@Background Pony #AE33  

 
That’s why I made a separate guide on line, for flat, graphic styled images.
 
It’s as you say, cartoons and other flattened graphic styles don’t really employ the techniques above that much. This is more to help people who haven’t considered to try a different approach to drawing ponies a different way. I think it’s rather dogmatic and narrow to only depict G4 ponies in a flat, graphic style because that’s the way they were originally shown.
 
Different techniques and styles can be used for all kinds of subject matter, and can even be employed cross medium. This is evident in Gauguine and Bernard’s development of cloissonism, derived from cloisonné (European Medieval jewelry and metal work). They did the reverse and painted human figures in a flat sections of largely homogenous colour.
 
Personally I think cartoons are a great way to introduce planes, since the contrast of styles is so much, that the result is even more clear. I’m sorry that you didn’t find this useful. Best of luck in your art practice.

Of all things, cartoons are probably the least helpful subject matter to introduce the concept of planes and contours with. Their facial forms are too ambiguous, it has to be invented, designed and tweaked to look pretty from generic portrait angles. Might as well start and end a 15 second tutorial on forms with abstract cubes and cuboid shapes and it’ll be just as helpful.