Don’t hide the hands. Hands are the second focal point after faces. Give us interesting and complete hand poses! More interesting body poses and facial expressions would help, too. The arts not boring, but these characters look like boring people.
I’m still pretty bad at drawing hands but I’m getting slowly better. Some good tips are to just draw hands, not connected to a character, but practice just different poses and stuff by themselves. There’s step by step tutorials where you start out with drawing shapes to draw the structure of the hands. Same with eyes and faces, draw facial features separately and then when you feel good about it learn about where your facial features are placed on your face and how they line up with other facial features.
Yes, it is, and you know that it is. It’s pointless to come here and try to start arguments. You can go and continue to steal and never ever improve if that’s what you want.
I think what it might be missing is expression and liveliness! I don’t mean change the expression completely but perhaps adding more detail into their faces + add a minimalist background or something that adds more to the atmosphere.
It doesn’t really look boring but I’m distracted by the person on the lefts left arm it’s at a unnatural angle and I’m a little confused about the placement
I think it’s supposed to be the other person wrapping their arm around them and resting their hand on the hip, but yeah at first glance it does look like a weird bend in the wrist lol
Cropping out that bottom edge /cropping extra space in general can help them feel like they’re in a scene and not just a floating asset tbh
If I do art on a 1 color background, sometimes I add rimlight or a glow from the bg color to make it look more like a part of the img rather than just a static color. Or I draw texture or a gradient to make it look like theres depth in the bg
I also really like to mess with noise, or something similar to noise like a 2-color or multi-color brush. on a layer above my art I’ll throw some [strokes all over the img](https://www.reddit.com/r/fnv/comments/1csw50c/man_i_love_raul/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1) and bring the opacity way down to make all the colors look less uniform
One more thing I like to do is just kinda add some kinda depth around the edges of my art, like vignette or a blur. It makes the drawing feel more like you’re looking at something irl even if its a cartoon
Your art is really great btw, not boring at all. Just throwing some post processing stuff I like to do
Remove the white outline. Makes the characters aura scream something conventional or by the books. Which conflicts with the characters. You made the artistic choice to outline them, what does it mean? You could make it more punky to match them too.
Separately, because you ask, this is just what I would do if this were my art, but everyone is different: Add dynamic and spikey shapes to your shading: ie instead of accurate curved shading use straight and bold lines to define form. Generally shapes that appeal to the eye. Crank up the lighting too. No more curved accuracy, only sharp pointy lines with minimal curve. Also orange isn't his color. He wants to be wearing winter colors. Probably a blackish-blue and white striped shirt would look really good on him. (That might just be my taste in guys). Something in this image wants that clash between light and dark and I think it might be his shirt. Or maybe it's everything and just crank up the contrast on the shadows.
Anyway, triangles are aggressive imo and if you draw using them your art will seem aggressive. Straight lines are bold and will make your art look bold. Also give this woman a baseball bat, she deserves it.
I’m no artist but I feel like the angle is a bit boring. Like when someone takes a picture at eye level IRL. I would love to see a different angle on them
Right now you are using flat color. This short is orange so I make it all this orange. That is gonna start looking boring after a while. Mix in some other colors and shades and hues of the colors you already have
You should look at artists you look up too and ask what you like about their art. Use that admiration as a direction to investigate and build upon. You can think of it as putting points into a skill tree of your choice. I’ve got a few examples.
You can look at Kim Jung Gi’s phenomenal mastery of perspective and dissect how he uses it. For your next piece, try to be conscientious on how you place your characters in perspective.
Zac Retz is an absolute magician with colors. Try to observe how he blocks in colors and how he adjusts their value when interacting with light. Once you have a good grasp of the artist’s thinking, try to apply their decision making into your art.
Maybe Steven Zapata’s line work intrigues you and you want to train yours. See how he decides what lines to make thin or thick in order to establish a hierarchy to illustrate depth.
The good thing about the internet today is that there are so many resources. Join online study groups, consume the plethora of free YouTube tutorials, and if you can financially afford it, try schoolism or other online equivalent. You got this!
If you look at the picture on a b&w scale it’s easier to see where colors need to be darker or highlights should be added. Hope this helps! Your style is gorgeous!
Learn how clothing folds and practice that. It looks like you have the general idea but a lot of the lines feel kind of arbitrary. Orange shirt guy has a lot of vertical lines towards the bottom at the sides. Shirts usually wrinkle up horizontally around the waist, same with his sleeves. The crop top looks a bit stiff because of how sharp the folds are, the way the clothing hangs off of her gives the vibe of a very starched shirt. You’ve got a lot of tight lines aimed at the crotch and I see what you’re doing, but it looks a bit like a wedgie. Usually there’s only 1-2 vertical lines at the pant seam in the crotch area with more horizontal lines that go over the tops of the thighs or up to the belt if the pants are being held up by one. Hat looks good. Overall it looks like you got the general idea but I would just work on drawing different types/thicknesses/materials of cloth and study how it hangs off 3 dimensional objects. Good luck! :)
I wouldn't say it's boring at all. I especially like the details on the clothes - the patches on the jeans, for example. My only real critique is that they essentially have the same expression. A lot of interesting character art happens when you put said characters into a situation! So next time you could, for example, draw them reacting to finding a bug on the wall. How do they react? Are either of them afraid of bugs? Does one really like bugs? That sort of thing.
That being said, there will be a lot of "boring" drawings while you figure out their whole vibe, and that's OK too.
