Posture, Projection, and Pinkie Pie

My latest full-color MLP work, this piece features a scenario where Sweetie Belle, having decided to further refine her musical talents, attempts to take lessons. And who better to teach her about singing than Pinkie? Well, perhaps Pinkie might not be the clearest in terms of instruction, but at least Spike might be able to keep her on-track.

In contrast to my previous drawing, where I kept discovering new details to add in, in this piece I found myself scaling things back. My initial hope was to draw everyone on stage at an amphitheater, as that seemed suitable for Ponyville. However, as I mulled it over in my head I found that to suitably convey that they were in said amphitheater, I would have had to draw nearly the entire facility, leaving the figures tiny and inexpressive. So, I brought the frame in close, but tried to get some details in like the seating arrangements behind Sweetie, though now it's more of an indoor music room.

For the figures I'm mostly pleased, but I didn't realise that the violet I mixed for Spike's body would turn out the way it did. Dark and with very visible brush stroke lines, it makes him stand out a bit too much. (EDIT: I went over Spike with a subtler violet; I think it looks much better now.) I also should have probably put another small reflective spot in Sweetie's far eye to keep the two consistent.

Enjoy!