CGMythology's Sketchbook

[Fedodika]

Be strategic with saturation, and bright colors



So old helmets can have little hits of greys in them to make the gold look golder



Notice how the saturation is dialed down near most of the image which is in shadow. The middle has a big hit of saturation to contrast all the dull greys despite the image feeling very golden

Right now your image is 
Strong helmet
Strong face
Strong strong red feather
Strong white toga

As far as contrast and saturation, When you let things go down other things shine



Note how the lights and darks are placed to make a path for the viewer. Also his head is mostly ghosted like a charcoal piece, and his hand loses detail; Hes highlighting important areas to look at and busting up stuff that the image isnt about.



Same with this, lots of stuff in shadow as its unimportant. The sword, flag, hand, and vest have light which all lead you to the focal point of the face. The contrast in those values find whats important in an image. Which in your image is the most important thing? the face perhaps? make everything service the focal point of the face, pull back saturation, and dont shade with black like the background gradient. Red is a powerful color, and you make it more powerful when its a big red

Look at sargent and how he handles reds masterfully, all looks much richer and interesting because the values its surrounded by