I’ve come around to drawing a new version of my first post where I had asked for advice and had gotten so much to work with!
So this time I decided to focus more on the environment and properly planned what I wanted to do (I even tried out blender to help me conceptualise the background). I tried my best to keep the contrast between the darker and lighter parts of the drawing as distinct as possible, while hopefully not making the background too dark? Blurred the trees at the top of the picture and some plants at the bottom, to give more depth. I also think the statue actually reads as such this time! I decided to change the designs of the characters a little (especially the statue, I had to sacrifice some detail to make it more concise). Experimented with textures to make everything look a little more like stone, and I actually bothered to draw every leave and plant this time, I used the textured brush on the trees and simplified the greenery on the right (not too happy with that part but overall I think it’s alright). I’ve also included a mural in the back! The bird that was on the statue last time has migrated to the mural.
I really really appreciated all the help and I’m so happy to see how much it has helped me! So I once again would like to thank everyone. I’m pretty satisfied with how the picture has turned out this time, but of course feedback is always welcome, one can always learn more.
@YRH Thanks, I tried using a diffrent brush for the lineart, my usual one is pretty hard and I tend to keep my lines the same size. But I wanted a softer look here so I tried using a sketching brush instead of an inking one. I kinda went wild on the shading/lighting, so I’m glad you think it looks nice!
@Pfblakeney Thank you, I didn’t want it to be too simplified, so it would still be recognisable as the character!
Love this new version and the fact that you had the courage and put in the effort to change so much.
I think that you covered most parts of my critique for the original version pretty well.
As for the greenery, I think you got the concepts for improvement there. Maybe you just tried too many different styles of painting the leaves/grass and included too many different plants here. So the uniformity of the greenery (which can be pleasing for the eye) got a bit lost. I wonder if adding an outline to the brighter parts of the leaves painted with leaf brush (top right and left corner) might improve the picture. Just because of consistency with the rest of the foliage in the foreground that has one.
Now for the mural… I like the Idea a lot. I wonder, at what time does this scene take place. Is the mural from the same time as the statue or like a modern addition to an ancient place? Both seems possible for me, seeing that even ancient statues often were painted.
Edit: After reading the comments of the original picture, it seems statue and mural are connected, honouring the leader of a dessert city? Or is the statue part of the old city, and mural and plants symbolize renewal by the character in the foreground? Still a bit confused about the story, please enlighten me.
First of all thank you.
And 2nd, I feel like there’s a middle ground, between hand painting and using texture brushes, that I’m struggling to find. Maybe drawing some more forest scenes with references I like could help me. Your input is much appreciated!
Both mural and statue are from the same time the story plays in, the leader it honours is very much alive and well. I just drew it a little “unkept” and overgrown looking because I thought it looks cool. Maybe not the best idea when the statue can’t be older than 5 years. Let’s imagine it’s in a desolate corner of the palace garden where no one goes. The character in the foreground is more of a catalyst to the story. The leader (woman depicted in the statue) brought peace by being a benevolent and dedicated leader, whereas the character in the foreground basically brought catastrophe to the city, by just existing. The concept and story is still wonky so please bear with me.
Maybe the statue was a gift by the citizens to their benevolent leader. But the leader is modest, so she accepts the gift but puts it in a far away corner of her palace garden, so she and her guests do not see it all the time. I could totally imagine plants growing like this in 5 years.
(Now that still does not totally explain the mural, but let’s face it…nobody will ask about that with two beautiful main characters present in the picture.)
I like that idea, it seems like something she would do. I could go into detail about the mural, but I kinda just let my hand go a little wild while forgetting to make it readable. If you look really closely there’s birds that represent freedom, then theres a wave-like structure (theres a turquoise circle behind it) that represents the life and vitality she brought back to the city. Plus if you look very very close you can maybe make out some purple flowers here and there. I’ve also made the background of it blue to represent the sky, and at the bottom there’s yellow “triangles” that are meant to represent sand dunes. Then I just tried my best to tie it together with that red spiral thingy going through the whole thing. Basically the whole mural is supposed to show all the beauty and life she brought to the people by being such a good leader, seeing how the city has suffered a lot under terrible leadership in the past.
On a side note, I wanna study some more mural artstyles and paint a really big clear one, that maybe tells her whole story (Prophecy like looking). But alas, that sounds like a task that needs a few more months of training.
Haha, sorry I think we had a misunderstanding here. I did not want to force you to explain the mural, but I guess that got lost due to my weird attempt at late night humour.
I mainly wanted to point out that my storyline proposal does not totally explain the existence of the mural. Because if the leader wants to “hide away” the statue, neither she nor the citizens would probably care to paint the mural as decoration in that place. Now if the mural was actually painted on wood, it might be more plausible that it is “mobile” like the statue is…but this seems to be such a complicated explanation that I would never include it in a written story.
Anyway, you did explain the mural - and I am impressed how much thought went into its details.
And you are right, murals might be a very interesting topic to study. From the ancient ones found in caves or in Pompeii or in religious buildings, over to 3D-effect landscape murals to symbolism and modern Graffiti… A very wide range of art to get inspiration from!
Let’s imagine it’s in a desolate corner of the palace garden where no one goes. The character in the foreground is more of a catalyst to the story. The leader (woman depicted in the statue) brought peace by being a benevolent and dedicated leader, whereas the character in the foreground basically brought catastrophe to the city, by just existing. The concept and story is still wonky so please bear with me. 
I did not want to force you to explain the mural, but I guess that got lost due to my weird attempt at late night humour.
