Need constructive criticism

[Nimperedhil]

Hi, I haven't really posted much before, mostly because it's darn scary to show something I know is so inferior to a lot of the things on this forum.
But anyway, I can't seem to get finished with these pictures, because I'm so uncertain about a lot of things, so just fire away!

Conan of course. Is the back OK? Is there too much open space above his head? Will finish the horseman, vultures and skull in the distance later.



A boss character of some sort :p Colors, hands and feet aren't finished (and I think I need to move one foot too), but are the values ok?



And the one that is only at the beginning stages. A city inspired by aztec/maya-ruins in the jungle. Should the dragon be further up in the picture?
Will fix the arms and legs, as they clearly are too small hehe.



Please, if you see anything that I should fix, then just tell me, because I need to learn!

[Artfix]

Hey man. I think all three of these have good potential. I like them all so far.

You're going to want to get good and useful ref for conan's anatomy. I would consider making him a little more hunched over in a more ready for battle stance. You managed to make the sword look good and heavy which I like. If you hunch him more, there will be more room to show the enemy in the distance there too.

The boss figure looks good. No crits.

Dragon image looks great too. I see some reigns on the dragon. I would like to see a rider sitting on him

Good work.

[EvilBunny]

For the barbarian, his legs doesn't really match his top/torso? They remind me more of the legs of someone defeated, and are about to fall to the ground knee first, whereas the top of the body seems ready to battle. His hair is fighting with the bone, they feel like magnets and are attracted to each other. It's pointing straight to the bone, while the bone points straight to the hair, making me look back and forth, leading me nowhere. Your coloring and shading is also separating/breaking up his arm into 3 sections, they should flow more naturally. The lower diagonal breakup is making his lower arm seems smaller than it really is. Lastly, your bones, the dead bones, that is, isn't too convincing, I think it just needs more details, such as broken, or scratches. It seems odd to have a dead animal strip down to the bone, and yet they're perfect, and nicely polished. Maybe break some? Seems really odd with all of them perfect while the head's all the way right side up on top of a rock.

The boss creature looks pretty good, I just feel like his arm is too short. If you add a hand to his arm, it'll probably look about right. (Lengthening it.)

Nothing much to say about the dragon it, looks pretty good so far, but he's kinda..slump/laying against the rock? Not sure if you want a more heroic or actiony pose. It depends on your story for the piece. Looks like he's watching lazily towards the city, maybe a guardian or something. Overall, your second piece is probably the strongest, hope this helps.

[Juggertha]

I love the Conan one.. but because of where the rib in the foreground falls... and his feet, it's tempting for my eyes to think his feet are in the extreme foreground instead of that rib. And if so, then that sword seems oddly short. Consider darkening up that rib a bit more to really punch it forward.

In the last dragon one, I really love the city, but that mountain is still mush. At least go e it a little more detail.

[wylielise]

The boss character looks awesome - I actually like it with some of the areas left rough.

For the first piece, my suggestions are to 1) lower the bottom border so that the feet disappear behind the foreground ribs instead of off the edge of the page and 2) maybe lighten the upper ribs, especially around the tips and edges? I realize that they're mostly silhouetted against the sky, but it seems like if you were looking up at a narrow shape against a light source, there would be some glare softening and brightening the far-away parts. Maybe you could even give the edges some translucence in places as if they were being chipped and weathered away, just to help blend them into the light and focus the attention on the character.

[Nimperedhil]

Hey, thanks for all the great comments! It really helps.

Artfix: It sounds more "barbaric" to have him hunched over, so I will try that. Will also check some back reference, because I don't really render backs normally hehe.
Also I couldn't decide whether to place the dragonrider to the right of or on top of the dragon, so that's why there is none yet
Thank you

EvilBunny: Yes, I think you're right about that. Something always felt a bit off there hehe. Was thinking about making it less windy there, so his hair will rest a bit more over his shoulder. Would that work, or will it make the silhouette worse? Will fix the shading on the arm, and will make the bones more gritty
Yes, will lengthen the arm of the boss character.
The dragon isn't supposed to look too threatening or anything like that. It's just a traveler of some sorts (along with the rider which isn't there yet).
Thank you for lots of great advice.

Juggertha: Thank you Am going to extend the canvas a bit, so will fix the leg problems then. You mean the mountain in the foreground? Will detail all of them more anyway. Had to stop because I wasn't so sure about the composition.

wylielise: Thank you Yeah, I probably should, so as to not distract the eye too much.
Yes, will extend the canvas and fix the legs, and it sounds interesting to add some glare and brightness to the ribs, so will see if it works.

Now I have to start working on them again, don't know if it will be today, considering work draining me. Just want to go out alone, take a beer and do some sketches today hehe