I guess with this I am trying to display my love of cold climates and my fascination with the aurora borealis. I wanted that to be the main focus but for the figure in the foreground to lead the eye there. Any critiques on how I can improve it (and I know it needs a heck of a lot doing to it) would all be much appreciated no matter how much of an alteration a commentor suggests.
The Beauty of The North
Lunatique
#2
Gee, I wonder why this looks so familiar? 
(Laura was one of my students from the Becoming A Better Artist workshop.)
From what I remember of the version you posted in the workshop, this has been worked on quite a bit.
I’m wondering about the bright blue light on the interior wall/ceiling of the opening. Where does it come from? Is it the ambient light from inside the cave itself? If so, what makes is so bright? If it’s supposed to be from the skydome above, then wouldn’t it reflect the colors in the sky?
Her lower torso looks a bit flat, as if you forgot to give it form shadow from the waist down. Even with those two big pockets, you still have to show that the pockets themselves are distinct planes facing different directions. Her lower torso also looks too long–her crotch is dropped too far down from her waist.
Her right shoulder could be raised a bit more. There are two joints in the shoulder, so it’s not a simple ball/socket joint as some often mistakenly think it is.
Don’t arbitrarily put slivers of rim ambient light on dark surfaces in hopes to separate them from the dark background. This isn’t always necessary unless those areas are crucial to conveying the body language or other details. Sometimes. having completely lost edges is perfect fine and adds variety to the image (since having every contour clearly defined can sometimes be boring and too artificial looking).
Should their faces be so bright? What’s lighting their faces, and why aren’t the areas next to their faces also being lit up? If you’re trying to selectively light just their faces, it would seem a bit contrived.
The perspective of the two figures in the middle seem a bit off (they need to be rotated forward a bit).
The rocks in the background seem a bit too purposely vague and homogenized. I suggest you define them more and give them a proper sense of presence, so there’s a stronger sense of identity for this environment.
Careful how you are depicting the rim light on the ceiling/opening rim that’s closer to us. Think about whether we would really see such a clear rim light on the entire opening, or maybe the angle will prevent us from seeing rim light on some areas.
It’s great to see that you’ve taken this piece a lot further. I think it’s got a lot of potential–you just have to be a bit more vigilant in your logical assessment of the lighting and forms.
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