I love the way u render your pieces. Any tips on how u do it? What program do you use?
Hi Anon ! Thanks ! Ahem the answer to what I use is kind of embarrassing, currently back to my original (and favourite!) Set up which is photoshop CS6, and a 20 year old wacom bamboo on windows 7 with a 22" monitor. Yep.
I've tried all manners of modern software, bottom line: doesn't make any difference.
As for tips, here we go: 1 zoom out, if you can, keep a viewing of your piece open in a window so it's thumbnail size. If it's not readable from a distance, if the shadow and light doesn't look right at a distance, any detail you put in close up won't fix it.
Secondly, for colors, especially hair, don't use the color you want it to be. I was so happy the day I found out that highlighting brown hair with light desaturated pink was perfect!<3 black and white hair would be varying shades of purple or blue, depending, and blond I use skin color swatches. Keep that yellow out of it!
Thirdly, some people say don't use white or black, you can, but at the end, because if you start with something as light as white/dark as black, then the rest of your shading has to keep up. Making your life harder.
Fourth, use ref, if you need it, but I've found that clinging to reference is meh, so I'll image search what I want, look at 50 different pictures, close it then draw. Do the same throughout when you have a doubt, but by doing this, your brain will simplify what you are trying to draw. Like you want the shadows around an eye, but don't need to get caught up in eyelash detail just yet.
Lastly, (ugh I could go on forever, might make a tutorial at some point, even) there's a quick and dirty way to draw almost everything. Yeah, even zips. It's just a case of finding the one for you, either scouring tutorials or practicing.
PS: I started drawing 15 years ago, and I was really, really terrible at it.