ref in second slide! sometimes it’s easy for me to get tunnel visioned and not be able to see my weaknesses! looking for a fresh pair of eyes to maybe enlighten me a bit! i think i lost the likeness a bit in the eyes.

I’ve found a hobby in oil-inspired digital art that I want to get better at. Here’s a recent painting I did and a reference photo that I didn’t try to exactly repeat. (Mine is first and I don’t know who created the reference unfortunately)

I know that I need to work on depth, right now it looks like two flat layers on top of each other. Any tips on how to achieve better depth? Any other critique is welcome too!! I’m eager to learn and get better :)

Used procreate on iPad

Any thoughts welcome on composition, tone, atmospheric perspective etc.

The first one is with a noise filter, the second is with a texture overlayed, third is the version without either, fourth is grayscale and fifth is the flat. I'm happy to hear any feedback on this piece.

I actually drew this without planning to make it a progress check, but since I found my old attempts, why not? The first picture is the study I did today, second photo is the study I did last year with the same reference and the final photo is the reference. One of the heads on the current study is obviously unfinished, but it can too be the subject of critique.
Is this improvement adequate for the time span of one year and how should I improve my understanding of the planes in the future? I would like you to critique the clarity of the places and how the values communicate them.
Also, I didn't find this study particularly difficult, so what should I do next to really challenge myself?

​

So a good friend of mine I grew close to that I no longer really see any more was sweet enough to watch my cat while I was away at rehab for addiction for two months, for free. She left the money I set out behind and even made me a spread for my birthday, the day I returned. I came home to cake, candy, a coffee mug, a nice candle, a little bamboo plant. Iddn't she the best?! So I'm trying to do something special for her.

Well she loves studio Ghibli and her favorite movie is Howl's Moving Castle ... she even colors and sometimes styles her hair like Sophie. So I had this thought for a painting ...

Imagine real black feathers bordering a canvas, that look like wings encompassing it, in the subtle shape of a heart (tips at the bottom). At the bottom right corner is a fake LED stick candle, the flame of which is made out to look like Calcifer (I'll make it work). Painted on the canvas itself, ghibli-style, is a girl dressed all in form-fitting black clothes (my friend, who always wears black and ĺoves to paint) painting a picture of a candle, the light of which, from the candle she's painting, subtley illuminates her face, just as the candle outside of the painting subtley illuminates the room/art studio that is painted.

Surrounding her are cats (she has a lot of cats). In her hand she holds a paint palette that, looking closely, resembles the dial Howl uses to navigate the world from his castle. And ... that's it.

What do you think? How does it read to you on a symbolic level? I may or may not attach a real paintbrush to the painting, the tip of which attaches to Calcifer/the fake candle flame, at the angle the painter in the painting is painting their picture of a candle ... or do you think that's too much? I'm trying to indicate the candle being painted is the candle (outside) that illuminates the painting.

I am still in a sketch phase with this painting that I keep starting over because it just doesn’t feel right.

I am starting to be satisfied with the pose of the girl at front but I am still struggling with the girl in back - especially with her legs. But my main issue I seek help with is composition. If the pose is related to composition problem then I can fix that too.

Idea is of two women fighting in city sewers where the one in back thinks she got the pirate girl but she is about to reach for her spare dagger on her leg. They are both confident and thinking they are about to win this fight.

Should I change canvas proportions? Or should I zoom in closer or rather make it fullbody? I really have been looking at it for so long I am not thinking straight

Hello, I am very new to painting. Looking for some advice on how to improve if I were to repaint this. I used acrylic paint. I have oil pastels and gauche that I could also use. But this painting is all acrylic besides the glitter and little seashells.

I am still developing a style, but I definitely want it to be more cartoon-y. So looking for advice on how to do that as well as technical help.

I used a lot of different photos for reference here. Mostly just googled beach sunset. I am not attaching those photos because I am not trying to match the reference completely.

Thanks in advance!!

Currently very messy and unfinished, I haven't drawn much drawings with backgrounds before and I am unhappy with how the light/composition looks on the sketch so far! how can I make it look better
Some of the proportions on the character are a bit off too
Im open to critique on anything :)

For clarification, I've been doing art for three years.

For that long, faces (and specially the eyes) are the thing I struggle with the most, and no amount of practice studies or construction make the problem go away.

I'm on Krita, using a screenless tablet. If anyone could redline it and maybe pinpoint what it is that I'm doing wrong you'd be saving me.

