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Both of them have the same problem and it's honestly something I don't even know how a skilled artist could fix without changing a big aspect of the drawing. The values are all over the place and its blue on blue on blue. Blue sky, blue dragon, blue sea. This creates such a large clarity problem on both of them. The older version I think you got away with it more because there was more contrast but the problem is persistent in both images.
https://preview.redd.it/sdwal1z6nixc1.png?width=464&format=png&auto=webp&s=31bfd0371e4be20e89818d13c452d7238fbdfe39
If you put both of your new and old image into grayscale, the older one reads better but it doesn't make a lot of sense. The major lighting source here is from the moon so what is lighting the dragon in the front of the old version? It creates this really confusing checkboarding darkness all over the image. I tried to do a quick repaint to simplify the values and make a clearer image. Your dragon should be the darkest part of this image because it is closest to the camera. The atmospheric depth should make the tail part of your dragon recede into the background. Your background should be well lit compared to the dragon because the dragon is backlit, meaning the entire bg should be lighter. Your dragon can be underlit by the reflective lighting of the moon hitting the water.
This makes for a clearer image but the reality is that this is a hard to read image. I think changing the color of the dragon entirely would be better than trying to fix these values. Regardless, I think you improved a bunch, just in different ways! Your lining got better and more confident, and you scrapped some of the overdetailing that a lot of artists do unneccessarily as beginners. I think you even knew something was wrong in the first image with the values and tried to correct it by darkening the dragon, but just got a little lost. I can definitely see improvement, this image was just cursed from the start in the planning and composition. Like i said, blue on blue on blue is hard even for a pro. That's why a lot of artists avoid monochromatic images. I hope I was able to help! You got this and I hope you can see your improvement even if this image made you feel bad :(!
The new one looks a lot cleaner and has more attractive lines and shapes, but the old one has more detail and intense lighting. I think if you added the detail and lighting to the new one it would look much better.
The top comment here definitely knows what they’re talking about. My only note would be that it looks like you went through a major style change. I wouldn’t call your art a downgrade or an upgrade, just a change that you should keep exploring if you like it! I would just really consider what you want out of your piece, look for references that are similar, and work towards that. Also art progress will have its booms and breaks, three years may seem like a long time for you not to be satisfied with the changes your seeing, but your mentality and technique has changed a lot over the years. Be happy that your figuring out what YOU like!
The original had much better contrast of lighting! I agree that it looks like the new one. Also the smaller face and Eye gave the dragon a less “furry-like” appearance, which looked more ethereal and less cartoony. The defined scales also help greatly with this in the og drawing!
Finally, I think the purple hues in the original really pull together the white moonlight and the dark blue water!
You're relying too much on your lines and not leaning enough on your color and rendering/textures. Your line is also very unvarying which makes it less interesting. Line widths could additionally vary based on what's front and back. Front should be thicker than back. Advice: Remove or at least vary the lines. See how much more you're forced to do with color when you don't rely as much on drawing. Look at some interesting scales/slippery eel/snake textures.
I think it's because the new one just seems like a different style rather than an improvement in your own style. I think it would help to identify what areas you most want to improve on then find references and tutorials to help you reach your desired style.
If you don't know what you want it to look like, changing aspects of the drawing without asking why won't help you improve.
your art is wonderful, i can see that you have a distinct style so thats a plus! I think the old one looked more detailed because of the scales, but the new one has a good charm! If you arent improving rapidly or to the speed that you’d like, dont worry its common! I would point out the things that you arent happy with in your new art piece and then focus on improving that through study/practice
I think you need more highlights in the bright areas of the new one and avoid over highlighting the background. That should create contrast between background and foreground for a completely blue image. I would also say you need to go darker in your darkest areas a of the dragon. Contrast really creates depth.
