Help me improve

**Purplelemons** · July 3rd, 2012, 10:21 PM

I really didn't get very helpful critiques when I was in high school, and I've recently finished as well. I really want to improve very badly but i'm stuck a little with where I need to improve on. Obviously I need to do more work, but I would like some help with artworks i've already finished and with artworks in future projects. Thanks and enjoy!

**Tagachi** · July 3rd, 2012, 10:22 PM

Try to take out the lines of your work. Because they are destroying the form you are trying to convey. If you use value, it will become more "sculpted".
Also your elements will be blended better together. Right now it has this cut-paste style to it.

**snacks ex machina** · July 4th, 2012, 12:24 AM

I don't know if this will make sense, but it looks like you're drawing shapes that are in relief, rather than shapes that are fully 3-dimensional. Once you draw your objects in the foreground, you don't draw any deeper. I think that it might be a good idea to look into learning and/or applying a more involved use of perspective. All of your drawings have this sorta flat look to them. I think the well that the horse girl is falling down would be really easy to fix if you set the image up proper like with a horizon line and vanishing point.

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=181436

Once you learn how to draw basic shapes like wells and cubes in perspective, you can apply what you learned to the figure and general landscape, since those can be broken down to those same simple shapes.

There are a lot of formal issues with your drawing, but aside from that I notice that you kind of give everything the same texture and make some weird color decisions. I don't think trees and grass catch light that way. The saturation of the different colors you're using all seem really similar. I think you could try creating more contrast and working with different types of color palettes.

You might also get a lot from just doing the spartan drawing activity here on CA. Every week you do 50 gestures and Anthis includes some optional activity that's very interesting that may be out of your comfort zone. There was a really nice one about the Reilly method a bit back: http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=243285

**Grunler** · July 4th, 2012, 01:10 AM

http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=223686

Do lots and lots of life drawing. You need to establish a primary light source, then figure out what areas are hit by light and what areas will not be hit by light. Then figure out your cast shadows.

Right now you're just guessing where a shadow might be and staining it blackish. The white lines you're drawing here and there around the figures isn't doing anything for you either. Compose your images with figure-ground in mind; Light against dark, dark against light. So if you have a focal point, like a face, and you don't want the side of the face in shadow to blend in with the tree, which is also in shadow, arrange your subjects and lighting so that it's no longer dark against dark. Another solution is to hit all your shadows with neon-blue rim lighting, but please don't.

Also, look up reference. If you're drawing a tree, look up trees (or look outside, if you've got trees out there). If you're drawing fire, look up fire. Figure out how stuff works before you draw it. A viewer can usually tell the difference between an informed stylistic decision and one made in ignorance.

As a side note, I think the process of a girl with horse legs trying to put on a pair of shorts would difficult and silly.

**Purplelemons** · July 6th, 2012, 02:11 AM

Man you guys are pretty brutal with critiques. But thank you, any help I can get I'll look forward to using in the near future. I'll do a bunch more perspective stuff Snacks, as well as lighting, Grunler, as well as drawing a TON more. Like 3 pages a day or something crazy, till my hand bleeds!

Thanks guys your pointing me in a improving direction!

**Purplelemons** · August 27th, 2012, 05:53 PM

I don't know how this site sees about fanart, but I look for the technique moreso than the subject for fanart. But here's two more recent things I've done. (The second one isn't fanart)

I honestly hope I've improved the slightest. Summer hasn't been kind to me, and school starts soon, so I think I'll learn even more there. But I think I've been doing better with colors to say the least.