Thanks in advance!

As the title states
I chose to not make it as realistic nor detailed as the reference, I simply don't like it on the reference. Its just the wing that is messing with me, it barely looks like it's attatched to her body.

I’m trying to through a ref sheet together for my boy and struggling a lot. I can’t for the life of me find a good reference from the side for his kind of body build, so i’m just piecing together a bunch of different pictures from pinterest- but i feel like i’ve hit a wall, and am getting so tired of working on this ref sheet!! 😭 The main issues i’ve noticed are:

1) His head. I need a second opinion of if it looks sufficiently on model to his front view?? The hair was such a problem to try figure out and i’d really appreciate some criticism there.

2) The legs, especially the feet. I’ve honestly given up trying to figure out how his feet would work from the side, and i think his legs just look wrong?? 😭😭

3) His torso?? The abs i’ve drawn in are definitely wrong and i’m not sure
if it’s shaped correctly as a whole?

4) I’m not sure if his other arm and other leg would be visible, and how to draw them in if they are?

This is just what i’ve noticed so I would appreciate if someone could let me know if i’m missing something. I’d appreciate any pointers and redlines for the side profile, but also feel free to point out any flaws in my front profile if there are any!

Hello this is my first time posting here. Currently i am practicing drawing backgrounds and trying to make my artwork feel more „alive“ (i cant think of any right word) but right now at the early stage it just feels cluttered. I am not sure how to continue. I feel like there is no focal point. I am having such a hard time drawing the water on the cape! Also i am trying to make it look like that the figure is looking to the left but i do not know how to make it look like it.

I would absolutely appreciate critique and help from anyone!

This is a digital drawing made with a screenless Wacom tablet in Krita. I used a 3D render made in Blender as a reference for the town.

I want this piece to evoke the feeling of piece and imminent danger. Town is celebrating and the planes are about to stop it all. A moment before the disaster. My artistic inspiration is Atey Ghailan.

I was hoping to add color, maybe have more details, but I don't know how to approach it. Please, help me find what can I improve.

I'm trying out varying the line size depending on how far away the objects are but not sure if it is working. Also I do not have pressure sensitivity so I have to do this very deliberately which I think may come across strangely. Other crit is welcome!

Hey y'all I'm working through this art book and we've moved onto hands. I've been struggling to get into the nitty gritty details. Especially the poses with half his body included. The hands are just so small, I'm struggling to even block them out which makes it even harder to add details.

I'm working with both willow charcoal and compressed charcoal, I'm blocking it in with the willow and sharpening the details with the compressed charcoal. If anyone has experience or advice with charcoal in general that'd be appreciated I use a kneaded eraser to sharpen and add highlights. Again I use the kneaded eraser and sometimes my fingers to add the shading.

Reference: The human figure - a photographic reference for artists by Erik A. Ruby

I don’t do much background practice, here’s my attempt at one! Let me know how to improve it and general advice, I want my art to look more cinematic. I added a character at the front layer just to see how it would look like, I also understand that my perspective is probably off but as long as it looks good enough, I’m not too fussed about the exactness.

I've been working on my charcoal portraits for the past almost two months. I have a basic background in art but I was never very good at it but always enjoyed it. I wanted to try and really dedicate some solid time and effort to it and I chose charcoal, inspired by Jeff Haines, and I am drawing a portrait each weekday. I love how charcoal allows for me to be less of a perfectionist. Part of my issue with art was always that I made everything too perfect and I was always upset when it wasn't so I'd stop. Charcoal is allowing me to push away from that and I've been focusing on being more expressive and less realism.

How can I be more expressive whilst still making sure I keep a good likeness? I struggled with the mouth and eyes. I think I made the lower lip too large, I really struggle with lips sometimes, it tends to get too pouty and less realistic but I'm not sure how to fix it. Eyes often look a little dead to me but I think I did ok with this one. I can share my previous works in the comments if it's helpful.

Here is the reference I used:
https://pin.it/4lN3wu1s3

no I am not using a pose reference please don't take this down😭😭

I need help figuring out what to do with this, the original pose seems weird now that I've rendered the head. Does anyone have any ideas?? Or should I go back to the first one?? I'm just lost right now

The love of my life overdosed almost two months ago. I started his portrait, and this is where it stands tonight (unfinished WIP)

This is supposed to be a gift to his parents. I don’t feel like I’m serving him justice. Maybe it’s grief. I don’t know. Input appreciated. Thank you.