Hey everyone!! I’m new here and this is my first post. Hoping to meet a lot of new friends here and get a lot of feedback on my works. Sorry I am really bad at tittles lol. I don’t have a specific thought about how to improve this. Just maybe you guys can tell me how to take this to the next level? Anyways cc the heck out of this!!! Nice to meet you all!!!
I’m having hard time finding, understanding the robot I see. So for starters you could work on a more readable pose.
Thanks Kazkas for the cc!!! Finally a reply!!! This isn’t really a active forum isn’t it??? Anyways you got a point about the robot pose. I’ll note that!!
I hope you don’t mind bringing this thread back to life. I have an advice for you: Use references.
Pose in front of a mirror. Try different poses, take pictures, sketch them, think about what makes a limb look foreshortened or in a different depth from some other body part. Use your own poses as references for your pieces. You’re not a woman, but you still have the same bones and muscles.
Change proportions, look at other references to change age, sex, build, but the base to any pose you have right there. Yourself.
Many students shy away from references. It sounds like “cheating”. I disagree. They’re an invaluable tool to learn, you only need to observe them carefully. It’s not about copying, it’s about selecting the right elements, and asking questions as you use them as guidance. Exercise your critical eye, don’t just look at something, see it.
You just won some bonus points for depicting the bone structure of her face, like temples, by the way!
Keep up with the good work!
Thank you Vielmond for the tips!!! Yes I don’t mind you bringing it up again. Anyways can I private message you, so that you can take a look at my portfolio? I am having troubles getting into the industry and I am not sure if I can make it…If things doesn’t work out for me, I can always be a animator instead since I graduated from animation school. It could be just a quick tip or something since I don’t want to waste any of your time but I just want to know if I have the potentials or I am just wasting time.
Celvincen, let’s speak of a serious truth: Do you know all these ground-shaking, industry talented artists? They’re not talented. They most likely won’t appreciate being called “talented”, since the general concept of talent means an effortless, almost magical gift. It was anything but effortless for them.
You can make it, that’s certain. But there is a price to be paid. Yes, it may be literal, you can take classes if you can afford it; or even buy cheaper material, nowadays there are some nice tutorials and stand alone lessons floating on Gumroad and the like. It can be figurativea lot of time and effort and some blood tears.
The best place for you would be the sketchbook section of a big forum. Some place busy and active, where multiple artists can drop their critiques and suggestions. Peer review is important, the multiple points of view can only add. You can send me some PMs, the problem is that I’m very far from active. Something along the lines of a couple of apparitions per year, and that’s everywhere on the internet. I’m one of these who step out of the cave once in a while, hiss at the Sun and scramble back to the rock they hide under, you know.
The best advice I can give you now is to intercalate studies with original works. By studies I don’t even mean super detailed, perfect copies. They can be speedpaintings. You’ll need to figure what works for you. Pick one, two subjects at time only, e.g.: values (shades only) and… feet. And go for it. ~4 studies, then an original applying what you’ve learned. That way you’ll improve and produce originals for your portfolio at the same time. 
Trace a plan. Since you’re having trouble getting into the industry and already have a graduation, why not work in this field while you study 2D? Once ready, make the switch. I can’t tell if it’ll be fast or not. I’ve seen artists become cream of the crop in a year. Others, like me, are painfully slow learners. But that’s a plan anyway, concrete and feasible.
Regarding portfolio and what you can study: Work on your volumes, start from the basics, shapes and plane changes. Anatomy is important, vital if you want to work with characters. Environments certainly don’t hurt, and you’ll need to study perspective for both. Colors are a plus. I’m a bit suspicious to talk about colors, since it’s the main hook of my work, but I can say that the use of colors can enthral people, and you want to hook your potential boss with some aspect of your work. Light is deeply linked to colors, so… Break each one of these in smaller pieces, focus on one each time. Get comfortable enough with each element, then move on. You’ll see you’ll start to apply what you learned without giving it a second thought. It’s like a trained muscle.
That’s it. I’m afraid I’ve digressed a little. Sorry!
Vielmond,
Wow, I’m so glad you put this post out there. I think all of us trying to break into this field are so worried about if we have what it takes and have that magical ability of talent. It’s been a slow transition for me, but I do see my work improving, but I do disheartened and wonder if I can make it- so your words have given me some hope. 
Celvincin,
For me I love creating characters and I’ve really been trying to study gesture drawing. The fast drawings have really helped me see the whole form. I try and do gestures everyday- sometimes just a couple a day sometime 20+.
They are just quick drawings capturing form. I only spend a couple minutes trying to capture what I see. It’s great practice. I think for me I get lost in the details- and that’s when my artwork fails.
I would suggest for you to practice doing gesture drawing.
I go to this website to sketch.
http://artists.pixelovely.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing/
http://www.quickposes.com/gestures/timed
Also Michael Hampton’s figure drawing book is a great resource to show you how to draw gesture figures and more.