@
AttackTheMap
no worries! I'll be nice, haha.
I'd say the biggest weakness with the piece is probably just a lack of visual interest or context? I'll try and break down what i mean. the poses don't really have a strong line of action to them, and because they're half-bodies, I'm not quite sure what the characters are actually doing. the taller one is leaning forward, which could imply motion - maybe they're walking? - but equally, they could just be standing around having a conversation. I don't know what the shorter character is laughing about, there's nothing in-frame to contextualise that reaction. for that matter, I'm not really sure where the characters are, either. the gradient background vaguely suggests 'sky', but the lighting is quite harsh - with the shadows on the faces going nearly all the way to black like that, it almost makes me think of stage lighting.
there's nothing wrong with close-up shots, or half-bodies, or not having a background! heck, almost all of my own art falls into one of those categories at least (because the alternative is super time-consuming, lol). but when you lack those elements, you really have to think about what you
are doing with the remainder of the piece, and how you can best use those elements to convey a scene, an emotion, an idea. a waist-up of two characters talking is fine - but you can always do more with it!
(honestly, it's not a bad problem to have. i think your skills are solid - there's no one glaring area you need to improve on. instead, I'd just like to see you challenge yourself a bit more - flex those creative muscles, and experiment with your art!)
@
Pearlimose
so, your art is super
duper cute! i love how you draw fluff a lot. but since you said you feel like you're stagnating I'll start with the brutal piece of advice first to rip the band-aid off: draw something else!
in my (highly personal and subjective) opinion, any time I've felt like my art is stagnating it's been because I'm too reliant on symbols in my art - and specifically, on drawing those same symbols over and over. it's good to freshen things up once in a while! this can be going back to basics (anatomy studies, still lifes, etc), or just trying something new with your art. if you have a deviantart, or a twitter, or heck, even a Pinterest - find and follow a bunch of artists whose styles you admire for different reasons, and try to emulate what you like about their art. it's always good to have a wide range of artistic influences - it'll make your own art richer and more varied as a result.
if you'll humor me with an extended baking metaphor - art is a bit like baking a cake, in that it's surprisingly interdisciplinary! there's a lot of technical aspects, stuff like anatomy, form, lighting; then there's things like choice of recipe and flavours, like choosing a setting and a colour palette. I'd say stylisation is... kind of like the frosting. it's often the bit that 'wows' you, has a very intense flavour, and is generally the most noticeable part about the cake.
but there's a lot more that goes into baking than just the frosting, and it's not actually something you should put that much focus on. it's clear you've spent a long time honing your style, it really shows! I couldn't draw the way you do. but i think you've neglected your basics a little to focus on style more. if you want to learn to draw humans, start with the basic recipe - anatomy, life drawings and photo studies. don't put the cart before the horse and try and focus on 'finding a style' before anything else - learn to bake the cake first. icing it will come naturally once you're done!
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