#mane styling

Mane-styling

Milky: My mother claims my mane needs to be cut. That it looks… Sloppy and such. I suppose she’s right. She usually is. So.. I leave my mane in your hooves. Do whatever you want. Dye it, even. Yes, please do that. In some happy colour.

While I could widely broaden the list of exceptions, I do think it's largely about the ponies I like to draw, rather than stylism. Vinyl, Derpy, Scootaloo, and Rainbow Dash just have messy manes, and I'll continue to draw them as such unless their altered mane style is part of the artistic idea. And, of course, I draw them a lot.

That said, I do draw them differently, but I don't want to overemphasize it. For example, I'd never let Dash have more upward mane-sway than downward: That's primarily a Scootaloo thing, and one of her chief aesthetic coolnesses. On the other hoof, it's perfectly okay for Vinyl's mane to be in total and utter disarray, because I think it adds to her just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-into-a-party personality.

It's kind of interesting though how artists who don't fully copy the show style differentiate the characters. I take great delight in blending different shades of orange and blue amongst ponies who share them exactly in the show, while I've seen artists who greatly modify mane styles to set them apart more.