Looking for Advice

[clairebear182]

Well personally I find your picture very appealing, but it could be improved to make it more pleasing. The hair could be more splayed out rather than in big chunks. It would be nice to see it spread out around her. Her hands and feet look a tad too big,(her toes are huge!) and the shape of the legs could do with some work. (maybe you could look for some references?) But I like it. :)

I also think it'd help if you made the chin less pointy. :D

[brunothurner]

well, your painting is a good way for me. congrats!
but, at really, your draw is not very very good, but it's just change little things! i guess hands, toes and feet big too, but what bother me more than that is the breast position... a woman in a 'bedtime position' (sorry my bad english) would have her brest diffenret to this... so, see more positions like that and make more searches, good drawings are based in good searchings, or more life experience...

cheers

[Cati]

I like your style. And I agree on what clairebear182 said about the anatomy. Usually - the better you become the more people tend to give critique because the number of your mistakes will become smaller. It just becomes easier to point out a mistake or say that "something isn't right".

But.. few things that come to my mind.

Your use of the core shadow is the first thing. Control the values. Don't go overboard with it although you like it. Core shadow is supposed to be located between the light and the shadow. It's an optical illusion an artist sometimes uses when trying to convey a feeling of shape. But...you have no shadowside on this picture. You've used your values so that both sides of the core shadow recieve almost the same amount of light - and that means there should be no coreshadow. A small shadow should ok for shape's sake - but not a heavy one.
If you use the coreshadow everywhere else why exclude the face?

The second - the focal point is lost. When you look at the picture your eyes wander everywhere else than her face - mostly in her hair. The strands of hairs create a stonger focal point than any other part in this picture. This is because they have sharpest edge, they're the darkest part of the picture and they create a contrast with the green colour of the background. To lose the grip - make the hair just a tad darker near her face than it is on the ends of her hair.

Here's a picture that explains my point more (sorry about using your picture). You don't have to agree with me with this version or the darkness of the value I used - but think about it further.

I only added a multiply layer and went through her body.. then I added some light to her forehead and cheeks so that they would create a focal point with the surrounding hair.
http://koti.welho.com/klouhio/tutorials/2009-04-25-femme.jpg

[Dingoo]

Thanks for the replies everyone :)
I guess I got to overwork the anatomy a little then. I did have a feeling I stretched the feet a bit much, its good to have confirmation of that. I also did notice the breast part, but having overworked them once already I guess I was just hoping for it to be good enough now ~

@Cati: Ive been thinking about your post for a while. Honestly I never really paid much attention to these points (I guess that just shows my lack of experience :p). It was really interesting reading about this, it showed me a whole new direction to look at this pic. It might be just the answer Ive been looking for :)

Im a little confused about the coreshadow part though, so just to make sure Im getting this right; youre saying I should either add a shadowside or losen up the coreshadow for it to make sense? :o

In any case I will try to improve on everything that was pointed out. I got exams next week so Im not sure when Ill be able to work on it again but I will post an update once I overworked everything :)

[Nimue]

I don't think anyone has said this but I think the head is to small compared to the rest. I do however like the pose. keep it up

[Nimue]

I also see you have light to dark to light again in the shadows. The breasts are a good example. I noticed it in the right side arm and also in the legs too. I'm not real good with shading but it caught my eye

[Cati]

Hello again :-)

The core shadow can be a bit confusing. Here's a picture that may help.

http://koti.welho.com/klouhio/kuvia/2009-04-16-grayball.png
Yes - I'm just saying that you need to have a shadowside to use core shadow. Sorry if my english is bad - it's not my native tongue so I might explain something with too many words.

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