Hi I yes hello

I feel like my art isn't all that appealing to look at. Like you see it and it looks good and all, but it looks like I didn't put any effort into the piece but I do! It's not nice looking and I just want some tips. Could be a range of anything really, lineart, coloring, shading, lighting, color theory, go wild. Any kind of anatomy tips are heavily appreciated!

I work on Autodesk and use my finger to draw, but most art apps have the same thing, but just have different names.

Examples of my art can be found here, but the most recent can be found on pages 6+: Mah art gallery

I appreciate the compliments but like y'all...

I'm looking for advice to better myself in art. Not in my self confidence but thank you.

Corpses said:

I may be wrong, but it sorta looks like you shade with black.

Do not shade with black unless you absolutley need to (like to make a character fit into an environment). Instead, use purples, blues, sometimes even reds and greens depending on the color of your character and the background. This ties it all together, because black shading can look a bit blunt and dull.

For example- shade browns with reds, grays with blue (or purple), etc. You can also use yellow for lighting instead of white, but sometimes white does work if you combine it with yellow (not saying yours looks bad, cause your style is super cute, but white can also do the same thing as shading with black - make it look bland and blunt).

Corpses said:

I may be wrong, but it sorta looks like you shade with black.

Do not shade with black unless you absolutley need to (like to make a character fit into an environment). Instead, use purples, blues, sometimes even reds and greens depending on the color of your character and the background. This ties it all together, because black shading can look a bit blunt and dull.

For example- shade browns with reds, grays with blue (or purple), etc. You can also use yellow for lighting instead of white, but sometimes white does work if you combine it with yellow (not saying yours looks bad, cause your style is super cute, but white can also do the same thing as shading with black - make it look bland and blunt).

Evermore said:

Yes, two big no nos are shading with black and doing lighting with white.

Layer types/edits are your friend! Overlay for highlighting and multiply for shadows combined with using colors really brings the piece together.

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I think your art style is absolutely adorable, and getting a stylus will definitely help you.

I drew with my finger on a phone for a really long time. My pieces looked meh, and I felt the way you did about my art. When I finally got my new computer/tablet thingy (surface pro x) and a stylus, it boosted my art incredibly and I'm finally seeing improvement.

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Ah and two more things-

Try other programs, maybe you'll find something that fits you better than autodesk

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And this guide to colors helped me tremendously

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