My latest art work was done as an interim story for my online graphic novel Skadi - Snow Goddess while I finish up chapter 3. You can visit that page and read her story. This one is ultra realism digital painting.
Skadi Summer 2016
Skadi - Snow Goddess
Lunatique
#2
Generally speaking, when you mix up drawing and painting and photo bashing, it can be jarring to some people and appear aesthetically incoherent. Advanced artists can pull it off because they have a better understanding of how to make those disparate elements fit together better.
For example, your entire background’s lighting contradicts the subject’s lighting, and does not look credible. You need to decide where exactly the light source is in your scene and then be consistent about it.
Another problem is that you don’t know how to depict different surface properties, so you’re limiting your brushwork to just using one type of approach and making every surface type look the same, regardless of their actual texture, specularity, translucency, etc. You need to differentiate between the different surface types.
The color palette is also problematic, because it seems like you’re trying to evoke the feeling of ice/snow/coldness, yet you don’t seem to understand how those materials should be depicted and how they actually respond to light. Why is she completely lacking in any chroma whatsoever? Nothing is actually completely devoid of color casts in this world when seen in a natural setting, because even just the sky dome will bounce its blue color onto the object’s surface, and other surfaces nearby will also bounce their colors too (it’s called radiosity).