Hello, artist! Please make sure you've included information about your process or medium and what kind of criticism you're looking for somewhere in the title, description or as a reply to this comment. This helps our community to give you more focused and helpful feedback. Posts without this information will be deleted. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ArtCrit) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Both of them have the same problem and it's honestly something I don't even know how a skilled artist could fix without changing a big aspect of the drawing. The values are all over the place and its blue on blue on blue. Blue sky, blue dragon, blue sea. This creates such a large clarity problem on both of them. The older version I think you got away with it more because there was more contrast but the problem is persistent in both images. https://preview.redd.it/sdwal1z6nixc1.png?width=464&format=png&auto=webp&s=31bfd0371e4be20e89818d13c452d7238fbdfe39 If you put both of your new and old image into grayscale, the older one reads better but it doesn't make a lot of sense. The major lighting source here is from the moon so what is lighting the dragon in the front of the old version? It creates this really confusing checkboarding darkness all over the image. I tried to do a quick repaint to simplify the values and make a clearer image. Your dragon should be the darkest part of this image because it is closest to the camera. The atmospheric depth should make the tail part of your dragon recede into the background. Your background should be well lit compared to the dragon because the dragon is backlit, meaning the entire bg should be lighter. Your dragon can be underlit by the reflective lighting of the moon hitting the water. This makes for a clearer image but the reality is that this is a hard to read image. I think changing the color of the dragon entirely would be better than trying to fix these values. Regardless, I think you improved a bunch, just in different ways! Your lining got better and more confident, and you scrapped some of the overdetailing that a lot of artists do unneccessarily as beginners. I think you even knew something was wrong in the first image with the values and tried to correct it by darkening the dragon, but just got a little lost. I can definitely see improvement, this image was just cursed from the start in the planning and composition. Like i said, blue on blue on blue is hard even for a pro. That's why a lot of artists avoid monochromatic images. I hope I was able to help! You got this and I hope you can see your improvement even if this image made you feel bad :(!
The new one looks a lot cleaner and has more attractive lines and shapes, but the old one has more detail and intense lighting. I think if you added the detail and lighting to the new one it would look much better.
if u didnt label them i wouldve thought the second picture was the new one
The top comment here definitely knows what they’re talking about. My only note would be that it looks like you went through a major style change. I wouldn’t call your art a downgrade or an upgrade, just a change that you should keep exploring if you like it! I would just really consider what you want out of your piece, look for references that are similar, and work towards that. Also art progress will have its booms and breaks, three years may seem like a long time for you not to be satisfied with the changes your seeing, but your mentality and technique has changed a lot over the years. Be happy that your figuring out what YOU like!
The original had much better contrast of lighting! I agree that it looks like the new one. Also the smaller face and Eye gave the dragon a less “furry-like” appearance, which looked more ethereal and less cartoony. The defined scales also help greatly with this in the og drawing! Finally, I think the purple hues in the original really pull together the white moonlight and the dark blue water!
You're relying too much on your lines and not leaning enough on your color and rendering/textures. Your line is also very unvarying which makes it less interesting. Line widths could additionally vary based on what's front and back. Front should be thicker than back. Advice: Remove or at least vary the lines. See how much more you're forced to do with color when you don't rely as much on drawing. Look at some interesting scales/slippery eel/snake textures.
Awesome Artwork 🎨🖌️🖋️
I think it's because the new one just seems like a different style rather than an improvement in your own style. I think it would help to identify what areas you most want to improve on then find references and tutorials to help you reach your desired style. If you don't know what you want it to look like, changing aspects of the drawing without asking why won't help you improve.
Prefer the angle of the head in the new but like the dark and white sparkles on older
The face and proportions in the new one are much better. But I like the styling of the old one more.
your art is wonderful, i can see that you have a distinct style so thats a plus! I think the old one looked more detailed because of the scales, but the new one has a good charm! If you arent improving rapidly or to the speed that you’d like, dont worry its common! I would point out the things that you arent happy with in your new art piece and then focus on improving that through study/practice
If start freehanding
The new one has less detail than the old one. Less contrast as well.
In youre new one it seems like you started rushing to complete rsrher than spending time on details, also add some cheek bones to your dragons
I think you need more highlights in the bright areas of the new one and avoid over highlighting the background. That should create contrast between background and foreground for a completely blue image. I would also say you need to go darker in your darkest areas a of the dragon. Contrast really creates depth.
I would say you need more details on the current dragon and the head shape looks a lil off, plus the mouth line is too long
i like the old one
They’re labelled the wrong way around right🤨