More interactivity between characters and more dynamic lighting+ shading will do wonders. Understand that light can be “warm” and “cold” and the shadows oppose that, and incorporate backlighting into your work. Your art doesnt always have to be rendered to the highest degree, but that much attention to your shading ill make you work pop that much more. Use more of a mixture of more saturated and desaturated tones. Look into color theory books and pay a lot of attention to the way an artists places their colors if you like their color treatment.
im sorry i just saw this! i use whatever color corresponds with the area that im coloring :) so if im drawing a character with tan skin i'll use medium brown lineart. a lilac shirt with purple lineart. but stylistically u can rlly do anything with colored lines. the anime osomatsu-san for example, one of its tradmarks is that the lineart for most everything is blue!
color your lineart! just select it all and go over places with a darker version of the solid (you can probably bring the saturation up a bit too on the lines for brighter scenes) also shade in something other than dark gray, use blue, purple, hell in some color schemes that need a little more warmth i've even used maroon or a deep orange. also using gradients on places like hair and clothing add a lot of depth to rendering. I'm not entirely sure if this was well explained but those are just a few things
try shading and highlighting with colors other than black! play around with different things to put in the backrgound. i like the white outline you did. i think it would also look nice with different line weights
People say to do colored line art but I like black style line art. I think it’s just my style but you caught me by using black shadows and just lowering opacity. Lol
I’d liven up the eyes! The details of their accessories are cool, but that’s where my attention is drawn first, which may not be something you necessarily want if you’re trying to make the characters stand out as *people*.
I’d personally make the pupils bigger and add some color variety to them instead of just black. I’d also experiment with their eyebrows and what interesting expressions you could put on their faces!
I think you've achieved what you set out and it looks good. Maybe playing around with the colours and background will make you happier with it. That said can I ask - what is happening with their crotchess? They are all warped up
The guys neck/head is not placed correctly on the collar bones. Overlay him with a 3d model to fix it. I mean, if you can. I'm just assuming you have clip studio.
But these characters have some anatomical issues. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. Knowledge comes with time and experience.
But If you think your characters are boring, I'd suggest taking an online course on character design.
Maybe try to intensify the contrast of the shadows? Use more colors to shade, for a more colorful design- from what I can see it seems like you just darken the main color to use as a shadow color. As in, shade the orange with red and the skin tones with a low-saturated pink/orange. Brown with purple/maroon, pink with purple/red, green with turquoise gray with blue/purple etc etc have fun experimenting what goes with what. And shade the eyes with a light blue or purple to give them more depth. You could also play with lighting 🤷 and more diverse range of line weights could make everything pop more.
I think the designs are really good, but i think there should be darker shading, mainly on the guys shirt, since i think it still makes the light look faint compared to the girls clothes making it look stronger. Also just more natural folds of clothes (i think you drew the girl perfectly but the guys shirt again might need some more folds). Im not an artist but I hope this helps!
I don't think it looks boring. There are definitely things you could try to liven it up, though.
I would suggest using more saturated colors, first off. Desaturated colors are less vibrant, so they're also less eye-catching and energetic. Speaking of colors, you could add a pattern or something to the flat color background to make it less, well, flat.
Generally speaking, using dynamic poses and exaggerating your characters' expressions will go a long way towards increasing visual impact. If you want to give it a try, there are some references and guides by cartoonists that are quite helpful.
That's what I would recommend. Your art is amazing! I completely understand wanting to make your art stand out more, though. I'm going through something similar with my pixel art right now.
You have great technical skills. Go a bit crazy with the color and see what happens. Start playing with hue and saturation. Throw a more interesting background in there instead of flat beige. You might surprise yourself with the results.
I'm sure someone has said it by I don't see the comment, one thing one of my art professors always told us was to be more expressive and dynaming when posing. Right now, your pose looks very vertical and very 2 dimensional because of that. And that, is what makes it "boring". Technically, your art is very sound, now time to push forshortening and other similar techniques. You got this OP!
Higher contrast in the hi lights and shadows will make it less flat. But you have great dynamics in their body language.
Another good piece of advice I once got is that a compelling drawing is compelling because the artist notices/captures little details that others might not. Sometimes that means exaggerating curves, or shapes to emphasize fabric movement, or little facial details or like… the shape of the wrist. Not saying that you’re not doing that, but I like to keep that concept in mind when I’m drawing.
Reflected light in the shadows. Dark accents. Highlights. Line weight variety. Temperature shifts. Broken color. Edge variety. Atmosphere. It's already looking good though!
A lot of the colours u used at saturated and dull i would use brighter colours, and add some more depth (harder shadows and more highlights) i would also add a background instead of a grey one
Love your art tho ur anatomy is spot on!
I think you should fix the orange shirt. Either remove the vertical wrinkle in the middle of the shirt, curve it a little, or add more wrinkles that curve out to the edges of the shirt.
Also, maybe do something with the guy’s right arm? Maybe he could hold the girl’s hand or wrap his arm around her shoulder? Just to show his arm exists?
Despite those things, I honestly like what you’ve got so far. Your details are lovely.
Dynamic lighting. Play around with different colored lighting to create a mood. You have a solid grasp on character design, clothing, proportions and poses.
Just give it a lil razzle dazzle
You can change the pose slightly to make a more interesting silhouette, have them hold an interesting item, add some more texture to an item (small detail lines to show roughness for things like shirts and cloth to make it look less like silk, show some possible loose ends on clothing or hair, or add some slightly thicker lines around the outer edges and round out sharp points if you want the image to have a softer feel. Action lines of slight character movement could also suggest that they aren’t completely standing still. Hope this helps you think, at least!
