help with lighting

drakkonia

So I'm trying to get back into drawing, and realizing how long it's been since I actually colored something. And how little I actually know about light. I've been reading some tutorials which have been helpful, and I colored a sketch last night that I would really like some pointers on. I know the lines aren't clean but I was more interested in the coloring. Right now it's just so hard to visualize how light would behave; maybe I've been thinking too much. I'll leave it to you.

Edman

I think you are off to a really good start! Like pretty much everybody else here says: look at life. Really, look at some photos, do an image search, go outside, whatever, and look at the little details of how light works.

On this one, you've got light coming from the top right and from the left, which means you could probably use a little more shading under her breast, and definitely behind the jawline.

I'd say your best bet is to try one light source at a time, then once you've got the hang of it, start adding more light sources.

Creambun 007

I would advise you to get some great looking photos, and squint your eyes as you look at them. It will seperate the lighting into shapes that you can pick out more easily.

drakkonia

edmangoodrich: Thanks for the suggestions; I'll apply them as soon as I get a bit more time to work on it.

Creambun: I had an art teacher in high school who TORE ME DOWN for copying off of photos. She wouldn't even critique my drawings after I told her they were from pictures. She was like, "It's not art if you're using someone else's work." This while she's telling us to cut photos out of magazines and make collages with them. Piss me off. Anyway... Even though that was a long time ago, it still makes me want to avoid using reference photos as much as possible. (Even though I still do from time to time.)

Tweaked_Bat_

You art teacher was pretty dumb then, no offense. I think most people here will tell you that using refernce pics is reasonable. It's pretty hard to learn when you have nothing to learn from (well, apart from life that is).

drakkonia

Okay, I added shadows on her neck and under the breast. Does it look better, worse, or who cares? I'm worried the neck shadows might be a little too red compare to the rest. I dunno. Either way, I think I'm gonna start something new soon.

multimoog

It's still kind of flat. Since the light source seems to be coming from the upper-right corner of the image, the front planes of her head/face should be brighter, as well as her shoulders and upper arms.