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paintapastime — MLP Tutorial: Adding Manes and Tails to Bases

Published: 2012-01-02 19:16:53 +0000 UTC; Views: 40829; Favourites: 677; Downloads: 771
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Description The image is a very large file, and I apologize for that.


*I do make icons for those who, for whatever reason, cannot make ones of their own. I do not require or ask for any sort of payment. All I want is to help you guys out and for you to find this tutorial useful!

This is a tutorial on how to add manes and tails to the My Little Pony bases provided by ~medli96 , used with her permission. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me via personal message or comment on this tutorial.

Female Bases: [link]
Male Bases: [link]

MLP Creator: [link]

Links:
Animation Site: [link]
Photoshop Tutorials: [link]
Paint.Net Tutorials: [link]
GIMP Tutorials: [link]
Microsoft Paint Tutorials: [link]

Question: What should we save each slide as?
Answer: If you want the image to remain transparent, save it as a .PNG file. If you have added a background, .PNG is still the best option, but .JPG or .JPEG will work as well.

Question: How do you select a mane/tail with two different colours?
Answer: It depends on the tool you use and the program you’re working on, but generally, if you hold CTRL+Shift, that will allow you to select multiple areas without losing your previous selections.

Question: I’ve tried resizing and drawing the mane/tail, but it still looks crummy! Do you have any other tips?
Answer: If you resize by percentage rather than pixels, it can sometimes give you a cleaner image. There are various tutorials on DeviantArt that I’ve seen that show you how to resize by percentage.

Question: I have a favorite mane, but it’s in Pony Maker on Facebook/on another drawing/elsewhere. Can I use the same concept for that?
Answer: You most certainly can! It may be more difficult without the transparent background or line colors, but by all means, apply this tutorial wherever you feel like it.

Question: I’m trying to select the mane/tail, but I have a touchpad and my hand is anything BUT steady.
Answer: This is a bit more tedious, but if you zoom in enough, you can employ the CTRL+Shift option and select the mane/tail a few pixels at a time. It takes a lot of work, but it will get you reliable, precise results in the end.

Question: I am using GIMP/Paint.Net/Microsoft Paint/another program that doesn’t offer the tools you describe in the tutorial. What can I do?
Answer: Unfortunately, I’m rather inexperienced with other types of programs, having used Photoshop CS2 for most of my editing days. I can answer your specific question to the best of my ability, but if my answer seems vague or incorrect, there are plenty of tutorials you can view on blogs, official sites, and through Youtube videos that will be of astounding help. It’s where I get all of my information! I have placed a few links to the more popular image editing software above. If the program you are employing is not on that list, let me know and I’ll find some good tutorials for you and add them to the list.

Do you have a question that isn’t answered in this list or on the tutorial? Send me a comment or a note! I will be delighted to assist you.
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Comments: 616

redandsymmetry In reply to ??? [2012-12-24 21:43:23 +0000 UTC]

you dont need to save as a png file, there is a thing in the saving where you can save it background-less

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to redandsymmetry [2012-12-24 21:54:12 +0000 UTC]

Do all programs have that? I didn't think Paint, Paint.Net, et cetera had that feature

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redandsymmetry In reply to paintapastime [2012-12-24 22:08:31 +0000 UTC]

-facepalm- like on the ppony creator, you can save it w/o a background

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to redandsymmetry [2012-12-24 22:15:05 +0000 UTC]

Oh well yeah, I know that. You have to save it as a .png to save it without a background, though. If you save it as anything else, it puts in a white background automatically.

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redandsymmetry In reply to paintapastime [2012-12-24 22:17:53 +0000 UTC]

meh

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to redandsymmetry [2012-12-24 22:20:47 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for your input, though. It's nice to know that people are willing to take time out of their day to try and improve this tutorial

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Dibs-New-Beginnings In reply to ??? [2012-12-19 05:20:44 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for this tutorial! I've just started experimenting with icons, so I will be attacking this challenge next!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to Dibs-New-Beginnings [2012-12-19 05:23:51 +0000 UTC]

Happy to be of service! I hope it proves to be useful, and good luck in your icon-making endeavors

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Dibs-New-Beginnings In reply to paintapastime [2012-12-19 07:24:24 +0000 UTC]

I'm sure it will be! Also, thanks for everything you do for the deviantart community. I can appreciate that you make icons for people of your own time, talent, and goodwill. Props!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to Dibs-New-Beginnings [2012-12-19 13:40:42 +0000 UTC]

Heh, thanks It can get stressful at times, and some people are surprisingly difficult about it, but it's always worth it in the end, and at least it's fun! If you ever have any questions or need any help, just let me know and I'll be more than happy to assist

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Dibs-New-Beginnings In reply to paintapastime [2012-12-20 04:25:18 +0000 UTC]

Its amazing the kind of behaviors people exhibit over free items and services. That's why I commend you for keeping a good spirit. I will definitely come to you if I need help! Have a good Holiday and New Year!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to Dibs-New-Beginnings [2012-12-20 17:49:32 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, it really is. Thank you so much for your compliments and offer! It means more than you know. I hope you have a good one too

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Eveon99 In reply to ??? [2012-12-14 12:44:01 +0000 UTC]

This is cool^^
I think I might do this with Paint.Net thought

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to Eveon99 [2012-12-14 12:45:27 +0000 UTC]

Thanks

I've never tried it on Paint.Net personally, but I love the program and think it'll work just fine Good luck!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Eveon99 In reply to paintapastime [2012-12-14 12:48:51 +0000 UTC]

Your welcome and thanks
I'll give you a link when I'm finish doing it

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to Eveon99 [2012-12-14 12:51:14 +0000 UTC]

Awesome I can't wait to see it!