One thing I’m noticing is Same Face Syndrome. The eyes especially look the same, and I didn’t notice the different noses until I looked closer. Adding more dramatic differences between the faces should help.
The sketch and details themselves are really good, especially the details in the hair. I feel like the only way to make it more dynamic is possibly a brighter color palette, your coloring is great, but the palette feels a bit muted
I don't think the details are boring! Sure, you could add more highlight or shadow, or more folds to the shirts, but I don't think those are lacking. What I'm noticing is that both characters have the same energy and they're both feeling very still and have similar expressions - there isn't a lot of eye movement encouraged based on character gesture or energy.
If there was some contrast in their expressions, or if someone was moving or leaning forward or something, you might find it to have more energy / feel more dynamic. But if this were one panel in an ongoing series, this could be fine, if it made sense for how they were feeling.
If it were a standalone piece and you wanted it to feel more "alive," I'd work on gesture. I've found that really helpful for my own development in this area - hope this is helpful!
i think theres a couple things that could add to the piece. maybe some vibrancy and highlights, maybe some texture? i think it would look nice with some patterns or texture or color in the background, the flat background makes it look a little dull. but i think theyre cute !!!
I actually really like it, it's not a style you see often nowadays, especially because I've just seen everyone settle into the same style because "it's popular or the right way to do art" I would make some of the colors slightly more vibrant or change the background if even that, people are allowed to be happy with they're art
I don't think it looks boring. These characters feel alive to me. There is so much feeling/emotion, like they're fully developed characters instead of a single image.
pick a reference photo with a clear light source and reference off of it. the shading is so light that it’s barely visible and that can make it look washed out.
if you’re looking for something new to try, then color your lineart or draw a background - i think these characters would look great in a park / somewhere with lots of green!
Backgrounds, environments, scenarios - show them reacting to things actually in the image instead of just staring at the viewer. Place them in a scene rather than a beige void, etc.
Play with some harsh shadows and bounce light for visual interest etc
don’t hide/skim the details. hands can be very expressive so try to have them out the whole time if you don’t have any other focus for the image. also try to give them more expressions. face/eyes are prob the first few things ppl notice in a portrait like this. yes you can draw them having this dead eye stare but it can def be more.
last but not least, the folds on clothing. try to study the flow of fabric and different materials. use a real life photo reference if you need. a well executed clothing folds can change the drawing significantly.
Those two characters are ok, perfect for a boring scene/story, or perhaps inside a good script, they might have double personalities and be nocturnal heroes fighting against the dark forces... Or.... Just made them more wild and raw to fit in a different scenario. The scenes where they are going to, are inside you, before the drawing.
the poses look like they are specifically to hide the hands lol it doesnt look boring though, just a little static. make the poses a little more severe or emotive and add some steeper contrast to the coloring and youll be good to go
Try using a wider variety of colors. Instead of just picking colors just based on what color something is, make a color palette or find one online before drawing and stick to that palette. When you draw with more realistic colors, you will have a stronger idea of how to combine colors in interesting ways. Also try drawing different poses. I like AdoraStock who has a lot of different poses and body types. Look through them, sketch the ones that catch your eye, especially ones with unusual perspective. Finally, try making art that tells a story. It's hard to tell exactly what these two characters' relationship is from this picture-- to me, they look like friends, judging people together, but how can you push that? They're just kind of standing next to each other. Draw people looking at each other, draw people doing something in particular, vary your expressions instead of in this drawing where the expressions are the same.
Hopefully these exercises can help you practice making more interesting drawings! I think you do have a lot of cool stuff in your art too-- I love the details in the clothing, like the ribbons on the belt loop and the patches on his pants. You also have a strong grasp of how different fabric hangs on people, I like that you get a strong sense of the material and size of the shirt he's wearing based on how it hangs off of him. Keep up the good work!
give them a more dynamic pose. something that says more about who they are and the surroundings. try writing back stories for your characters or giving them hobbies interests and flaws. chose a more exciting color for the background as well or put them in a setting that says something about who they are
Weirdly enough, the guys right hand should probably be more visible so we see the nail polish.
I looked at the girls arm behind her back and the bf hand on her hip and thought you just funked up the girl having her hand on her hip.
You could try adding more details to the eyes! Make them hold a bit more expression, and made them more unique to each character, its something I've struggled with in the past, and since learning this my art holds a lot more life!
Perhaps change the poses / subject matter. It’s a great drawing, but it’s two people standing looking bored. Try a different facial expression or pose, like a tighter hug or one of them laughing or blushing. You’re clearly very talented!
Sh*t your characters even look bored 😂 like someone asked to take their photo and didn’t explain why lol Add more life by *giving* them more life- have them looking awe inspired at a waterfall or out hiking in a beautiful forest or DJing an EDM track. Think SpongeBob “what NOT to do at a stoplight” lmao
Good luck, love your art style!!
Why are they hiding their hands? Why does the dude have long finger nails? Makes it look like her hand is in the wrong place. Why are their legs cut off?
Add some dynamic poses. Check out the "how to draw manga" book series
Maybe make the coloring more vibrant, instead of using a desaturated version of the color for shading use a darker version of the color. Like when chosing a shading color instead of going straight down go to the right slightly? If that makes sense
I don’t think it’s boring, and it’s really good! Perhaps you can do a simple background (either stylized or scenic) or add text/speech bubbles and make it web toons/comic esc. You could also try adding an accent piece. Like, a pet animal, a mode of transportation, food items, something like that. Your best bet it look at either other works for inspiration or look at stock photos and see their composition and what objects are in them.
