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This is a commission for a friend of mine for his and my RP character. I have major shading issues, so any tips on that would help. I don't know how I would shade his clothes either. His chin looks weird to me too. BLEH ... I may restart this. Any advice on how I can improve this would help me alot. Thanks!

What a cute face!

Here's what I think:

I second what Toilore said with the eyes. They look lifeless and clumsy. I seems you were going for a serious/blank-eyed stare look..but that does not always mean " Lets just go with shading!". Pupils add a LOT of feeling to a picture and are not only necessary in anatomy ( save the oddball styles like cubism and such), but it just makes the picture look more professional.


There are two things that stick out like sores thumbs here. 1) the chin and 2) the hair. Lets start with the chin.

The chin is way too pointed and adds no shape to his face other than the angle. Chins do not come to a sharp, corner-like point. Also, you'd definitely want to check bak to his jaw-line, as it is almost a straight line.

Next, the hair. The hair has the sketched strands of actual hair but then..is encased by a jagged line o.o. It reminds me of a Christmas tree. If you are going to add strands of hair, do NOT outline the ends in a conflicting separate line. It makes it seem as if you do not know how to do hair, and are hoping that the outline will verify that it IS, in fact, hair, and attention should be drawn to it. Drop the outline ><..and just go with the strands! It would have made this picture look a great deal more rich.


Another thing I would like to mention is the eyebrows. They are lopsided and look as if you scribbled them on. Take care with the little details!



Now, with the clothes, they are completely contour. There are no wrinkles, and it looks as if he is wearing a uniform of pressed paper. Look at the clothes..where do his arms bend? Remember, when something bends like ( an arm or leg ) in cloth, it ALWAYS creates wrinkles. Major places like the arm pits and the middle of the arm are always concentration points for such wrinkles. Take care to observe the people around you and see how their clothes fall around their bodies. How do the wrinkles run when they move? When they are still? What part of the shirt pulls when they turn?


It will help you a great deal.



Over all, it's cute, but clumsy. You'd do good to know that attention should not be drawn to the outline, but to the feel of the character. Let the SHADING do the work ^^.


Thanks for sharing! Post some more up soon, yeah?

Thank you all! I'll be more aware of the details next time. Your input helps me out alot! mrgreen heart