[WIP] The young warlock studies

[Danielclarc]

Hi I'm working on piece for personal training and I could really use some feedback

Here it goes:


the setting is a library where the young horned boy is doing some reading, on the center of the ceiling is a flame-coloured crystal that is the source of light

things I still plan to do:
-fill the last bookshelves (and the bottom row of the second)
-remove the symmetry from the books on the bookshelves
-add shading on the hair
-add shading no the shelves
-add a background after the bookshelves
*maybe i'll do some subtle animation

The most frustrating thing by now is that the books doesn't look like books to me hehe

[Danielclarc]

*redid the shading on the hair
*did some minor shading on the shelves
*added some light on the table
*added some background
*more books
*removed that ugly crystal for now

still can't figure out how to make better books, does anyone know a way to make them fit better on the image?
 

[Curly]

Nice improvement
I like the books
The biggest problem is that the background stands out too much. If you change its saturation that would help with the blending of the hair and the shelves too.

[PixelPiledriver]

Nice! 

Sniped by Curly.

There's a lot of color reuse, which is nice.
But it doesn't help create a sense of depth.
Modify the palette for major changes in layer distance.

[Danielclarc]

Thanks fro the advice! ^^

Another edit,
*tried desaturating the background, I liked it, but don't know if can get better( never tried that before)
*separated the two middle bookshelves a little
*added some books on top of the table
*tried some backlight on the character (tell me if it is unnecessary, actually done very little backlight on other works)
*tried some dithering on the darkest places (promise this is the last time I'll say that I didn't tried something before  )

I'm really enjoying this process. I'm actually trying a lot of things I've didn't tried before (and I'm really liking the results ^^)

[fily]

Good edit, maybe try altering a few of the books on each side so it's not perfectly symmetrical.

[jun]

Good edit, maybe try altering a few of the books on each side so it's not perfectly symmetrical.

I actually agree!

Crush the symmetry. Make it more random. Show some books fallen flat on the shelves, Show a few books that are inserted flipped, etc etc. I think it'll make the piece more interesting.

[fily]

+1 Jun, that's what I meant, I should have elaborated 

[Danielclarc]

Thank you all for the constructive comments ^^

*broke the symmetry on the books
*desaturated the distant shelves a little more to divide the picture in 3 planes(table, bookshelves, distant bookshelves)
*made some more interesting books (including a massive book that needs a reinforced shelf)
*decorated the books shelves a little
*made the character less chubby

learn, learn, learn, learn, learn, learn...

[MysteryMeat]

if you can, add his hands to the book. that bit of interaction makes it feel all the more real and would give him more of a slouched over studious look