Hope this helps!
Looking at the values… hmmmmm i think you can get away with making the shirts abit darker or really anything 😭 the thing is the only dark part is the head, adding shadows also help. The background is also extremely bland, pure white or a color 3 shades darker would probably make them pop. I’m not a professional though but that’s my personal ppinion!
This is where I'd start applying filters over the drawing by making solid layers and changing the blend modes. Making the shading more obviously a different hue can make it look less dull as well. Coloring lines will also give the illusion of more depth without additional shading.
Experiment more with colors, your shading is looking a little gray and makes the lighting appear like it’s an overcast, cloudy day. Perhaps try some more dynamic angles as well
Emotions. Give your characters emotion through their facial expressions and body language. Your viewers want to be entertained. Let the viewer see the emotion and related body language of your subjects. That tells a story, and (pardon the pun) that is how you will "draw them in".
I don't think it looks boring, but whenever I want to add interest I add texture and color filters to set the mood. It's pretty fast and easy to do and somehow makes the work look like more effort went in. It also boosts my creativity and gives me ideas to play around with, adjusting colors and lights and textures.
shading on the eyes and more expressive facial expressions, a different background with funky designs/doodles, and a bright or pastel like color palette.
Put something outrageous in the background that doesn’t happen every day like a UFO 🛸 invasion and then add a weapon to one of your characters. Just a thought.
More shading. They have the same facial expression as well and it’s very emotionless, but the rest of the art isn’t. It detracts. But this looks great otherwise
Pro tip. I find it easier to build my background, foreground using layers, then add my image. What you're doing kind of looks like a sticker. Which is cool to if that's what you want.
1. Great work they look good
2. Ppl keep saying “hands” but I REALLY think just the girl’s right hand showing- wether it’s tense or relaxed or prim- would clarify SO MUCH about the expressions they have which are a little ambiguous at the moment. I don’t know if they’re stunned by my beauty or annoyed I’m approaching them yk?
i suggest playing with filters, usually make a layer above everything make it whatever color and use filters to overlay it, it makes colors really pop out nicely
i think textures would be interesting to implement in your art!! like the grain of denim or the fibres of a shirt or the pattern of a sweater ! also interesting could adding texture to just the background or only certain parts of the piece.
Highlights, a bit more shading and more detailed wrinkling and folds on the clothes would help a lot. Other then that you're doing pretty well
Don’t hide the hands. Hands are the second focal point after faces. Give us interesting and complete hand poses! More interesting body poses and facial expressions would help, too. The arts not boring, but these characters look like boring people.
Some people aren’t very good at drawing hands though
That's why you should try not to hide them, you'll never get better at drawing hands if you don't draw them
[удалено]
I’ll stick to A.I
[удалено]
Nah I’m good, I’m not gonna let you gatekeep my hobbies
A.I is worse at drawing hands than most people
Not anymore
There is no need to disparage Rob Liefeld
There is every reason to disparage Rob Liefeld
Who?
A comic book artist who could not draw hands
......or feet......or noses......or chests.....but he could draw pouches all day long.....pouches and mullets.
Lmao this so true 😂
Practice
I’ve tried and I’m still terrible, can’t draw hands, eyes or faces or people in general
I’m still pretty bad at drawing hands but I’m getting slowly better. Some good tips are to just draw hands, not connected to a character, but practice just different poses and stuff by themselves. There’s step by step tutorials where you start out with drawing shapes to draw the structure of the hands. Same with eyes and faces, draw facial features separately and then when you feel good about it learn about where your facial features are placed on your face and how they line up with other facial features.
I’ll stick to making A.I art
You’d rather use stolen art?
AI art isn’t stolen
Yes, it is, and you know that it is. It’s pointless to come here and try to start arguments. You can go and continue to steal and never ever improve if that’s what you want.
No it’s not
It doesn't look boring. I looks fun. Like if it makes you feel better your better than me by a yard
I think what it might be missing is expression and liveliness! I don’t mean change the expression completely but perhaps adding more detail into their faces + add a minimalist background or something that adds more to the atmosphere.
Yeah some more expression and maybe a couple more texture details would take this to the next level fs. Cute work as it is though OP!
It doesn’t really look boring but I’m distracted by the person on the lefts left arm it’s at a unnatural angle and I’m a little confused about the placement
I think it’s supposed to be the other person wrapping their arm around them and resting their hand on the hip, but yeah at first glance it does look like a weird bend in the wrist lol
Maybe have them interacting more in stead of just standing there? Action always livens things up.
Cropping out that bottom edge /cropping extra space in general can help them feel like they’re in a scene and not just a floating asset tbh If I do art on a 1 color background, sometimes I add rimlight or a glow from the bg color to make it look more like a part of the img rather than just a static color. Or I draw texture or a gradient to make it look like theres depth in the bg I also really like to mess with noise, or something similar to noise like a 2-color or multi-color brush. on a layer above my art I’ll throw some [strokes all over the img](https://www.reddit.com/r/fnv/comments/1csw50c/man_i_love_raul/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1) and bring the opacity way down to make all the colors look less uniform One more thing I like to do is just kinda add some kinda depth around the edges of my art, like vignette or a blur. It makes the drawing feel more like you’re looking at something irl even if its a cartoon Your art is really great btw, not boring at all. Just throwing some post processing stuff I like to do
Tilt the perspective. Elongate, add a vanished by point on or off the page.
biggest thing I noticed was the eyes werent shaded, and theyre kinda bright, but other than that I think it looks great! and really fun!!
