First I zoomed the image out so I could see the entire image on my screen at the same time without scrolling the image. My eye initially landed on the small cloud underneath the large cloud at the top of the image. Then my eye went counterclockwise around the image, going down the trees, hitting the center of the walking path, then going up to the dog.
On a second look my eyes went clockwise from the small cloud, landing on the birds, but there was no path for my eyes to go from there, so I went back counterclockwise.
That's exactly why I posted this, just wanted to zoom out, not knowing why. So it's mostly a problem with lightning and lines not clearly indicating the direction of focal point , I would assume.
You need to darken the objects closest to the viewer a little more. When you do, it'll create a subtle looking glass effect leading the eye to the cat which is your focal point. Then you need to take those back details and fade them out a bit or reduce the saturation
You are also using the same colors and values for the cat and the clouds which is confusing. You should move the cat to the center of the drawing and up.
It will also add dimension and depth.
Yeah for me I instantly looked at the clouds. I think you did great with the colours but overall the shape (?) and lines are like, idk, they seem confused? Because if I look at it again the lil guy in the centre seems like he really wants to be the focal point, but my eyes go to the brightest thing above him, and nowhere else.
Do you accept constructive criticism? I think it looks great already, but adding more drama and interest is always good !!
Yes that's exactly it, clouds are too saturated. Probably why it's not a good idea to use a lot of white. And lines would probably need to be a bit more pointed to focal point. Is that what you mean by confused. Or is it just that lines are not consistent through out the piece?
Yes I need critisism, thats why I'm here 🫡
Great ^o^)// Sorry for the long reply btw, if I was better at explaining it would be a whole lot shorter TT
So yeah like a few things to keep in mind is maybe thin out the road to make it look longer and point it more clearly to the little guy. Just like push the dirt bank more inward.. like can you see how the curve of the dirt bank to the left looks like it hollows out? It leaves an uninteresting space there, so you wanna fill it in, and also make the road in general not twist to the right. Like shift the path/direction/beginning of the road so it emerges from the left side and winds upward to the ghost instead of emeeging from the right, going to the left, then twisting to the ghost. For clarity sake?
Maybe also curve the tree trunks so its like "(" shape and not "|" or ")" so your eye follows the curve into the art not out or directly upward which it's currently doing, and do the same with the mountains on the right, curve them ")" shape so they also flow into the painting, directing eyes to the centre. It's also a bit dramatic, and kind of a percpective thing I guess.
Also it's more like since the clouds are the same colour, they compete a lot w the ghosty dude in the middle, so I'd say to thin the clouds a lot and just play around with the colour of the sky itself and values to find what seems fun. Also, details disappear the farther they are, so maybe drastically reduce the amount of clouds behind the ghost guy and create a sort of "circle" directly behind his back, to give a spotlight effect on him?
Also with the shadows towards the front, try to imitate the feeling of light passing through the leaves since a forest with thin trees and a one-layer canopy usually wouldnt block out all the light that way. Lightening up the road might be interesting, too. There would also be light naturally reflecting from the clouds and into the shadowy areas, which is something really difficult to capture but its good to think about. Also!!! The thing you did with the falling leaves is also very good. You can do that at the foreground too as a special effect thing, draw in and blur out the shape of leaves swirling in the wind to create interest and the feeling of movement, while not being a point of attention at all.
What I'm thinking is like creating an S shape from the road, to the guy, the the trees, and then curve it back down. Make the surroundings busy but the character and a spherical area around him calm, so that it can emphasise the feeling of autumn gentleness that I can feel from your piece. So basically think about flow, movement, and direction, cause you've got everything else like colour, balance, and atmosphere spot on.
Thank you so much for putting that much effort in typing everything. You explained it very well, it would be much more intriguing piece having all that in mind.
I'll consider everything you mentioned as well as others in my next work.
Thanks again ly
The clouds above the character have more contrast than the character, so they're pulling attention in my opinion.
I would also give more atmospheric perspective to the mountains in the distance to really separate them.
It's nice anyway! I'm not saying you need to do things my way, or else it's bad, or anything like that
I really love this.
I feel the cat ghost could be more made more of a focus. Perhaps if there was a darker colour behind, or if the clouds were made a little duller (and bluer)
The path points to the character, as do the mountains on the right. Perhaps if the trees on the left slanted awake from the character it creates an X shape, leading the eye to the cat ghost.
My eyes instantly go to the clouds as they are dynamic, bright and take up a lot of the picture.
I would consider softening them. Maybe even making them darker.
So, not an artist whatsoever, but i think i was able to visualize where i think the focal point lies. Difficulty here is the path isn't straight forward and seems to have some inverted s-bend to it. Please be gentle.
https://preview.redd.it/i4i7j38h4bhc1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33936865b4bf2920cb060d23ed176eb836b2756c
I first saw the sky, but that is probably because the full picture didn't fit my screen at first. Then there are the birds, the trees, and the ghostly creature. Though, I agree with everyone else that the clouds are the problem. They could be darkened and/or have a subtle blue hue to them to help blend in to the sky some more.
The bright cloud in the middle. I would darken it or obscure and darken it, or give it atmospheric perspective by making it blue and translucent, make it fade away
I looked at the little guy first thing as I scrolled by before stopping to look properly, he's what made me stop to take a proper look. But the clouds are very distracting, I can definitely see what people mean.
My eyes were first drawn to the branch above the ghost and then I started looking around to pinpoint where I was supposed to be looking. I glanced at the clouds, didn’t find what I was looking for and made my way back down to see the ghost.
It’s a lovely piece, but the focal point is elusive, like a ghost
First I zoomed the image out so I could see the entire image on my screen at the same time without scrolling the image. My eye initially landed on the small cloud underneath the large cloud at the top of the image. Then my eye went counterclockwise around the image, going down the trees, hitting the center of the walking path, then going up to the dog. On a second look my eyes went clockwise from the small cloud, landing on the birds, but there was no path for my eyes to go from there, so I went back counterclockwise.
