[WIP] Need advice on my ivy wall

[sesame]

Hi everyone!

I'm working on this building's front side in low res, and whatever I do, I don't like how my creeper plant looks like.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something wrong with it. I tried a segment of it here in green and in red, and while I think the finer lines look more realistic, they just look a bit creepy and I don't like it. It's not supposed to be a scary scene. Also I think it looks kind of flat?




I made a study of the texture which I like more, but it's in a bit higher res, so I can't just use that.



So any CC/advice is super welcome.
Thanks in advance!

[sesame]

Here's an update I've been working on.

[eishiya]

It looks very noisy, and the flatness comes in part as a result of that. I think rather than trying to depict individual leaves, you'd be better off focusing on the clumps of leaves and the volumes they create.

[sesame]

Coming back to this piece!
Am I on the right track here?

[MysteryMeat]

definitely better, but also far too sparse. perhaps add an underlayer of loose moss?

[sesame]

Thanks for help!
I tried combining the two: more volume but also details. What do you think?
Also, do you have some general advice? Thanks

[eishiya]

The smooth edges make it look like a splash of paint.

Try thinking in terms of clumps of leaves. If you look at photos of ivy and other climbing plants, you'll fine that they're much like other similarly-sized plants - they have bushy and sparse bits, they have volume, they have branches.
Here's an edit where I replaced the ivy around the central window:

(Don't forget that you can click to zoom on Pixelation, so your 2x prezooms are unnecessary and just make it harder for people to make edits xP)