Need advice for improve a demon !

[HabchiYoussef]

Hi everybody! Here is a drawing i finished few month ago but there are many things that's wrong :/ Cape, position, landscape, almost all...
Also he had a sword in the beginning, maybe I have to redraw this?

I hope someone can give me his opinion about it .
Thanks a lot !

[Artimatum]

Thumbnails,did you do any?

[Psychotime]

What's that stuff all over his skin?

[HabchiYoussef]

Here when I tried with the sword

[HabchiYoussef]

What's that stuff all over his skin?

I tried to make a kind of gold excrescence...

[HabchiYoussef]

Thumbnails,did you do any?

What do you mean? I'm not sur of what you say...

[HabchiYoussef]

I started to rebuild it, nobody can give me his opinion? Especially in terms of framing that I hesitate, I think there are problems of composition...

[Nutella]

I started to rebuild it, nobody can give me his opinion? Especially in terms of framing that I hesitate, I think there are problems of composition...

There's nothing wrong with static compositions, especially when it's a standing portrait of someone doing nothing. I think the additions you made to the cape are very strong. When you make it asymmetrical, you've gotta do it for some reason. Right now, it feels forced only because the figure is just standing. If there was some hint of motion, or maybe his cape is flying more toward the upper right corner of the comp.

Some things to think about:
+The volcanoes in the background are obviously exploding and producing major amounts of light. All of that light is only producing really soft highlights onto the figure. I would make the rim light very harsh, and therefore the cast shadows much harsher (especially on the cape).
+The comp with the sword seems much stronger. I'd definitely add that back in but refine the sword more and make it shiny.

This is great foundation for your painting though. Love how the figure was rendered, especially those hands.

Hope this either fuels your ideas, or makes you more confident in what you've chosen!

[Hexokinase]

The newest version is more interesting than the previous step in my opinion. Your changing of fairly key elements of the picture (removing the sword, extending the canvas and cape) is indicative of a larger problem though: not enough planning before the rendering.

Did you make thumbnails for this picture beforehand? All the main elements should exist in the simple value study following the thumb. This makes sure that everything works before you start rendering.

If you're serious about this piece, the easiest way to do it will be to start over. I'll list some of the problems I see here, that can be better avoided next time:

-Anatomy: arms look a little wonky. Little to no structure to the torso and lower body. Get a ref for the pose (take a picture of yourself or use a large mirror). The pose should also indicate what he's doing. Removing the sword left him with an arm that should be holding a sword, but is doing nothing right now.

-Volcano: Needs reference. No way around that. The value of the lava core is distractingly high as well.

-Value range: Everything is super dark with super bright details (except for the cape). You should have large areas dedicated to value ranges, and everything should be readable from afar. If you turn this image grayscale and shrink it down, how well does everything read? You can't have the character, ground, and sky the same value. Check out the link in my sig on value massing for more on that.

-Composition: Though this relates to my previous point, it needs saying here as well. It should be planned in the thumbnail stages. By simply extending the canvas to the right, the character feels crowded on the left (his facing the outside of the canvas doesn't help).

In short, plan more. Show us early stages of the piece so that we can help fix problems before you invest time in rendering.

[Elwell]

None of the body parts relate to the others. Draw the figure underneath the cape.

[HabchiYoussef]

There's nothing wrong with static compositions, especially when it's a standing portrait of someone doing nothing. I think the additions you made to the cape are very strong. When you make it asymmetrical, you've gotta do it for some reason. Right now, it feels forced only because the figure is just standing. If there was some hint of motion, or maybe his cape is flying more toward the upper right corner of the comp.

Some things to think about:
+The volcanoes in the background are obviously exploding and producing major amounts of light. All of that light is only producing really soft highlights onto the figure. I would make the rim light very harsh, and therefore the cast shadows much harsher (especially on the cape).
+The comp with the sword seems much stronger. I'd definitely add that back in but refine the sword more and make it shiny.

This is great foundation for your painting though. Love how the figure was rendered, especially those hands.

Hope this either fuels your ideas, or makes you more confident in what you've chosen!

Thank you for giving me your opinion and your advice !
For the stuff on the cape I want to do a effect that move on their own, like bad energy, it is a demon so I do not want everything to be logical...
Thank you for your observation I will take into account, mainly for light and shadow

[HabchiYoussef]

Wah thanks a lot Exokinase, great critic !
The last pictures are really in progress, I didn't really applied on rendering but it's true that I didn't really know this technique to work in thumbnail, I'm a beginner on several aspects...
You think I should delete the file and start from zero, so there is nothing good?
Maybe I should do him in action? Your link doesn't work but thank you very much for your critique that will help me a lot, I think I have many things to change again!

[HabchiYoussef]

None of the body parts relate to the others. Draw the figure underneath the cape.

Hard ! :/
What shocked you the most?
I know that the bust and arms must be more worked...

[HabchiYoussef]

The newest version is more interesting than the previous step in my opinion.

You mean the large one?

[Hexokinase]

You mean the large one?

Yes. The second image in post #7 is more interesting than the first. Partly because it doesn't feel as crowded and the eyes have room to wander around. The first image feels a little cramped with the figure taking up most the canvas while having action occurring in the background (the volcano erupting).

[HabchiYoussef]

Some news, I rebuild almost everything except the face, what do you think of values ​​and composition, it's very in progress, there will gargoyles around...

[Hexokinase]

Draw his whole body without the cape and shield in the way first. Get all the proportions right, then add them back in. With the current position of his shield, I'm not too sure where his right arm is supposed to go. You need to draw in that entire left arm as well, because right now it looks like you have a floating hand that's touching his chest, instead of an arm that's pointed towards us.

[HabchiYoussef]

Draw his whole body without the cape and shield in the way first. Get all the proportions right, then add them back in. With the current position of his shield, I'm not too sure where his right arm is supposed to go. You need to draw in that entire left arm as well, because right now it looks like you have a floating hand that's touching his chest, instead of an arm that's pointed towards us.

Thanks Exaokinase, I'll change his position that doesn't inspire me, I will redraw the character fully and without cape early as you indicate. I'll repost when I have advanced!

[mRomano]

That sword hand is just in such an awkward spot

[HabchiYoussef]

That sword hand is just in such an awkward spot

Yeah it's look like it came from his chest... I'll change his position but I struggle to find a good position... I search a imposing position

[HabchiYoussef]

Start on rendering