Art for me!

I got two ATCs from my trading partner in Finland yesterday. Isn't the art gorgeous?!


ATC Wind Whistler by ~Haawan on deviantART


ATC Fluttershy by ~Haawan on deviantART

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.