coloured sketch

**heartofglitter** · December 17th, 2006, 07:23 PM

Hey everyone, I'm 100% new here. I've heard about this place from a friend and I'm really looking for some crits. I feel that my art has reached an unpassable wall that I can't overcome without some help.
This is a commission a did a few months back that I decided to colour in Photoshop because I'm really trying to improve my Photoshop colouring. (Mostly shadows, and finding a balance between shadow and light; I feel that my usual works are too timid and don't have enough shadows.)
I'd love some help / crits / tips!

**NathanLong** · December 18th, 2006, 01:38 AM

I am not knowledgable enough about color and shading to give you comments on those, but you seem to be having some troubles with anatomy. Her bent arm is very short, and her hand seems elongated.

I can also see, in the differences in your line quality, the places where you are confident or not-so-confident. The line work in the hair is confident and graceful, and really has a lot of flair. The line work on the arm and shoulders is rough and has ben worked over many times. I can tell you are less comfortable drawing these things.

**inspector Lee** · December 18th, 2006, 02:34 AM

I agree whole heartedly with Nathan, there are some anatomy issues hurting this piece. To add to Nathan's comments I'd say that the wrist and hand are very wonky. Also, at first I couldn't figure out why this felt like a guy in drag but after some examination, I think it's a combination of the very broad, masculine shoulders and the flat chest.

**heartofglitter** · December 18th, 2006, 05:41 AM

Thanks guys! I have been having problems with arm length as of late, and feminine shoulders especially.
(You're right Nathan about me being confident with hair and less confident with other things.) Thanks for those crits, I'll take those into consideration with my next piece.

**dire-musaera** · December 26th, 2006, 12:52 AM

you're art style reminds me of terry and rachel dodson actually, they do comics books, they were doing gen x for a while and have gone on to do a lot of other stuff for marvel, and some for dc, they worked on some of that short lived harley quinn series, you might wanna check em out.

**dmitri** · December 26th, 2006, 03:56 AM

Be very careful with cast shadows - that very very black shadow under the chin doesn't help bring out the shape there (like it should to help the piece, imho), but is instead more like a very strange hole or a black stripe of something on her neck.
Also, your coloring on the neck doesn't follow the round column-like shape of the neck. Try to think of your drawings as 3D-objects, this ought to help with getting the shading right.

Coloring skin is very tricky business! There are so many many colors in it - experimenting with a bit more, say, blues and greens in the skintone might bring more depth and interest into the coloring. Also, studying how the masters have done it really helps.