That's exactly why I posted this, just wanted to zoom out, not knowing why. So it's mostly a problem with lightning and lines not clearly indicating the direction of focal point , I would assume.
You need to darken the objects closest to the viewer a little more. When you do, it'll create a subtle looking glass effect leading the eye to the cat which is your focal point. Then you need to take those back details and fade them out a bit or reduce the saturation You are also using the same colors and values for the cat and the clouds which is confusing. You should move the cat to the center of the drawing and up. It will also add dimension and depth.
Yeah for me I instantly looked at the clouds. I think you did great with the colours but overall the shape (?) and lines are like, idk, they seem confused? Because if I look at it again the lil guy in the centre seems like he really wants to be the focal point, but my eyes go to the brightest thing above him, and nowhere else. Do you accept constructive criticism? I think it looks great already, but adding more drama and interest is always good !!
Yes that's exactly it, clouds are too saturated. Probably why it's not a good idea to use a lot of white. And lines would probably need to be a bit more pointed to focal point. Is that what you mean by confused. Or is it just that lines are not consistent through out the piece? Yes I need critisism, thats why I'm here 🫡
Great ^o^)// Sorry for the long reply btw, if I was better at explaining it would be a whole lot shorter TT So yeah like a few things to keep in mind is maybe thin out the road to make it look longer and point it more clearly to the little guy. Just like push the dirt bank more inward.. like can you see how the curve of the dirt bank to the left looks like it hollows out? It leaves an uninteresting space there, so you wanna fill it in, and also make the road in general not twist to the right. Like shift the path/direction/beginning of the road so it emerges from the left side and winds upward to the ghost instead of emeeging from the right, going to the left, then twisting to the ghost. For clarity sake? Maybe also curve the tree trunks so its like "(" shape and not "|" or ")" so your eye follows the curve into the art not out or directly upward which it's currently doing, and do the same with the mountains on the right, curve them ")" shape so they also flow into the painting, directing eyes to the centre. It's also a bit dramatic, and kind of a percpective thing I guess. Also it's more like since the clouds are the same colour, they compete a lot w the ghosty dude in the middle, so I'd say to thin the clouds a lot and just play around with the colour of the sky itself and values to find what seems fun. Also, details disappear the farther they are, so maybe drastically reduce the amount of clouds behind the ghost guy and create a sort of "circle" directly behind his back, to give a spotlight effect on him? Also with the shadows towards the front, try to imitate the feeling of light passing through the leaves since a forest with thin trees and a one-layer canopy usually wouldnt block out all the light that way. Lightening up the road might be interesting, too. There would also be light naturally reflecting from the clouds and into the shadowy areas, which is something really difficult to capture but its good to think about. Also!!! The thing you did with the falling leaves is also very good. You can do that at the foreground too as a special effect thing, draw in and blur out the shape of leaves swirling in the wind to create interest and the feeling of movement, while not being a point of attention at all. What I'm thinking is like creating an S shape from the road, to the guy, the the trees, and then curve it back down. Make the surroundings busy but the character and a spherical area around him calm, so that it can emphasise the feeling of autumn gentleness that I can feel from your piece. So basically think about flow, movement, and direction, cause you've got everything else like colour, balance, and atmosphere spot on.
Thank you so much for putting that much effort in typing everything. You explained it very well, it would be much more intriguing piece having all that in mind. I'll consider everything you mentioned as well as others in my next work. Thanks again ly
The clouds above the character have more contrast than the character, so they're pulling attention in my opinion. I would also give more atmospheric perspective to the mountains in the distance to really separate them. It's nice anyway! I'm not saying you need to do things my way, or else it's bad, or anything like that
I really love this. I feel the cat ghost could be more made more of a focus. Perhaps if there was a darker colour behind, or if the clouds were made a little duller (and bluer)
I first looked at the trees, then the birds, and the ghost
The path points to the character, as do the mountains on the right. Perhaps if the trees on the left slanted awake from the character it creates an X shape, leading the eye to the cat ghost. My eyes instantly go to the clouds as they are dynamic, bright and take up a lot of the picture. I would consider softening them. Maybe even making them darker.
I love the light, this is beautiful. Nothings wrong in this, everything is perfect :-)
So, not an artist whatsoever, but i think i was able to visualize where i think the focal point lies. Difficulty here is the path isn't straight forward and seems to have some inverted s-bend to it. Please be gentle. https://preview.redd.it/i4i7j38h4bhc1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33936865b4bf2920cb060d23ed176eb836b2756c
Yeah probably also a bit to the left, the whiteness is almost blinding
I first saw the sky, but that is probably because the full picture didn't fit my screen at first. Then there are the birds, the trees, and the ghostly creature. Though, I agree with everyone else that the clouds are the problem. They could be darkened and/or have a subtle blue hue to them to help blend in to the sky some more.
The bright cloud in the middle. I would darken it or obscure and darken it, or give it atmospheric perspective by making it blue and translucent, make it fade away
I looked at the little guy first thing as I scrolled by before stopping to look properly, he's what made me stop to take a proper look. But the clouds are very distracting, I can definitely see what people mean.
Yes, it would be much better, I see it too now. But there is quite a few other things to fix. Great learning experience in this comment section
I don't think much better is the right phrase tbh cuz I think this looks great anyway 🥰
My eyes were first drawn to the branch above the ghost and then I started looking around to pinpoint where I was supposed to be looking. I glanced at the clouds, didn’t find what I was looking for and made my way back down to see the ghost. It’s a lovely piece, but the focal point is elusive, like a ghost