How to Vector an MLP Background

[Sunshine Swirl]

Hi! Drawing OC ponies is fun, but wouldn't you like to see your OC at your favorite location in Equestria? This is really handy when setting up a role-play thread and drawing people into your story.

I'm here to take you through the basic steps in this post and answer any questions you might have.

First off, I use Inkscape to draw vectors. It's a FREE open source vector drawing program that works on PC's, Mac's and Linux computers.

Get Inkscape from here: inkscape.org/en/

There are a lot of tutorials on how to use Inkscape on the same site. I'm going to assume you spent an afternoon playing with Inkscape and know how to draw a stroke as well as fill in shapes. You don't need to know much more for MLP.

STEP 1 - Get a Reference

It's best to start with a reference. You'll want your vector to look, well, if not show authentic, at least recognizable by fans. Honestly most of my vectors are a bit simpler than they use in the show.

Find a reference online, or just take a photo of your TV screen. I wanted to do rainbow falls, and couldn't find the angle I wanted, so I just took a photo of my TV. Make sure your camera isn't at an angle, or you'll get a distorted reference. It doesn't matter if it's noisy or low quality.

Here's my reference photo:

SPOILER: Click to show

STEP 2 - Create a Reference and a Drawing Layer

In Inkscape, open the "Layers" panel and create two layers. One for the reference, one for your drawing.

Click on the reference layer, then do "File > Import" and select the reference image you are using. Resize it to fit. (hold CTRL when resizing so as not to distort it.)

Lock the Reference Layer (little gold lock icon) and set the opacity to somewhere around 20-40%. You'll be drawing "under" this layer and you'll want to see through it as you work.

Here's what Inkscape should look like now:




STEP 3 - Start Drawing!

Vector a few basic shapes, like your horizon line and fill it. The horizon line is probably the best place to start. You can hide distant things behind it.

The Horizon:

SPOILER: Click to show

Don't be afraid to layer things, Use CTRL+PGUP and CTRL+PGDN to move elements in front or behind one another.

Don't worry about drawing off the "screen" or outside the lines of your reference. We will clean that up in the final steps. In fact, if you look at the actual backgrounds for the show at Cons and such, the artists at DHX often have shapes outside of the frame.

Click the little "Eye" icon in the layers box to Toggle the Reference on and off to see your work better when needed.:

SPOILER: Click to show

STEP 4 - Keep Layering and Checking

Build up from the foreground to the background. It's easier than going the other direction.

Here's the background so far:

SPOILER: Click to show

And with the reference it looks like:

SPOILER: Click to show

Notice we have some pieces that overlap where they shouldn't, like the top of the water fall. That's okay. We can fix it using "Clipping".

Make a shape that covers the parts of the object you want to keep.  Shift click to also select the object to clip. Then select "Object > Clip > Set" from the menu. The extra pieces will be clipped off.

The last thing to draw in is your sky. Do it the same as everything else. Don't worry about drawing outside of the reference frame. We'll clean up all of that in the last step.


STEP 5 - Finishing up

Now, you'll want to trim down your background and save it as an SVG (scalable vector graphic).

First, it's easiest if you select your entire drawing and press CTRL+G (Object > Group) so that you have one "piece" to clip instead of dozens.

Next, use the rectangle tool to draw a rectangle around the border of your drawing. We're going to use this to clip off all of the extra pieces and give you a nice perfect rectangular background.

Select the rectangle, then shift-click to also select your drawing.

Now clip it to the rectangle you made using "Object > Clip > Set" from the Inkscape menu.

TA DA:



Save this as an SVG, "File > Save" and keep it for use in your various stories, role-plays, comics, etc.


STEP 6 - Add your OC's and create your scene

The best way to do this is to start from a fresh document in Inkscape.

Make a layer called "Background", and select it.

From the menu select "File > Import" and select the .SVG file that your background is in.

Now make another layer called "Ponies" or "My OC" or whatever. You just need one layer, but if you would like, you can create a layer for each OC. Select that layer.

Now do a "File > Import" of your pony. It's best if the pony is an SVG, but you can use a high quality PNG if you want.

You can also add other elements that you've vectored, like carts, saddle bags, houses or an airship.

REMINDER: If you grab a vector from MLP Vector Club or someplace else, please make sure the artist is okay with it first, and make sure to reference their work with a link. Do not steal.

Here's how my finished Rainbow Falls background turned out.

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Most of the techniques here work for other vector drawing programs as well. Layers and Opacity, foreground and background, stroke and fill are pretty generic concepts across drawing programs.

Some of the show's backgrounds are really super simple. Check out episode 1 for example. In later seasons they get much more detailed.

I'd be happy to answer questions about vectoring MLP backgrounds. I'm still learning myself, so I'm open to tips and suggestions!

Happy drawing,

- Sunshine Swirl