2D Trying to improve my art. How am I doing?

[JacksonPielsen]

Hi all.
This is my first post on this site. I've been doing some art and trying to find what type of style I like. I've produced 3 rendered images that show my progress (hopefully). Am I going in the right direction?
I've done several sketches and experimented with the artstyle in between, but this are the first fully rendered pictures I've done.
The third picture is the one I felt i did a decent job on and that I liked. My goal is to eventually have my art featured in some game in this site, so any feedback is welcomed.
Thank you all in advance.

Spoiler: First attempt

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Spoiler: Second. I was experimenting with the shading and lineart

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Spoiler: Third. I was satisfied with this one

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[Saki_Sliz]

Your first image certainly shows that you know how to draw. The second certainly looks like an experiment, odd shading with oddly thick lining kinda makes it feel like an unnatural mix between toony and real, kinda like you are pushing the limits and boundaries to see what going to far looks like, but then with the third image I can certainly tell that the shading has improved, has a nice toony style to it and I can see that it looks like you were able to learn a bit of shading, but then dial it down as needed for what you were trying.

 

[DaClown]

I like the first and the third a lot. Your style is very distinct in the third version, and I definitely think you have a strong basis to build from. Though I think there are some things in the first that could be more strongly incorporated into the style of the third.

Your work on breasts vastly improved. Third is by far the best of those. Your poses in the third are also very reasonable. Not a strong contender for an EscherGirls entry.

I like your use of color matched lines in the first, but I like the boldness of your line work in the third; I think you could play around with the color matching of the first with the bolder lines of the third.

I think what I like about the first is the framing. The third is off kilter which makes it feel like something is off emotionally or psychologically; I associate that kind of framing with horror games and movies. First has good sense of framing based on the

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; it feels balanced though the third feels more continuous compared to the layering effect of the first. Is the third picture supposed to be a selfie taken by the dude in the picture cause that seems to be suggested by his arm positioning?

It looks like you could spend some time on the artist equivalent of leg day.

Love your work, and I look forward to seeing more of it.

 

[fitgirlbestgirl]

I think the second is the best one if you used thinner line art. The skin shading and highlights look the most realistic there. The third one isn't bad if you're going for a more cartoony style, but I prefer the more realistic style.

 

[nosok]

first is better

 

[JacksonPielsen]

Wow, I got replies!
Thank you all so much for the feedback, here are some of my thoughts on the comments.

first is better

I thought it was ok too, but when I looked at it in retrospective, all the colors seemed washed out for me, and after that I've been striving to go in the opposite direction and use more vivid colors, which I'm glad no one disliked, because for a moment I thought I might have gone too far in that respect . Also it seemed to look a bit like generic anime, which I don't think is bad, but it's not something I could see myself drawing over and over again.

I like your use of color matched lines in the first, but I like the boldness of your line work in the third; I think you could play around with the color matching of the first with the bolder lines of the third.

Yeah, I enjoyed using both colored lines and also going full black. I'm gonna try to blend the color with the bold lines, I think implementing the concept is something that requires good sensitivity to determine what's best in each situation, wich is something I think I'm slowly acquiring.

The second certainly looks like an experiment, odd shading with oddly thick lining kinda makes it feel like an unnatural mix between toony and real

Yeah, I sometimes see it and it looks kinda uncanny valley.

The third is off kilter which makes it feel like something is off emotionally or psychologically; I associate that kind of framing with horror games and movies.

Right now it looks ok to me, but that's just because I've worked at it for the last three days, and after a period of time of looking at the same thing you start to lose the ability to discern these types of things, so maybe in a couple of days when it's not fresh on my mind I can see the strangeness.

Anyways, thank you all again for the feedback. Due to the pandemic lockdown I'm working remotely, wich has given me a lot of time to practice my art. I've been working on it non-stop these past few days and I thought to myself to give me a day off, but I just couldn't help and started sketching my next picture. So here's a sample.

 

[DaClown]

all the colors seemed washed out for me, and after that I've been striving to go in the opposite direction and use more vivid colors

Okay. This is something that I couldn't put words in my first critique.

I really love the higher contrasts of #2 and #3; I think you did a great thing for making your style stand out. I think that the use of more pastel colors of the first could be interesting and striking with some of the bolder contrast of details that you accomplish with #3; I think the strict black line makes the contrast maybe a bit too far in the other direction. A mixture of black bold lines and higher contrast bold colored lines might be worth experimenting with. You know what I mean? I think of it being analogous to shading or accenting?

I'm a sucker for "gritty realism" comic styles that mix with kawaii-punk pastel-goth (Harajuku style). It's something I really enjoy about Laika Studios and the creators that do Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Paranorman.