General Feedback

[Lunoris]

Hello, I am just looking for some helpful feedback on some digital art pieces.

People tell me they are good, but what could I do to make it better?

Here is some basic things about my art.

My Art is basically free style, and shading is mainly to help the character popout and not for showing off the light source. However I do understand basic lighting and shadows.

What I mainly want to know/need to know more of is textures and how to go about drawing actual background.

There has been a weakness for anatomy and motivation.

My gallery is : https://www.weasyl.com/submissions/lunoris

[kynliod]

I'm not sure what you mean by not showing the light source, but rather making the character pop out. The character won't pop out properly without at least using some basic light source fundamentals.

For example, in this drawing (https://www.weasyl.com/submission/11...rizonarising-1), because a light source wasn't used consistently, it doesn't actually look like shading. It looks more like a flat, 2d character that has been outlined in blue. I think that if you understand basic light and shadow, you should use that knowledge and apply it to your drawings, because it will absolutely improve the look of your drawings. What I see in your use of shadow and highlights is actually what appears to be (and I don't know if this is true of you, I'm just saying this is how it appears) an artist slipping into old habits because it is a comfort zone for them. Part of why it seems that way to me is that I used to do that with inking. I had a way that I did it, and it really wasn't the right way, but I continued to do it because it was a comfort zone, a habit that I would slip into automatically, rather than trying to build new, more correct habits.

As far as your anatomy goes, I think a lot of your issue is that your characters can look stiff and unnatural. I recommend doing gestures to help loosen up your characters and make them look more natural. It's kinda boring, but it will not only keep your characters more fluid, but it will help you learn and understand anatomy and the way the body moves as you practice this exercise. If you do them a lot, you will be amazed at the difference. Some examples of gestures: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...rt&FORM=HDRSC2 The main thing to remember with gestures is to work quickly and loosely. Accuracy is less important than motion, and it can often be beneficial to force yourself to not lift the pencil from the paper. It's meant to be very loose and squiggly. Working big can also help, and it is recommended that your draw from your arm, not your hand, so that the motion is more loose and fluid.

Anyway, you do have some really good pieces in your gallery (I particularly love this one: https://www.weasyl.com/submission/10...-no-background), but I think the next step for you is definitely approaching light more correctly, and then doing those gestures to help you learn movement and anatomy.

Textures... well, I'm no help there, I'm afraid. That's a weak area for me. Backgrounds are tough as well. Sometimes it helps to draw the background first, and then when you draw the figure in the background, it's easier to get the perspective of the character consistent with the perspective of the background. Not a strength of mine either. I tend to do a lot of portraits, so... LOL!

Keep working hard, you're well on your way. And it's great that you're looking for ways to improve! I'm out of the habit of doing gestures, and it shows in my figures. I need to get back to it.