Trouble with coloring\style

#1

Hi guys and gals

This is a drawing I’ve been working on for more time than I’d like to admit and I’m currently in the coloring process which I’ve been redoing several times as well,
My troubles are that I dont know how i want the final image to look like, I’m back to color after a year of sketching and I’m stuck in auto mod.
I’m used to drawing single characters on flat background from both animation and just how I draw in general, I’m trying to break out of my comfort zone but having A Lot of trouble.

The character in the middle is the poor conclusion I’ve reached for the coloring style, but it still feels flat and stale to me, when I add more it seems like overdoing it for the art style but I dont want it to be a flat 2d cartoon image either, I’m trying to get somewhere in the middle if that makes any sense.
I’m thinking maybe the line art is screwing me over? I reached a point I really dont know.
And so I would greatly appreciate any suggestions, critics and advice as to how to approach this or what style to mimic and study that would work best with this cartoony art style.
Secondarily if you have the time I’d also love to know if the composition and motion of the scene is readable (like is it clear the alien got sent flying by a punch on the right).

Thank you in advance! and I apologize if I miss followed any of the forum guidelines - new here.

#2

“I dont know how i want the final image to look like”

Hey there, I’d suggest you go back and gather inspirational reference to help decide where this should go. (To me it feels like some mesh between manga, miyazaki, and dragonball… heh)

So after you gather a pretty good direction, rough out small comps to try and resolve any design questions. After you’re relatively happy, then ask around for more feedback. When you can answer most of the questions about how the final image should look… THEN render out the final!

OR… if you just want to plow ahead with this version, I think your current line style and coloring look fine. To break any ‘2d cartoon image’ just keep doing that form shading and light like on the girl. Takes it into the realm of rendered illustration. Artist Ryan Lang is really great at that.

^Compositionally though, I tried to make this image a bit clearer. Not sure what should go in the lower right… but I think overall it helps to guide the eye, frame the girl, and get that punch to read.

#3

work on little thumbnails before you go into full image. you need to work out all this stuff before starting final illsutration. its like the foundations for a house.
buy creative illustration by andrew loomis. thats a great book to learn this from.
slow down. most illsutraors take about 20-50+ hours working on a painting. it takes time and you paint or render your way out of a bad composition, design or badly drawn figure.
as for colours. you need to study from life and study colour theory. however tone is the most important thing in an image before colour. if you composition and tones work then your image will be much more succesful.
I may be wrong but are you only copying styles of artist you admire? draw and paint from life. you will vastly improve. dont really on learning figur edrawing by copying a cartoony style. I love more charricture or cartoon style but the ones who can pull this off the best know how to draw the human figure as it really is in the first place and have intensly studied that.

figure drawing for all its work by andrew loomis is a greta book too

hope this helps