Hey there! It’s a bit difficult to give precise feedback since I don’t know what the original reference looks like, so I’ll have to guess the lighting a bit and base it loosely on the photo that’s somewhat similar to your illustration. The main issue is that the forms aren’t clearly defined, which makes the image feel a bit messy. Ideally, you should simplify your forms at the beginning using graphic shapes. Think about which planes are directly exposed to the light so they have a higher value. Then consider which areas are not directly exposed to the light (like the side of the ear), and finally, which areas are in shadow. Doing this will help you define your forms much more clearly, and it also helps you group your values better. In my example, I grouped everything that’s in shadow and kept colors with similar values to maintain those areas as a single group. This is also because those areas are not the focal point, so they don’t need a lot of detail. By working this way, it becomes much easier to start painting transitions between light and shadow, add ambient occlusion, bounced light, etc., or simply paint within the halftones. Simplifying at the beginning and thinking in graphic shapes will help you a lot during the painting process and will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed while painting, hehe. Hope this helps!
