Full Size Pony Plush Prototype

So I've been itching to get around to making a nice full size pony plush for myself. Plushies scare me a little bit because while I know how seams and darts and folds look on a human body, making fabric into 3D creatures is a whole different ball park for me. A few months back I came across the talented *valleyviolet and saw that she was selling a fairly decent looking pony pattern on etsy. I looked over many of the free patterns offered on deviant art but they all seemed too simple and didn't quite provide the results I was looking for. I ended up purchasing the full set of patterns available from *valleyviolet and for Christmas made 2 pony plushies, one was of Pinky Pie that went to a friend of mine who lives not far from me and the other was of a custom original pony that I designed for another friend that lived in Alberta. While I was quite happy with the results the ponies were fairly small and I wasn't quite happy with the overall shape.

So last weekend I decided to be brave and sit down and figure out my own pattern. I started by using a good side vector of a pony for the overall silhouette. Then I applied what I learned from using the patterns I bought to add the 3D shaping. The first pattern you see there was my first draft. She looks a little derpy and kinda of more like a baby dear than anything. I mis-calculated the size of the hooves and the butt gore didn't come up far enough so her butt ended up all lumpy. I was pretty happy with the nose shaping and the general head shape. For the first pattern I also used one continuous belly pattern where the legs and belly are one piece. I had studied a number of other patterns and plushies I found here on dA to see what other artists seemed to do. While this pattern is easier to make since it requires less seams, I didn't like the flimsyness of the legs and that they flared out a bit too much.

I took my trusty sharpie and made marks all over my first plush. Then I cut her up and transferred the changes to a new pattern. I made adjustments by extending the butt gore and widening the feet. I changed where the neck attacked to the head and split my under belly pattern so that the legs attached via seams and had more of a downward structure. I also widened the neck a bit.

The result is the final pattern in this pic. I'm super happy with the way it came out. It has enough definition in the hind legs to match the show's art style and the body shape balances out with the head a bit more. The plush stands 16 inches from bottom of hooves to tip of ear.