Tentative newbie looking for critique
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I am thrilled to have found this site and loving the classes so far. I'm new to digital illustration (using Procreate on my iPad) and working hard to improve at my craft and find my style, so I would love some honest feedback. Before my rare burst of bravery dissipates, here are two recent pics. What should I be working on ... color balance, composition, basic painting/drawing technique, character design, all of the above?
Thanks!
Jennifer
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These are really beautiful and you don't look like a newbie at all. If I had to give a critique based on these two pieces, it would be that you perhaps need to work on the overall gesture of your characters. They look just a tad stiff.
In the first one, it might be nice to get more curvature to the woman's gesture. The swans have a beautiful flow to them, and I think you could get some of that into your human figure. If you gave a slight bend to her outstretched arm and to her torso, and curve her knees out, it would make it feel more natural and graceful. Not too much, though! Same with the second piece, her posture is a bit stiff. She looks like a pretty easy going character and if you gave her a very slight slouch, I think it would help. Just make her torso a tad more concave, like a bean shape . . . again not too much.
And one more random suggestion for the first piece- I would de-emphasize the dock more as it goes back into space- fade it out with color or value and maybe cover it will a little more foliage.
Thanks for sharing. Again, these are really beautiful and I'm glad you got up the nerve to post!
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@tessaw That is great feedback, Tessa, thank you! I've been scared of drawing people for a long time and now I'm tackling it head-on, but I've got a whole lot of learning to do. You're absolutely right about the stiffness of the characters - I'll work on that. (And the dock bothered me a bit too....) Again, thank you!
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@jennifermt The colors and softness are so beautiful! I really enjoy your style. One thought that I had is the angle of the dock is really high. If I extend the lines out they seem like they would be high above the lake. Maybe play with the perspective of the dock?
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@juliepeelart Thank you! And YES, that darn dock. Clearly my perspective skills are lagging. I'll fix that.
