Rachael Saunders illustrates an AR pony trail through The National Gallery to celebrate the release of My Little Pony: A New Generation

To mark the release of My Little Pony: A New Generation on Netflix, Rachael Saunders has been commissioned to reimagine ten famous horse paintings displayed in The National Gallery, London. Each illustration had to evoke the painterly style and composition of the original, but also encapsulate a fresh, vibrant energy, faithful to the new generation My Little Pony film produced by Netflix.

The illustrations have been integrated into an AR (augmented reality) pony trail throughout The National Gallery, so when visitors approach a famous painting of a horse, they hold up their phones and see it magically transform into Rachael’s depiction of a My Little Pony character.

Wanting the illustrations to appeal to children and enrich their visit to the gallery, Rachael drew upon her experience of illustrating for children’s books;

“Reimagining the ten famous horse paintings in the My Little Pony style came very naturally to me as a freelance children’s book illustrator. I applied my knowledge of this industry to the illustrations, to create images that would capture the interest of children in an engaging way, but also stay true to the My Little Pony trademark style.”

 Rachael described this project as one of the most exhilarating projects she has been involved in so far in her career, “…When I was an art student, I visited the National Gallery many times and would always wonder what it would be like to have my work displayed there… now I can kind of say I have, through augmented reality!”

The trail is live in The National Gallery until November 1st.