Sunday, May 1, 2011

How not to make a custom pony



 Hooray! It's my very first custom pony. Can we say can we say "learning experience". So originally I said I would never get into custom ponies. I know the hobby would be expensive, time consuming, etc. That and honestly I don't LIKE a majority of the customs I see. I can tell that a lot are artful, but I just personally don't like non-pony colors on ponies, or non-removable clothing, or makeup on baby ponies. Okay, I don't like makeup on any ponies honestly. Except the blush, which I don't think of as makeup.

So I saw some custom stuff cheap and got it for fun and Ben called saying he was at Target and I said bring me home a Rarity or a Fluttershy I want to try customizing. I knew from the very beginning Starflower was what I wanted to do. There are some bushes I walk by on my way to work and I loved the colors and the teeny tiny flowers. Fluttershy had a bit of a gash in her body on her nds so I figured this really was the best thing to play with first.




Here is the mane I've started rehairing. Ooops, you can see where the hair plugs are a bit crooked.  I think the rehairing took about an hour and a half. Not bad considering I had no clue what I was doing. I did however learn that if you can't find glue you go to the store and get some. I put diamond glaze in the head and apparently too much because it seeped through the holes and about a quarter of an inch into the hair! I soaked it in some peroxide and ran it under hot water to get most of it out.




Next is the tail and the symbol/cutie mark.  I wanted that nice flat painting other customizers get and did not achieve it at all. Also realized I had no sealant and diamond glaze could be cool. I think this might have worked if I applied wish a brush, but I didn't and it kind of got all over. Then I accidentally stuck my thumb on it and messed it up even more.



Finally I tried several different things with the hair. I was trying for a wave, but I kept getting a crazy pink pie poofy mess. Then I stopped with this because I really liked it. It may not be "traditional" and no where near what I've seen other people do with hair, but I still like it a lot. 

So no, I would not consider my first custom a success by a long shot (I also messed up the neck and the head is glued on) but it was fun and I think I've learned a lot for next time.



7 comments:

  1. I happen to think it's quite pretty!!!

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  2. Thank you! I think the camera i a bit kind to her so it hides some of the flaws. While I'm not happy with how she came out technically, I'm thrilled she came out the way she did.

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  3. She looks great!! I like the customs like yours--where it looks like it could have been a regular MLP. But once they get into the crazy stuff like Star Wars ponies, that's a bit weird.

    Although I admit I really REALLY enjoy the Hellraiser ponies I've seen...

    I love her symbol! How the heck did you paint it so well when it's so tiny?

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  4. Yeah I like the occasional very well done obviously not mimicking hasbro pony, but yeah. The camera is being kind. I just used a brush and 5 short strokes, two layers so it wasn't see through.

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  5. Beautiful hair, I love how natural it looks!
    I just got a Rainbow Dash figure and I've decided to rearrange her hair colours to make them more accurate- but when I removed the head, I realized that the hole was far too small to allow for any maneuverability. How did you get past this? Does widening the hole make it much harder to reattatch the head?

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  6. Lonesomejojom I didn't get past it actually. Sine there was a big gash on fluttershy when I took her out of the package I didn't worry about reattaching the head correctly and just superglued it on.

    The heads are very difficult and I thought I had done everything right until I tried to put the head back on. I'm not really sure how other people are doing it without gaps but I'd say I'd only seen a customer or two have completed projects where there is no ugly gap. Everyone else seems to be having some degree of difficulty with it.

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  7. Lonesomejojo,
    You really don't want to widen the hole or you will end up having to superglue the head back on. They sell very long, thin pliers that can get in there, or you can use hemostats.

    Nicki, you can try thinning down the acryllic paint with water. You have to put on about 4 or 5 coats, but that helps with the brush strokes. Just make sure it is completely dry between coats.

    Cheryl G.

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