Hey! Sorry for the bad render, I mainly wanted to focus on the lighting in a broader sense. I would say that if your main light source is the sword, then everything that isn’t facing the sword should be darker. This helps create stronger visual contrast. Notice how simply darkening half of the face already improves the visual appeal. Brightening the background (almost like atmospheric perspective, even though technically there isn’t air in space) also helps the character stand out much more, because it creates a clearer dark-on-light contrast. Always keep in mind what your main light source is, whether it’s natural or artificial. Based on that, think about which planes of the form are facing the light and which ones aren’t (try to think in terms of volume). This will help you better understand the direction of the light, so you’re not just guessing. And of course, use references. :D Hope this helps!
