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I'm sure that XXX My Little Pony figurines will be quite popular, depending a bit on your creativity and eventual talent in pulling that off. If you run dry on inspiration, just image search for "My Little Pony Rule 34" and you should be good to go.
I used to do a bit of ceramics work. There are oil-based clays as well as water-based. I prefer the water-base. You can use this to practice getting your forms and carving skills developed. While the clay is wet it's easy to form and do a lot of carving. As it drys (becomes "greenware") you can continue to carve it. All the materials, at this point before you do any firing, can be put back into a water bucket and reconstituted into your next batch of clay, so you end up with a renewable resource that greatly reduces your costs and waste. If you actually end up with something cool, you can bisque fire it, glaze it and then fire it into a stoneware piece.
Nothing stops you from practicing wood carving simultaneously, but you can focus on more basic wood-carving projects at first that will develop your skills while being a bit less frustrating and still produce some nice pieces. Consider investing in a dremel:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DremelI had a nice one with a whole bucket full of attachments and bits. I could get lots of general forms carved out of wood, brass, stone, etc. before finishing with hand tools. Takes an enormous amount of tedium out of the project and reduces the dangers of mistakes early on while letting you focus more on your vision. One of the most useful attachments is a flexible ~1 meter
flexible shaft, like what a dentist uses. You can hang the motor in place and have a much easier time getting your bits oriented and in place for very fine work with reduced stress on your wrists.
