Sketch idea for this month's Critique Arena... after taking the Drawing in Perspective Course I am hoping I'm making improvements in composition and storytelling. Hoping the story is clear, silhouettes are clear, etc. The Mama witch is in shadow and so might have to scale her down, but so far I'm thinking I'll move into painting in values. Feedback welcome please! 
@ArtistErin I think the silhouettes of the witches look really good. I can tell what they are easily. I also like the frog and jar in the foreground. I think the story is about a young witch making something, but the older witch is surprised or upset?. If the smaller one is not supposed to be making a witches brew without permission, then maybe have the place a little more messy so we can see why the bigger one is surprised/upset, such as spilled liquid around the pot, open jars, mess a child might make while cooking. Also the silhouetted witch and the bookcase look look they are floating. Was that your intention? If not then they need to be lowered. Also, watch the foot of the small witch, there is a tangent with the foot and the edge of the illustration. I would move the witch to the left a bit to get rid of that.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiminyrose/
@Kim-Rosenlof Thank you so much! Yes I could see the tangent with the Mama Witch, she's definitely not happy walking into mess! Hoping to develop more detail of mess going on without creating to much busy distraction from the little witch and her glowing concoction. Still learning layers and the adjustments... Hoping the color palette reads well and keeps the elements connected.
Here's an update!
@ArtistErin I love this! The angle/composition is really interesting, and I especially love the little witch.
I agree with Kim that it's not really clear that the mother is upset. (But maybe you'll be adding the mother's facial expressions etc? If so, it likely won't be an issue.) And adding elements to make a mess will help a lot, I think.
I'm looking forward to seeing your later stages!
@ArtistErin This version definitely helps out. the Mama witch and bookcase don't look like they are floating anymore to me 
In my previous post, the tangent I was talking about was the little witch's foot touching the edge of the painting/illustration. I would move the child/young witch's foot to the left so it is not so close to the edge, or move her whole body to the left. Does that make sense?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiminyrose/
@Kim-Rosenlof Oh! Yes! Duh, I was already expanding the image to include more mess and fixed the little witches' foot. Thank you
@susanhowarth-art Thank you! I appreciate your feedback. I will create the "look" you know fiery dart eyes only a mother can give! LOL
Update Hoping I am finished... Let me know if this reads clear enough! I am learning digital watercolor so figuring out how to accomplish detail without overworking. I might add more rosy cheeks on the little witch to draw more attention to her along with more glow, what are your thoughts?
@ArtistErin Wow!! It’s wonderful! 
The mother looks surprised, but it could go either way whether it’s in a good way or bad. Without context, it could look as though she is impressed. If it’s important that she come across as upset/angry, I would adjust her facial expression.
But personally, I like that she could be impressed! It looks like the little witch is doing a great job!
@ArtistErin Very cute illustration! I love this little moment of the mother witch finding the daughter brewing up something.
Try out the rosy cheeks and see how they look.
A thought on the frog, would you consider darkening it and the eye jar? I like the detail on them, but the details and light might distract from the area of focus on the girl.
It's a really fun scene!
@Stephanie-H Haha, nice one! To me the mother looks like 'oh my what is she doing!'. A bit like finding your kid with a knife in the kitchen. The moment before she rushes forward to pull her away from the possibly exploding kettle. I also like the details of the spiders and worms, and of course the frog and eyeballs. It really sets the Witch setting. Somehow looking at the girl it seems to me that the glow of the potion is stronger on her dress and the edges of the hat than her face. That confused me a bit and makes me wonder where the light comes from and why her face is not more lit.
@susanhowarth-art Thank you so much for your insight! I love the element of surprise on Mama's face, yet if I wanted to take this further I could add all the emotion of her being disappointed with the mess eventually:)
@Stephanie-H Yes good catch, I darkened the frog and the jar of eyeballs, that helped to draw more attention to the little witch. Thank you!!!
@Chantal-Goetheer Yes absolutely, when I added more depth to her face it looks so much more engaging and makes better sense. It helps to have other eyes on this stuff! I think I was afraid of doing too much and it turned out it wasn't enough until you caught it!!
My final submission!
@ArtistErin Great job!
@ArtistErin Nice! Looks good!
@Chantal-Goetheer Thank you!
Sketch idea for this month's Critique Arena... after taking the Drawing in Perspective Course I am hoping I'm making improvements in composition and storytelling. Hoping the story is clear, silhouettes are clear, etc. The Mama witch is in shadow and so might have to scale her down, but so far I'm thinking I'll move into painting in values. Feedback welcome please!
