I think this latest update you've taken it in the completely wrong direction in terms of the shading, now it looks flat and choppy, and you waste shades of blue that should be used to shade the entire skin instead of doing it mostly the lightest color. The only problem that you had before was that you don’t know how to selout, but now it lacks depth too.
In this beautiful rendering by Michelangelo, which I've desecrated for you, you can see proper 'selout' technique applied to the contours of the figure
Typically, concave contours are darker, heavier, and convex contours are lighter and thinner, as indicated by my white and black marks. Studying the masters is typically the best way to learn how to use techniques to your advantage (besides actual practice, of course)
A fine note on selout : dark pixels should almost never just be on the outside edge of a row, since this makes it look harsh and jagged instead of smooth. This is where many of your smoothness issues originate.
http://www.bunnybass.com/e-zine/phototips/00.examplepics/drawings/drawingpics/after_michelangelo.jpg <----another good example of good outlineing practices, not by michelangelo but by someone trying to be him
« Last Edit: June 30, 2006, 04:45:03 pm by Adarias »
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The same mistake three or more times is a motif.