Critics please :)

[Theking78]

Hi, this are 2 illustrations I'm going to finalize so any advice will be like gold for me.

I'm awaiting to start Part Time TAD in January (the Digital Painting class with Android, Foster and Manley) and so it's a great opportunity to receive some feedback from you in the meanwhile, so THANK YOU for that chance

[Anid Maro]

Hrm, in the first image you could benefit from using a larger brush. Her legs in particular look 'scribbly', especially compared to her smoother skin tones. There's no need to use such a tiny brush for that area, a broad and confidently planted stroke always looks much nicer.

Sargent would achieve that look by slapping down a stroke of paint, observing it carefully, and then scraping it away with a knife if it wasn't good enough. He would repeat this process until he got the 'perfect' paintstroke, which to anyone else looked like it was effortlessly placed by his master hand. Take up the same mindset, once you know where you're going to paint pick the biggest brush that'll fit and lay down a stroke, study it, and CTRL-Z it out if it's not good enough.

Other than that, I think the wall and background could use a lil' more polish and rendering. Granted the focus is the figure, but the contrast between the rendering of the figure and everything else is a bit too striking. Don't bring up the wall and background to the same level of polish as the figure, but definitely give them a lil' more.

For the second image, the girl at bottom center has a bit o' 'wax lips' syndrome going on. I think they should definitely be thinned out more in line with the lips of the vampire ladies.

Also the background blends in too much with the greenish skin of the vampires. I think if the clouds were more of a blue-green rather than a green-blue, it would add a subtle and pleasant contrast.

Nice work otherwise, I'm sure you'll be a welcome addition to the TAD student-body.

[wooblood]

I like these overall, especially the first one.
I'm not sure if this was intentional, but the first one sort of looks like a mix between comic book style and more realistic rendering, specifically regarding the way the girl is lit. If you wanted to go for total realistic lighting, there should be more shadow contours going on such as on her breasts and hair. I also think it looks like you simply shifted the camera view over just so she wouldn't be smack in the center. I think you could rectify that effect by subtly lighting up some of the flowers and the wall according to your light scheme.
In the second one, I get sort of a fake feeling especially from the rendering of the three girls at the bottom. I think it's mainly due to the way they're lit somewhat inconsistently by the implied light source. The biggest thing I see with this image though is that I think you should have some better separation between the large portrait and the rest of the girls, unless she is actually a giant vampire (via difference in overall value, atmosphere, color, etc.).

[wunts]

good skin tone.

[Theking78]

Thank you very much everybody for the advices. I've concentrated myself on the last one to begin and this is what I've done so far. Do you think it's better now?

[Anid Maro]

Definitely.

A big bonus, and I don't know if you adjusted the skin tones or if it's just the interaction with the changed background, is that the vampires look less sickly than before.

[Theking78]

Anid Maro:I changed the bg color and also worked some of the facial features of the characters

Anyone else has some advices for me?

[wooblood]

Now that you've improved your second image a lot, I have a few nits for you:
- On the big face, are her eyes supposed to be black and iris-less/pupil-less, or no? I'm guessing it's supposed to be all black, but the way the highlights are drawn, it could be mistaken for her having pupils (looking down) and it also makes the eyes look like they are not globe shaped. I would clarify/adjust that.
- Teeth look unnaturally pure white... I know they're critical elements and all, but they're just looking fake to me as they are.
- The middle girl still has the wax lips going on that Anid mentioned. I think it's mostly because it almost looks like there's a drop shadow under the lips, making them look like them might not actually be connected to her face.
- Center girl's nostrils look too tear drop shaped (pinched), as if she had a nose job and the septum is looking too wide. You should find reference for that.
- You should rework that bottom hand, with reference if possible.