for fixing "mess ups"

It is hard to get things perfect, don't ever be afraid to go back and correct things. I always keep some body colour paint from full body repaints to fix up mistakes I make on symbols or eyes.

Love pkw xxx

[glitterball]

Another tip - I lean my elbows on a table (rather than paint holding my elbows in the air), as it offers more stability. Handy when doing intricate things as you get less of a chance to wobble!

Also - doing perfect white dots on the eye to represent the shine - I use those ball-ended tools that you use for nail art, I got some in a set of brushes from the £1 shop!

Practise with acrylics on pebbles then hide your artwork around a park for the kids to find - painted jewel treasures!

[Aeryala]

Practise with acrylics on pebbles then hide your artwork around a park for the kids to find - painted jewel treasures!

What a great idea!

[Astor]

Don't be too hard on yourself, it is hard

Practice is the first thing that comes to mind when doing eyes. Though, painting G4 eyes is harder, as they don't have the moulded eye shape like other generations, plus the eyes vary according to each character.

I think "committing" to you line is important, if you waver you are more likely to get a wavy line Other things that can make a line wavy is tiredness, if I am tired I find it harder to get things right or lines straight.

I always have a stash of cotton buds near by for fixing "mess ups"

It is hard to get things perfect, don't ever be afraid to go back and correct things. I always keep some body color paint from full body repaints to fix up mistakes I make on symbols or eyes.

Love pkw xxx

I always have to redo my mistakes, when I was working on my last custom Night sky stars I messed up a lot on her but in the end she turned out perfect! Thank you, I do try my best and I try to keep my lines really smooth if I can but I always have to redo but it is practice makes perfect. 

Post Merge: February 11, 2020, 02:58:40 PM

Another tip - I lean my elbows on a table (rather than paint holding my elbows in the air), as it offers more stability. Handy when doing intricate things as you get less of a chance to wobble!

Also - doing perfect white dots on the eye to represent the shine - I use those ball-ended tools that you use for nail art, I got some in a set of brushes from the £1 shop!

Practise with acrylics on pebbles then hide your artwork around a park for the kids to find - painted jewel treasures!

I do put my arm on the table and it does work so it is handy to know others do the same haha.

I do need to get a ball took so it can look much better then hand painting little circles.
 
I should do that, I dont have a park near me but I do see kids in my neighbor hood and I can lay the rocks around the sidewalks for people to find, thank you for the idea!

~Astor~

[aintnobuffalo]

Yes, as others have said, it's hard and takes practice. Start with a custom you dont have to do a base coat underneath for, so you can easily wipe paint off after mistakes and not get so discouraged by ruining an undercoat at first. Also, use one single, fluid movement for a brush stroke; if you try to do tiny strokes to be precise, it will result in messy lines. Think of it like a calligrapher's movement rather then a sketch artist movement. Use reference images, even when you know what look you are going for. Invest in a fair quality brush, and be aware that white and other low pigment shades are going to need several thin coats.

[Tropical_Sunset]

Something I do for small details is draw or transfer the lines of the design onto the pony, then paint over it. Painting a symbol is much less daunting when there are lines to guide you!

[Ponybookworm]

I don't use a paintbrush for fine details. Instead, I dip the tip of a sharpened pencil into paint & use it. Others have mentioned toothpicks, but as we all started with pencils I find those easier. Just use what you're comfortable using intricately anyway & you won't go far wrong.

[Griffin]

Something I do for small details is draw or transfer the lines of the design onto the pony, then paint over it. Painting a symbol is much less daunting when there are lines to guide you!

This! I almost always do a sketch first, in pencil or gel pen, and if I want to do the same symbol on both sides I draw it on paper and use the transfer method. However, I've noticed that pencil is difficult to erase neatly, and gel pen only comes off with acetone or alcohol, so it's usually easiest to make sure I cover all of the sketch when painting.

In fact, eyelashes are something I also do in pencil first... it's impossible for me to make them look natural without that crucial step, the right angle and curve are so important. And I only give my ponies the lower lashes anyway, haha.  

[puuush]

So many amazing tips and tricks here. I put my wrists on the table edge for more stability.
Most of the times I have a good idea of what I want to paint, symbol or eye-wise. Sometimes I wing it... it's a hit or miss...

Make sure to check the viscosity of your paint on a piece of paper before you start.
 
I also make sure to get rid of that tiny drop of water still clinging to the metal part of my paintbrush (that bugger tends to slide down while painting and washing my paint down with it in a messy blob).

And then, deep breath, hoping for the best and go for it.

[Griffin]

I also make sure to get rid of that tiny drop of water still clinging to the metal part of my paintbrush (that bugger tends to slide down while painting and washing my paint down with it in a messy blob).

Aarrgh yes!  (I laugh about it now but I've cursed this so many times, it always happens when I'm painting some tiny delicate details and can't afford to mess them up!)