I think your strong suit is the separation of light and shadow, mainly for the face. I like the clear lines you have of where the shadows start, but that is kinda lost when you get to the hair and clothes. I think the next best thing you can do is to have a clear separation of what is light and what is shadow for clothes and hair. 2 values only. To take the painting to the next level, it's just more rendering. Use reference so you know how to render. Clean up your shapes. You want easily readable shadow shapes and light shapes. Have the forms solid and 3D. The simpler the better honestly. I tried not to critique anything other than what you asked about the light and shadow, but i also fixed some of the eye perspective and face.
Oh the other thing i noticed was that you were using a lot of pure black and pure white. try to keep those limited especially for stuff around the face as it kills the form and kinda flattens things out.
yeah I like what you did with hair and clothes. I did use a reference for this artwork and wanted to shade according to it but I did a poor job especially in hair and clothes. Thanks for additional refs too! I'll work on it and hopefully next drawing is better!
yeah, the light and shadow split is pretty clear already. maybe keep the face and hair as two big value shapes first, then soften only the edge where the shadow turns into the cheek so the form stays clean without losing that graphic look
maybe keep the clothes in two big value shapes first, then add just one softer edge where the light turns on each fold so they get more form without losing that clear light and shadow split
idk if more rendering is the main thing yet, maybe use a reference for the hair and clothes and keep each in two clear values, then soften one edge where the form turns.
the face light split already works pretty well, maybe try one clearer mid shadow on the hair masses first before cutting everything down to two values
yeah, limiting pure black and white makes sense, maybe keep one stronger dark around the hair roots and eyes, then use a softer mid value for the clothes so the forms stay clear without flattening.
idk if two values on the clothes is the first move, maybe keep your clear face split and just pick one bigger shadow shape on the hair so the lighting stays simple without flattening the folds you already like
idk if more rendering is the first move, maybe keep the hair in one big shadow shape too, then add a small mid value on the cloth folds so the light split stays clear without losing the volume.
idk if two values on the hair is needed yet, maybe push the clothes into clearer light and shadow first and leave a soft mid in the hair so it still feels fluffy