The colors you picked were super pretty and you have a good understanding of drawing details, though the flatness that you suspect in this piece is because you didn’t establish a light source, and also just general structure/face anatomy. In general, what would benefit you the best to study is - form (do sphere and cube painting studies, simple 3d shapes in different lighting) - face anatomy (study an Asaro head), - values (greyscale studies). - controlling edges ( soft, firm, and sharp edges) Those combined will stop the issue of flatness that you have concerns about, and make the form in your paintings show a lot more.
Pintar (2)
aphelios and alune
Notas do artista:
i feel like i cant get textures and shading right, even when using darker shadows. it feels flat and unnatural, making it all look fake and weird. plus they look stiff and a little off on their proportions
Comenta 2
I think your darker shadows are not the main issue but the lack of lighter values, adding highlights and light on the them both makes them more readable. For texture, you can simplify the concept to one aspect of it, by thinking of everything in a reflective to matte range. The more reflective something is, the sharper the highlights and shadows are; the more matte something is, the softer the transition from light to shadow is. Also study material rendering. If it helps you can look more into league of legends splasharts as references and observe how they render different materials like hair, cloth, leather, metal, etc.
i've reread this comment countless times and i think its spot on what i had to hear. ive polished the work with more shine similarily to you and it looks better from the light alone. thank you for being so precise and perceptive! ill study all of the things you mentioned, thank you for the wise advice!