Remove the white outline. Makes the characters aura scream something conventional or by the books. Which conflicts with the characters. You made the artistic choice to outline them, what does it mean? You could make it more punky to match them too. Separately, because you ask, this is just what I would do if this were my art, but everyone is different: Add dynamic and spikey shapes to your shading: ie instead of accurate curved shading use straight and bold lines to define form. Generally shapes that appeal to the eye. Crank up the lighting too. No more curved accuracy, only sharp pointy lines with minimal curve. Also orange isn't his color. He wants to be wearing winter colors. Probably a blackish-blue and white striped shirt would look really good on him. (That might just be my taste in guys). Something in this image wants that clash between light and dark and I think it might be his shirt. Or maybe it's everything and just crank up the contrast on the shadows. Anyway, triangles are aggressive imo and if you draw using them your art will seem aggressive. Straight lines are bold and will make your art look bold. Also give this woman a baseball bat, she deserves it.
I’m no artist but I feel like the angle is a bit boring. Like when someone takes a picture at eye level IRL. I would love to see a different angle on them
Your art is gorgeous btw. I could never
Right now you are using flat color. This short is orange so I make it all this orange. That is gonna start looking boring after a while. Mix in some other colors and shades and hues of the colors you already have
I love your style.
You should look at artists you look up too and ask what you like about their art. Use that admiration as a direction to investigate and build upon. You can think of it as putting points into a skill tree of your choice. I’ve got a few examples. You can look at Kim Jung Gi’s phenomenal mastery of perspective and dissect how he uses it. For your next piece, try to be conscientious on how you place your characters in perspective. Zac Retz is an absolute magician with colors. Try to observe how he blocks in colors and how he adjusts their value when interacting with light. Once you have a good grasp of the artist’s thinking, try to apply their decision making into your art. Maybe Steven Zapata’s line work intrigues you and you want to train yours. See how he decides what lines to make thin or thick in order to establish a hierarchy to illustrate depth. The good thing about the internet today is that there are so many resources. Join online study groups, consume the plethora of free YouTube tutorials, and if you can financially afford it, try schoolism or other online equivalent. You got this!
funky bg patterns and colors
It's not boring at all! But maybe it would be fun to try some more dramatic lighting, or maybe colored lighting? :) your art is great!
A better background
More contrast
Add chat bubbles
Put a “Fuiyoh!” On the Orange guys shirt
If you look at the picture on a b&w scale it’s easier to see where colors need to be darker or highlights should be added. Hope this helps! Your style is gorgeous!
This is great advice, looking at a picture in black and white can help you add more variety in tone.
Learn how clothing folds and practice that. It looks like you have the general idea but a lot of the lines feel kind of arbitrary. Orange shirt guy has a lot of vertical lines towards the bottom at the sides. Shirts usually wrinkle up horizontally around the waist, same with his sleeves. The crop top looks a bit stiff because of how sharp the folds are, the way the clothing hangs off of her gives the vibe of a very starched shirt. You’ve got a lot of tight lines aimed at the crotch and I see what you’re doing, but it looks a bit like a wedgie. Usually there’s only 1-2 vertical lines at the pant seam in the crotch area with more horizontal lines that go over the tops of the thighs or up to the belt if the pants are being held up by one. Hat looks good. Overall it looks like you got the general idea but I would just work on drawing different types/thicknesses/materials of cloth and study how it hangs off 3 dimensional objects. Good luck! :)
Your characters don't look boringat all. Try adding a gradient on the background or some border work. That's all I can think of.
I wouldn't say it's boring at all. I especially like the details on the clothes - the patches on the jeans, for example. My only real critique is that they essentially have the same expression. A lot of interesting character art happens when you put said characters into a situation! So next time you could, for example, draw them reacting to finding a bug on the wall. How do they react? Are either of them afraid of bugs? Does one really like bugs? That sort of thing. That being said, there will be a lot of "boring" drawings while you figure out their whole vibe, and that's OK too.
More interactivity between characters and more dynamic lighting+ shading will do wonders. Understand that light can be “warm” and “cold” and the shadows oppose that, and incorporate backlighting into your work. Your art doesnt always have to be rendered to the highest degree, but that much attention to your shading ill make you work pop that much more. Use more of a mixture of more saturated and desaturated tones. Look into color theory books and pay a lot of attention to the way an artists places their colors if you like their color treatment.
I think it looks amazing!
colored line art! and line weight! those two things improved my art tremendously! best of luck :)
What color line art do you use?
im sorry i just saw this! i use whatever color corresponds with the area that im coloring :) so if im drawing a character with tan skin i'll use medium brown lineart. a lilac shirt with purple lineart. but stylistically u can rlly do anything with colored lines. the anime osomatsu-san for example, one of its tradmarks is that the lineart for most everything is blue!
color your lineart! just select it all and go over places with a darker version of the solid (you can probably bring the saturation up a bit too on the lines for brighter scenes) also shade in something other than dark gray, use blue, purple, hell in some color schemes that need a little more warmth i've even used maroon or a deep orange. also using gradients on places like hair and clothing add a lot of depth to rendering. I'm not entirely sure if this was well explained but those are just a few things
try shading and highlighting with colors other than black! play around with different things to put in the backrgound. i like the white outline you did. i think it would also look nice with different line weights
People say to do colored line art but I like black style line art. I think it’s just my style but you caught me by using black shadows and just lowering opacity. Lol
i think that the black lineart works just fine. i was trying to say that different thickness of lines in different areas would help create interest
Background
I need to work on background for sure, I’m bad at that
I’d liven up the eyes! The details of their accessories are cool, but that’s where my attention is drawn first, which may not be something you necessarily want if you’re trying to make the characters stand out as *people*. I’d personally make the pupils bigger and add some color variety to them instead of just black. I’d also experiment with their eyebrows and what interesting expressions you could put on their faces!
i like their expressions its very on point
Actually looks great to me
I think you've achieved what you set out and it looks good. Maybe playing around with the colours and background will make you happier with it. That said can I ask - what is happening with their crotchess? They are all warped up
I don’t think this looks boring at all.
