Drawing Ponies
13.05.25
A Brief Love Letter to MLP
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is my favorite show. I really like the characters and world of MLP. Everyone has a place in Equestria, and there is a sense of order and even hierarchy. I like the moral storytelling in MLP which is refreshing in a time when media is dominated by moral grayness and deconstruction. This is all very comforting to me, and I was impressed before I even finished season one.
I watched the show in full last year, and it felt like I had discovered a whole new world. I got to spend time with Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and I got to learn what it was like to live in Equestria. I had also rediscovered the MLP fandom, and I felt like I found what was lost to today's internet. So really, I had discovered two new worlds to explore.
There is a strong culture of OC in the MLP fandom. Now that the show is long-gone, it is up to the fans to continue the legacy of Friendship is Magic. I felt like I had received a call to action, and so I decided that I must draw ponies for the good of my people.
My Quest: The Duty to Draw
When I began my drawing journey, I consulted /mlp/ and especially the wealth of resources in the /bale/ thread. I followed tutorials from mares.horse to draw my first ponies. Then, I found a channel called /bale/ stuff on PonyTube which had two videos that inspired me to keep drawing when I was getting inconsistent. One of them was a music video and the other was a drawing motivation lecture.
The music video was called Anyone Can Draw by PurpPone, and he sang about his journey learning how to draw ponies. It was nice to see someone so passionate about new pony content. The description of his account reads "just a guy trying to get more pony in the world." It motivates me a lot to see someone care that much about getting people to draw ponies. In fact, I'm willing to join the cause and draw ponies for the enjoyment of the world.
I see drawing not only as a passion but also as a duty. If not me, then who? I'm privileged to have the free time to do what others will not. I must remain dutiful in my quest because the world needs more pony content, and I believe that I could contribute to this. I am fated to create, and I will deliver.
The drawing motivation lecture was called Developing Good Habits by Zodiacx10, and it was about becoming more consistent with drawing. The presenter was mostly reading from a book he read before, but he brought up a few good points, most importantly: that starting young isn't critical and that talent is a myth. This means that anyone at any age can practice consistently and deliberately to become skilled.
He compares the brain to two systems: 1) an impulsive, stupid system and 2) a lazy problem-solving system. This is of course a huge generalization, but it's only meant to be pedagogical. The willpower to work does not come from system 2 overpowering system 1 by just "willing more." Instead, system 2 must take advantage of the automatic function of system 1.
The lecture went on about changing habit loops to get work done, and it was essentially describing how I learn German while being lazy. I replaced my routine of scrolling in the morning with a routine of scrolling German posts instead. I usually draw right after breakfast, and it's pleasing to be done with my daily tasks before noon. If I keep this up, then I will steadily improve.
Don't forget: anyone can draw!
External Links
- Anyone Can Draw - Pony.Tube
- Developing Good Habits: Psychology, drawing, and (You), With Zodiacx10 - Pony.Tube