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Eveon99 In reply to paintapastime [2012-12-14 12:52:26 +0000 UTC]

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anita2728 In reply to ??? [2012-12-03 01:33:43 +0000 UTC]

nice how-to

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to anita2728 [2012-12-03 01:34:33 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

ShyneLight In reply to ??? [2012-12-01 16:04:05 +0000 UTC]

I'm having trouble removing the white background. I have Paint and Gimp only.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to ShyneLight [2012-12-02 01:28:27 +0000 UTC]

Hm...try going into Paint and, with a 1 pixel brush, erase the white bit by bit. Or you can download Paint.Net for free. You can probably find tutorials online on how to use Gimp to erase backgrounds as well

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

BudderwingTheGreat In reply to ??? [2012-11-30 09:37:26 +0000 UTC]

can you show how to show only the pony bases i want?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to BudderwingTheGreat [2012-11-30 15:09:55 +0000 UTC]

How do you mean?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

BudderwingTheGreat In reply to paintapastime [2012-12-01 06:08:16 +0000 UTC]

ok can you make it for me,the pony icon

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to BudderwingTheGreat [2012-12-01 14:17:26 +0000 UTC]

When requests open back up, I'll be happy to

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Rei-Furutaka In reply to ??? [2012-11-20 02:49:08 +0000 UTC]

Could you help me out? I got all of the pictures set up...I just can't get rid of the background and the speed seems ridiculously slow...

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to Rei-Furutaka [2012-11-20 03:00:44 +0000 UTC]

Sure thing I'll get it up within the next few days

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Rei-Furutaka In reply to paintapastime [2012-11-20 15:16:43 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to Rei-Furutaka [2012-11-20 19:05:56 +0000 UTC]

I was able to get to it sooner than I thought Here you go! [link]

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Rei-Furutaka In reply to paintapastime [2012-11-20 19:09:04 +0000 UTC]

Thank you SOOOO much

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to Rei-Furutaka [2012-11-20 21:36:03 +0000 UTC]

Happy to be of service

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

daydreamer449 In reply to ??? [2012-10-06 12:57:29 +0000 UTC]

This helped so much! I want to use mine as my Icon how do I get rid of the whote background on it though [link] please help!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to daydreamer449 [2012-10-06 13:33:42 +0000 UTC]

I'm glad it was helpful The best way is to just select the white space on each individual frame, delete it, and if it partially deletes any of the pony, re-draw it in. You can also take the eraser tool and erase by hand, though this is much more tedious.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

daydreamer449 In reply to paintapastime [2012-10-06 15:54:29 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! It is clear now!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to daydreamer449 [2012-10-07 01:30:10 +0000 UTC]

Great to hear

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

daydreamer449 In reply to paintapastime [2012-10-07 15:33:11 +0000 UTC]

Thanks for the help again!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to daydreamer449 [2012-10-07 22:45:01 +0000 UTC]

Happy to be of service

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Aiski In reply to ??? [2012-10-01 22:56:44 +0000 UTC]

Hello! I followed your tutorial, and I'm pretty pleased with the results, I now have the 7 images to animate. However, when I use the online gif animators, the image comes out as too large in file size for dA. The images are in my stash here: [link]

If it's not too much trouble, could you animate them for me in your photoshop? I know you do free icon requests, but I don't know if this would be something you could do. Sorry for wasting your time if not v_v

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to Aiski [2012-10-01 23:09:05 +0000 UTC]

I would be more than happy to animate it for you! It might take a few days do to my schoolwork, but I will get it up as soon as possible

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Aiski In reply to paintapastime [2012-10-01 23:10:00 +0000 UTC]

Hehe, thank you very much! I was sad that I couldn't get it to work when I'd finally got the frames down ^^

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to Aiski [2012-10-01 23:37:07 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, that sounds like it would be a bummer

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

windsockAdopts In reply to paintapastime [2012-10-02 13:26:02 +0000 UTC]

It's alright, I finally figured it out! (This is Aiski on her adoptables account)

Thank you for offering to help, though ^^

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to windsockAdopts [2012-10-02 14:07:05 +0000 UTC]

Alrighty, cool! I'm glad it worked

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

ShadowxShadowAngel In reply to ??? [2012-09-29 02:02:57 +0000 UTC]

wow this helped me and XAnastasiaRulz is my sis

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to ShadowxShadowAngel [2012-10-01 16:10:45 +0000 UTC]

I'm glad it helped!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

XAnastasiaRulz In reply to ??? [2012-09-23 00:27:04 +0000 UTC]

can you make me a pony icon?

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to XAnastasiaRulz [2012-09-23 02:36:04 +0000 UTC]

I would be delighted to I have a journal that shows you how to go about requesting an icon from me

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azagus In reply to ??? [2012-09-06 19:09:36 +0000 UTC]

Grr. Iaza isn't working for me. I load the frames and everything, what speed do I do? And then when I click the submit button or whatever, it does nothing.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

paintapastime In reply to azagus [2012-09-07 00:03:43 +0000 UTC]

I just use the standard 0 seconds per frame, but I'm not familiar with Iaza

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

azagus In reply to paintapastime [2012-09-08 14:28:50 +0000 UTC]

what do you use to animate?

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