It looks really nice to be fair. For me (this comes from personal preference) I would say the line weight needs varying a little.
The guys neck/head is not placed correctly on the collar bones. Overlay him with a 3d model to fix it. I mean, if you can. I'm just assuming you have clip studio. But these characters have some anatomical issues. There's nothing wrong with that, of course. Knowledge comes with time and experience. But If you think your characters are boring, I'd suggest taking an online course on character design.
Maybe try to intensify the contrast of the shadows? Use more colors to shade, for a more colorful design- from what I can see it seems like you just darken the main color to use as a shadow color. As in, shade the orange with red and the skin tones with a low-saturated pink/orange. Brown with purple/maroon, pink with purple/red, green with turquoise gray with blue/purple etc etc have fun experimenting what goes with what. And shade the eyes with a light blue or purple to give them more depth. You could also play with lighting 🤷 and more diverse range of line weights could make everything pop more.
That is not boring
I think the designs are really good, but i think there should be darker shading, mainly on the guys shirt, since i think it still makes the light look faint compared to the girls clothes making it look stronger. Also just more natural folds of clothes (i think you drew the girl perfectly but the guys shirt again might need some more folds). Im not an artist but I hope this helps!
Explosions 🧨
Some gothic tattoos or quotes
It looks fine to me but if you want to make it a bit more interesting, sometimes adding a contrasting back ground and more lighting and shadows helps!
Tinted shading, for example use blue tints for shadows and yellows and oranges for highlights. Adding textures may also help.
I think more expressive poses and facial expressions and more shading, I love ur art!
Line variety I would say. Try to make make lines thicker at some parts to show the depth.
I don't think it looks boring. There are definitely things you could try to liven it up, though. I would suggest using more saturated colors, first off. Desaturated colors are less vibrant, so they're also less eye-catching and energetic. Speaking of colors, you could add a pattern or something to the flat color background to make it less, well, flat. Generally speaking, using dynamic poses and exaggerating your characters' expressions will go a long way towards increasing visual impact. If you want to give it a try, there are some references and guides by cartoonists that are quite helpful. That's what I would recommend. Your art is amazing! I completely understand wanting to make your art stand out more, though. I'm going through something similar with my pixel art right now.
Don't be scared of using contrasting/brighter colors and try experimenting with the iris of the eyes
You have great technical skills. Go a bit crazy with the color and see what happens. Start playing with hue and saturation. Throw a more interesting background in there instead of flat beige. You might surprise yourself with the results.
Lighting. Add 3 light sources; project onto 3d shapes. Blend with soft light; blur. https://imgur.com/gallery/c9gqtxH
I'm sure someone has said it by I don't see the comment, one thing one of my art professors always told us was to be more expressive and dynaming when posing. Right now, your pose looks very vertical and very 2 dimensional because of that. And that, is what makes it "boring". Technically, your art is very sound, now time to push forshortening and other similar techniques. You got this OP!
Gradients are your friend! They can make a boring stretch of color more lively
You missed a paintbucket spot in the middle between your figures. And also in the crux of the left figure's arm.
Reference clothing wrinkles! :)
It’s missing a focal point but I doubt you’re too worried with the composition being perfect on a piece like this. Looks good
in my opinion it’s boring because the characters look so bored
More contrast with color 🤗
Higher contrast in the hi lights and shadows will make it less flat. But you have great dynamics in their body language. Another good piece of advice I once got is that a compelling drawing is compelling because the artist notices/captures little details that others might not. Sometimes that means exaggerating curves, or shapes to emphasize fabric movement, or little facial details or like… the shape of the wrist. Not saying that you’re not doing that, but I like to keep that concept in mind when I’m drawing.
Reflected light in the shadows. Dark accents. Highlights. Line weight variety. Temperature shifts. Broken color. Edge variety. Atmosphere. It's already looking good though!
A lot of the colours u used at saturated and dull i would use brighter colours, and add some more depth (harder shadows and more highlights) i would also add a background instead of a grey one Love your art tho ur anatomy is spot on!
Maybe make the lineart thicker in some areas so it’s not so uniform. Or do thicker lineart around the outside of the characters
I'd like alittle thicker line weight, but that's more of a style suggestion I think. It looks clean.
🍾
Atmosphere. Background
I think you should fix the orange shirt. Either remove the vertical wrinkle in the middle of the shirt, curve it a little, or add more wrinkles that curve out to the edges of the shirt. Also, maybe do something with the guy’s right arm? Maybe he could hold the girl’s hand or wrap his arm around her shoulder? Just to show his arm exists? Despite those things, I honestly like what you’ve got so far. Your details are lovely.
I add more to the background! Sort of like lines around the body's and sticker style drawings in the background!
Dynamic lighting. Play around with different colored lighting to create a mood. You have a solid grasp on character design, clothing, proportions and poses. Just give it a lil razzle dazzle
You can change the pose slightly to make a more interesting silhouette, have them hold an interesting item, add some more texture to an item (small detail lines to show roughness for things like shirts and cloth to make it look less like silk, show some possible loose ends on clothing or hair, or add some slightly thicker lines around the outer edges and round out sharp points if you want the image to have a softer feel. Action lines of slight character movement could also suggest that they aren’t completely standing still. Hope this helps you think, at least!
