Ryuuzaki Says: Well, your ego's not speaking when you say you've got the basics down. I think that's just your confidence in your art, and that's a good thing. I agree with you, you've pretty much got the basics of painting down. Shading is very nice, you've got a nice large range of shades. Don't worry about going heavy on color usage. That's what I did on the Lufia pics of Selan and Arty, and it turns out those are some of the public's favorites. =) The only critiques I can give you are going to be small and nitpicky...

Now that you've got the basics of painting, you can being to smooth your colors in some places. I see a lot of watermarks, especially in the black jacket, which you might want to have added a bit more shading to. However, that's just a style, I like to smooth my paintings, but some paintings actually look better with the watermarks.

One other thing is highlights. You sure did go heavy on the colors, and I commend you for that (not many people can rack up the balls to do that), but you kinda went skimpy on the highlights. Try using a white out marker or white tempera paint to put highlights in the hair and eyes. I see you left a white spot for the eyes, but methinks the paint got in there and dulled them. White out works very well for highlighting purposes.

As for your quirk bout the nose...at first glance it doesn't look out of place at all. If you stare at it for awhile you begin to notice that it shouldn't be in the middle of the face, because he's not facing straight forward. The nose should be a little to the left becuase his face is turned a bit to the left. Don't worry about that though, I don't think people will stare at one painting THAT long to be so picky about it. ^^ Great job!

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Kon Says: Hi SephiMage!! Well.. hmmm.. overall it's not bad.. =D as for some suggestions.. you already mentioned the nose so I won't errr.. pick on that.. =P I like the traditional look on this image. What I would change to improve the image is enlarge her right eye.. it looks a bit too small even for a slight perspective view. Your shading is detailed but I'm having trouble defining where the primary light source is. Some consistant lighting and shading will make your image stronger. For example.. the lighting on her face suggests a light souce primary the from the front but a little toward the left... the highlights on her eyes suggest from the right.. and her collar suggests a light from the left.. On her shirt, I'm not sure. Sometimes it is better to change the light source around a bit for clarity and artistic decision.. but IMO the overall look should suggest a primary light source direction. Then again.. it may be just my preference.

Errr.. more.. nitpicking on the shirt... IMO the shading on the shirt appears to be more a pattern than shading and hightlights... As a test... sometimes I turn off the outline layer or try imagining the image without the outlines. If you can't define the shapes of the shirt.. chances are some more defining shading and highlights are needed. Try not to depend on the outlines to define the shape as much. =D

Again.. It's not bad.. =D

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Tiyonne Says: First off, let me say that i really really like the compositon on this picture! the long red ribbons keep the eye moving across the picture, but those huge haunting eyes totally get your attention.

It looks like you've been using watercolors, and a pretty good job of it too, so i only got nitpicks for you. the red color of the ribbons has bled somewhat out of the edges of the outline, which you can only see around the collar or the hand. but this means that you have to be either more patient or a little more careful with the amount of water you put in the brush. give the painting time to dry before you work on the next section! or else, if you don't want to wait as long, use a hair dryer (that's what i do sometimes).

for technique - if you want a smoother application of color, with water-based paints, i suggest doing it in layers. for myself, i put the darker colors first (which i know is the reverse of how traditional watercolorists do it - but it works for me) with a wash. wet a brush, and take some dark paint onto the tip. when you apply it, you should get a good shading of light to dark. if it's not too smooth, you can use a brush with clean water and spread the color around while it's still well. after the shadow layer is completely dry, you can layer on lighter shades, and the more layers you add (as long as you don't scrub the paper), the richer and more opaque your colors will be.

this is a really great pic! keep up the good work and keep sending them to TAC! =)