I reworked the form and added more lines because your art was lost in the darkness and there's not a clear separation of form. I added a light direction from above to give it more dimension and drama. I blurred the foreground (the fish and sea weed to give it less attention). I added additional darkness then added light to the art to balance everything out. Also note; blue tends to make things dark. Lastly, I added bubbles and the other white lines which I've forgotten the official name near the face to bring attention to it. Also, I darkened the tail a bit to remove attention from it. I decided note to change your actual drawing because I don't like to and also it would get complicated for me bcus I'll have to rework it. Hope it helps.

Casual encounter with a mermaid

Artist's notes:

How can I make the illustration more interesting and dynamic? I struggle with movement and drawing the body in perspective. I also have trouble creating interesting environments. How can I improve the rendering? Anyway… so many questions!!!

Comments 3

@prince35334 months ago

When I said I didn't want to change the drawing, I meant the pose. And yeah, idk how you can remove the drawing from the "monthly challenge"

@prince35334 months ago

I reworked the form and added more lines because your art was lost in the darkness and there's not a clear separation of form. I added a light direction from above to give it more dimension and drama. I blurred the foreground (the fish and sea weed to give it less attention). I added additional darkness then added light to the art to balance everything out. Also note; blue tends to make things dark. Lastly, I added bubbles and the other white lines which I've forgotten the official name near the face to bring attention to it. Also, I darkened the tail a bit to remove attention from it. I decided note to change your actual drawing because I don't like to and also it would get complicated for me bcus I'll have to rework it. Hope it helps.

@beke3 months ago

Oh yes!! The bubble effect is pretty good! Yes, maybe a bit more contrast.Thank you very much for your advice.

@hannah4 months ago

Hi! Having a lot of questions is a good sign, but yes let's take it step by step! c: I think if you struggle with creating dynamic shapes , movement & bodies in perspective, start small. The drawover I did is not extremely dynamic yet, but there is a variation in direction. Get comfortable drawing these simplified forms and try to start moving them around! Hope it helps c:

@beke4 months ago

Hi Hanna. Thank you so much for your correction. Yesss, the famous line of direction!!! It’s true! It has helped me a lot, especially to realize that I need to do more construction and rotation exercises if I want to gain more freedom and expression.

@hannah3 months ago

Yeah, no matter what their skill level is, all artists have to come back to practising those as there is always more to learn! You're welcome! :D