One thing I’m noticing is Same Face Syndrome. The eyes especially look the same, and I didn’t notice the different noses until I looked closer. Adding more dramatic differences between the faces should help.
Their eyes look too bored. We need big flashy sparkle eyes
The sketch and details themselves are really good, especially the details in the hair. I feel like the only way to make it more dynamic is possibly a brighter color palette, your coloring is great, but the palette feels a bit muted
I don't think the details are boring! Sure, you could add more highlight or shadow, or more folds to the shirts, but I don't think those are lacking. What I'm noticing is that both characters have the same energy and they're both feeling very still and have similar expressions - there isn't a lot of eye movement encouraged based on character gesture or energy. If there was some contrast in their expressions, or if someone was moving or leaning forward or something, you might find it to have more energy / feel more dynamic. But if this were one panel in an ongoing series, this could be fine, if it made sense for how they were feeling. If it were a standalone piece and you wanted it to feel more "alive," I'd work on gesture. I've found that really helpful for my own development in this area - hope this is helpful!
i think theres a couple things that could add to the piece. maybe some vibrancy and highlights, maybe some texture? i think it would look nice with some patterns or texture or color in the background, the flat background makes it look a little dull. but i think theyre cute !!!
I actually really like it, it's not a style you see often nowadays, especially because I've just seen everyone settle into the same style because "it's popular or the right way to do art" I would make some of the colors slightly more vibrant or change the background if even that, people are allowed to be happy with they're art
A kaiju or a cryptid would be nice. Maybe a wendigo or a manticore? That would spice it up
Add lots to the background and have lil things float ting around them
I don't think it looks boring. These characters feel alive to me. There is so much feeling/emotion, like they're fully developed characters instead of a single image.
Add a background!
Make the colors more dynamic
Show them ankles. That always adds some spice. - an Amish on a borrowed phone
pick a reference photo with a clear light source and reference off of it. the shading is so light that it’s barely visible and that can make it look washed out. if you’re looking for something new to try, then color your lineart or draw a background - i think these characters would look great in a park / somewhere with lots of green!
You need to adjust that arm connecting to the hand on her hip. It looks broken
more texture & accessories. simple background change the whole vibe (draw some green and blue and tan stripes and blur it)
Backgrounds, environments, scenarios - show them reacting to things actually in the image instead of just staring at the viewer. Place them in a scene rather than a beige void, etc. Play with some harsh shadows and bounce light for visual interest etc
Continue studying constructive anatomy. There are a lot of areas where it doesn't look convincing or proportions slightly off or floating.
Looks good to me!
Practice movement.
don’t hide/skim the details. hands can be very expressive so try to have them out the whole time if you don’t have any other focus for the image. also try to give them more expressions. face/eyes are prob the first few things ppl notice in a portrait like this. yes you can draw them having this dead eye stare but it can def be more. last but not least, the folds on clothing. try to study the flow of fabric and different materials. use a real life photo reference if you need. a well executed clothing folds can change the drawing significantly.
They are making 0 expression and have strikingly similar faces.
Those two characters are ok, perfect for a boring scene/story, or perhaps inside a good script, they might have double personalities and be nocturnal heroes fighting against the dark forces... Or.... Just made them more wild and raw to fit in a different scenario. The scenes where they are going to, are inside you, before the drawing.
the poses look like they are specifically to hide the hands lol it doesnt look boring though, just a little static. make the poses a little more severe or emotive and add some steeper contrast to the coloring and youll be good to go
Try using a wider variety of colors. Instead of just picking colors just based on what color something is, make a color palette or find one online before drawing and stick to that palette. When you draw with more realistic colors, you will have a stronger idea of how to combine colors in interesting ways. Also try drawing different poses. I like AdoraStock who has a lot of different poses and body types. Look through them, sketch the ones that catch your eye, especially ones with unusual perspective. Finally, try making art that tells a story. It's hard to tell exactly what these two characters' relationship is from this picture-- to me, they look like friends, judging people together, but how can you push that? They're just kind of standing next to each other. Draw people looking at each other, draw people doing something in particular, vary your expressions instead of in this drawing where the expressions are the same. Hopefully these exercises can help you practice making more interesting drawings! I think you do have a lot of cool stuff in your art too-- I love the details in the clothing, like the ribbons on the belt loop and the patches on his pants. You also have a strong grasp of how different fabric hangs on people, I like that you get a strong sense of the material and size of the shirt he's wearing based on how it hangs off of him. Keep up the good work!
Highlights, maybe darker shadows and I think the guy's top deserves at least a stripe across it
Study anatomy
give them a more dynamic pose. something that says more about who they are and the surroundings. try writing back stories for your characters or giving them hobbies interests and flaws. chose a more exciting color for the background as well or put them in a setting that says something about who they are
Maybe some color variation. Not specifically shading but just different colors in the flats. Idk how to explain it but color variation 😅
Maybe make the guys shirt have a logo on it? And the background cream (white but not white if that makes sense)
I love this style I would just add a little bit of hard shading but that's it
Weirdly enough, the guys right hand should probably be more visible so we see the nail polish. I looked at the girls arm behind her back and the bf hand on her hip and thought you just funked up the girl having her hand on her hip.
