Artist:
 
A little while back, I set myself a personal project which was to somewhat redesign (more add-to) the mane 6, based on both lifestyle and personality. I completed it in bits and pieces inbetween work, but it is finally done!
 
Most of the time I draw them as they are in the show, but they only look the way they do in the show because it’s much easier and less time-consuming to have the same body pretty much for almost every single pony. It’s quicker and cheaper to animate, and has less mistakes (or less noticable ones anyway.). But… eh, I was thinking about how I don’t have the same constraints, so why follow them when I can experiment?
 
So after a fair few development sketches, here’s my mostly final redesigns. I wanted to still stick mostly to the show’s aesthetic, but push the designs to have a bit more diversity and visual interest.
 
Unicorns: Cloven hooves and whip-like tails place them closer to goats, with larger ears and a darker-tipped horn that serves as a conduit for their powers.  
Earth Ponies: Bulky strong bodies developed from their physical labour, and dappled coats for their natural environment in plains and forests.  
Pegasus Ponies: Lightweight feathered bodies, with various patterns and colours adorning them and small ears. (I regret I didn’t make the manes more feathery too, but maybe that would have been overkill.)
 
 
Rarity: Born into a clunky body she struggled to like, Rarity is the tallest of the mane 6, almost twice the height of her dear friend Pinkie. Her coat and mane however have a natural curl that is not only a very desirable unicorn trait, but also lends itself wonderfully to fashion and outfit design - something she’s very very happy about. :D
 
Applejack: Second tallest, Applejack’s body is hefty and muscled, and her coat and mane are overgrown. Until it gets in her way though, she doesn’t care.
 
Twilight Sparkle: Twilight’s wings lack the patterns of Pegasus ponies, being newly and magically formed, and she keeps her hoof and mane and tail hair snipped short for practicality. This design is probably the closest to the show out of all of them.
 
Rainbow Dash: Rainbow Dash was lucky enough to be born with wonderful colours and patterns in her feathers, though she may perhaps dye her mane a little bit. Y’know, for maximum coolness. Her wings are smaller than usual, but a poor worker blames their tools. Rainbow makes her wings work for her, training the muscles to be able to flap rapidly compared to other pegasus.
 
Fluttershy: Fluttershy is second-smallest. I know the fandom idea of her is that she would be the tallest, but this makes no sense to me. Tall people are generally listened to, hard to ignore, respected more (note: GENERALLY, obviously not always or absolutely). Fluttershy is none of these things, and one tends to develop the anxiety and shyness she has from being continually brushed aside, ignored and in worse cases, disrespected. She is small, and her unwillingness to draw attention to herself causes her to try to make herself smaller still. She is very slim, as referenced in flashbacks in the show, and has a large wing span meaning that her weight and wings should allow her to be a powerful flier. A combination of fear, upbringing, and discomfort prevent Fluttershy from ever pursuing it though, but she doesn’t mind at all, preferring the ground many times over.
 
Pinkie Pie: The smallest of the bunch (based on a Traditional Shetland Pony), Pinkie Pie has a curiosity and appetite far bigger than her stature. Like all Earth ponies though, her body is extremely sturdy and muscled, so even though she might not fancy apple-bucking, her physical prowess isn’t all that far from Applejack’s.
 
Phew, and that’s the lot! I’m planning a couple of images using these designs, but it will be a while until I’m able to do them and post them - many other projects come first!