/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

>>4769239
>>4769263
>smudge
You're spot on about edges and contrast but it isn't the smudge tool that was used to accomplish this, it really is just pure value contrast with the intent to exaggerate the edges. You can do this by saving all the lightest/darkest value accents for last and painting into/out of them with the rest of your range as you deem necessary. Also I'm not discounting the smudge tool or anything, but you can do just as much with the soft round and proper calligraphy paired with time investment. Pic related was a life study the dude did on and off for something close to a month if I remember right.

>>4086233
this is the piece i was trying to mimic
and damn is he good!

>>3608376
>wow you cant like something because it has no story!
>abstract artists BTFO
>everyone who ever liked a drawing/painting just because it looks pretty BTFO
this anon right here everyone is going to redefine art with meaningful stories behind them! oooh man i cant wait!

>>2974267
You need to exaggerate your values more, too. Push those core shadows and exaggerate contrast. A couple of your forms just drift into each other like his left pectoral into his armpit, for example. The value you used for the shadow shape of his arm drips into the contour of his pec. This Ruan study is similarly mostly using a soft round, but the points the look the most crispy are points with the most extreme of contrast relative to everything else around it. Also note that even though he blows out his core shadows, he uses exaggerated reflective light to sculpt the form within the shadow shapes.

>>2729197

Reminder that Ruan Jia also studied the fundamentals.
Famous quote from RJ
>We're all gonna make it brahs