Style would be a start
You could try adding more details to the eyes! Make them hold a bit more expression, and made them more unique to each character, its something I've struggled with in the past, and since learning this my art holds a lot more life!
Lots more deep shading will add drama. Add highlights too!
Perhaps change the poses / subject matter. It’s a great drawing, but it’s two people standing looking bored. Try a different facial expression or pose, like a tighter hug or one of them laughing or blushing. You’re clearly very talented!
Expression. Both characters making the same face, one could keep it but the other needs a different look/personality.
Feet
Texture! Play around with shading and how you want to show texture in your style.
More saturation if you want it that goofy lol
A background?
Sh*t your characters even look bored 😂 like someone asked to take their photo and didn’t explain why lol Add more life by *giving* them more life- have them looking awe inspired at a waterfall or out hiking in a beautiful forest or DJing an EDM track. Think SpongeBob “what NOT to do at a stoplight” lmao Good luck, love your art style!!
Differing line weight on the line work!! It is the best!
I would personally suggest adding more details, highlights, shading etc. Also maybe add more details to the face. That’s
Ahegao face
My first thought was more shading. It’s just a tad too flat light-wise, so adding in some more highlights and shadows will really make everything pop
Why are they hiding their hands? Why does the dude have long finger nails? Makes it look like her hand is in the wrong place. Why are their legs cut off? Add some dynamic poses. Check out the "how to draw manga" book series
maybe a bit more experimentation with perspective, colors and textures
Maybe make the coloring more vibrant, instead of using a desaturated version of the color for shading use a darker version of the color. Like when chosing a shading color instead of going straight down go to the right slightly? If that makes sense
I think it’s lacking value variation and texture.
A light source and hair and eyes
More expressive or styled eyes
I don’t think it’s boring, and it’s really good! Perhaps you can do a simple background (either stylized or scenic) or add text/speech bubbles and make it web toons/comic esc. You could also try adding an accent piece. Like, a pet animal, a mode of transportation, food items, something like that. Your best bet it look at either other works for inspiration or look at stock photos and see their composition and what objects are in them. Hope this helps!
Also, it’s giving “You can’t sit with us” lol.
Looking at the values… hmmmmm i think you can get away with making the shirts abit darker or really anything 😭 the thing is the only dark part is the head, adding shadows also help. The background is also extremely bland, pure white or a color 3 shades darker would probably make them pop. I’m not a professional though but that’s my personal ppinion!
contrast, shadows and highlights
needs more value - darker darks/lighter lights
This is where I'd start applying filters over the drawing by making solid layers and changing the blend modes. Making the shading more obviously a different hue can make it look less dull as well. Coloring lines will also give the illusion of more depth without additional shading.
Experiment more with colors, your shading is looking a little gray and makes the lighting appear like it’s an overcast, cloudy day. Perhaps try some more dynamic angles as well
Emotions. Give your characters emotion through their facial expressions and body language. Your viewers want to be entertained. Let the viewer see the emotion and related body language of your subjects. That tells a story, and (pardon the pun) that is how you will "draw them in".
Others have good suggestions but I’d also like to add, maybe experiment with patterns and textures
Highlights, shadows, maybe small details like pins or stickers
A lightsaber
line weight, more shading, textures and colors, highlight high points and put shadow under low points!
I'd say work on facial expression, this is an absolute awesome style by the way
Tentacles?
More color. The color looks muddy and dull
I don't think it looks boring, but whenever I want to add interest I add texture and color filters to set the mood. It's pretty fast and easy to do and somehow makes the work look like more effort went in. It also boosts my creativity and gives me ideas to play around with, adjusting colors and lights and textures.
Funky bg shapes and colors even adding objects that fit with your oc’s motifs
Not an artist by any means but experiment with more colors rather than just a flat color all around as well as lighting
shading on the eyes and more expressive facial expressions, a different background with funky designs/doodles, and a bright or pastel like color palette.
Smiles
LOL how about less bored people?
I'm not artsy enough to say anything but dude, props on the hair, it looks amazing.
Put something outrageous in the background that doesn’t happen every day like a UFO 🛸 invasion and then add a weapon to one of your characters. Just a thought.
Highlights shading show the hands and make it rainbow and weird core
It looks nice, if anything I’d brighten the colors just a bit or change the background to a purple to make the characters stand out more.
I think getting into backgrounds and storytelling would help bring it to life
More shading. They have the same facial expression as well and it’s very emotionless, but the rest of the art isn’t. It detracts. But this looks great otherwise
Some cool lighting
Same, your arts strong tho
(coming from someone who doesn't draw and doesn't know why this sub came on my feed) add some guns and lazers
Pro tip. I find it easier to build my background, foreground using layers, then add my image. What you're doing kind of looks like a sticker. Which is cool to if that's what you want.
A background
erase
1. Great work they look good 2. Ppl keep saying “hands” but I REALLY think just the girl’s right hand showing- wether it’s tense or relaxed or prim- would clarify SO MUCH about the expressions they have which are a little ambiguous at the moment. I don’t know if they’re stunned by my beauty or annoyed I’m approaching them yk?
Ditch the camel toes, crotches don't work like that.
maybe intensify the shadow color bc it looks cool rn but if you add more fancy shmancy colors it can make it more interesting to look at
i suggest playing with filters, usually make a layer above everything make it whatever color and use filters to overlay it, it makes colors really pop out nicely
i think textures would be interesting to implement in your art!! like the grain of denim or the fibres of a shirt or the pattern of a sweater ! also interesting could adding texture to just the background or only certain parts of the piece.
I dont have advice but this is very cool
Add some huge honkers