First custom MLP

Recently I've finished my first two custom My Little Ponies! I'm new to the "customizing" world, and drawn to the potential of ponies as a canvas for art. I was first drawn to ponies while strolling toy aisles and was pulled in by their general cuteness. I thought that I'd love to repaint them with patterns found on Japanese kimono. I happened to search the internet and discovered that there was a community of hobbiest dedicated to customizing My Little Ponies!

I'm obsessed with kimono, so that is the inspiration for ponies I design and paint. For the time being I have very old supplies: tattered brushes and low quality paints. I'm a fan of "making due with what I've got". All my "bait" (base) ponies are purchased at thrift stores and are of non-collectible quality. No sense in ruining a perfectly good collectable!

Here is the first pony. I tried to dye her a dark blue to match my insperation kimono, but she became rather purple. Her legs are a painted gradient of black to pink, and the cherry blossoms are pink, blue and metallic gold. The hair was my first attempt at rerooting. I bought the hair from custompony.com, and unfortunately the hair arrived tattered. I don't think the hair would have matched well if the body dyed blue like I was trying to do, so it's a lucky mistake!

Here's a look at the backside. I haven't yet decided what to do with the hair.

And a look at the inspiration kimono! I didn't use as much white in my leg gradients since I planned to bring out that color in the hair. I'm satisfied with the results. Let me know what you think. Fellow customizers are free to copy this pony if you like the design. This pony isn't currently ready for sale.