Post-CHOW critique

[BjorkJT]

Hey guys!
I joined the last CHOW challenge and had such a fun time doing it. Now I'm curious to hear what you guys think I could've done better, so that I can see what things I need to work on in general :)

[cesartalves]

I like the character design and overall drawing. What i'd improve is to give a little more decision to your painting, because most things (except maybe the hat feather and instrument) are not defined enough to the point where you can actually see the form. Maybe work a little bit with the materials - my weak spot - to give a little more reality to the surfaces.
Also, pay attention to the lighning. It's kinda hard to understand atm. In the arm in the left, there's a strong yellow light from the top, coming perhaps in an angle from the left a little bit. But if that light was actually true then the cast shadow in the floor would be much stronger, and the feather would also cast a stronger shadow in the face (which i can see you indicated, but perhaps not strongly enough). I've come to realize recently that nothing kills a piece faster than lighning inconsistency, so next time maybe try to pay a little bit more attention to that :)

[BjorkJT]

Thank you for the feedback cesartalves! I'll work on it and post an update once I've tried fixing it.
You totally pinpointed my weak spots. I tend to really struggle with describing form. I think for me it comes down to just slowing down and thinking more, also just gathering some more reference so I can be more sure of what I'm doing.
Lighting consistency is also where I usually fail. I 'll keep this in mind for my next piece and make sure it doesnt happen again.
Maybe setting up a quick scene in 3d could be a way to avoid the problem and understand form and lighting better.

sorry for my rambling, just thinking out loud haha

Thank you again :D

[cesartalves]

No problem haha, ramble on. Setting up a 3d scene if you can is a great idea. Personally, i'm trying to work on my skills to the point that i can actually predict how light will model the form, but i should proobably learn a little bit of 3d :p

[BjorkJT]

Oh yeah, I'm definitely in the same lane as you. That's also why I think it's important to remember to just slow down and think about what you're doing, something I always tend to neglect haha :P
I thinks it's helpful to explore different approaches to see how it can influence your workflow. Like, one part of me just wants to focus on becoming a solid draftsman and painter who "one day" can do most things from imagination, but I also want to find ways to get good results fast.

3D is definitely pretty useful, and also pretty fun once you get into it. It can be very confusing at first though haha, at least that's how I remember my first few weeks.