really like the background and light source.

@drawingmelee
Thanks a lot! I also think the greens make really a difference. I have to see now how I proceed with the woods in the larger distance down on the plains. I hope I can update this soon. 🙂

I'm having fun with my new crow quill dip pen and india ink. I made this little birdie (a ruby crowned kinglet) for Illustration Friday this week. If you want to read my tiny story about it, its on my blog. http://anthemsweet.blogspot.com/2017/01/illustration-friday-sound.html
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Awesome!

I am sorry to hear of your father passing

MERRY XMAS SVS!! Here is my finished piece. 0_1482689821065_xmas_zoo.jpg

Hi guys,
that is my latest piece. Here in Germany I am still waiting for the first snow. 😞 Maybe drawing snow flakes helps...
What about style, color, shadow, lights in this Illustration? Any comment is very welcome.
Wish you all a great winter season!
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@Jana Good to have you back Jana! Happy holidays to you too!

@lmrush Thank you thank you ❤

@anthemsweet I noticed that Madonnas are either looking at us, or Madonna and child make eye contact, or the Madonna has dreamy eyes while hugging the child.

Maybe if she was looking at the child it would have emotional connection?

I love the color!

@Charlie-Eve-Ryan Thanks Charlie. I appreciate that. Yeah the lights were the thing that was missing. I'm really glad I posted this picture on the forum because I have had some great help.

@Russ-Van-Dine Thanks!

@evilrobot Turning characters correctly requires lots of practice. We are still lucky that as a preparation for illustration work they do not need to be so exact. In preproduction for animation character turns have to be extremely precise and I remember losing points for things like the position of the feet not aligning properly....
Be careful with your child characters -there seem to be too many lines on the face. They affect age and character appeal negatively. In children and young women it is generally advised to only hint at the features and to be very minimalistic with lines on the face.

Welcome to the Haunted House. I'm working on making busy images with a lot of elements. I made this one with all of my Inktober2016 ideas. If I was in the house party I would be one of the goofy ghosts because they are up to michief having fun.
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@LuArtM

Thank you!

First fully rendered piece I've finished in a while. It got a lot darker when I saved it as a jpg not sure how to stop that.0_1479191424478_finished-small.jpg

Some of you may know that I do weekly paintings - these are not client related but they help me get fast and meet deadlines (even if the deadlines are my own.)
Here is this week's painting. I sure would like some feedback. I know it is not fully a finished piece but it helps to hear constructive critique.
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How weird - I swear I commented a long comment on this last night! Argh to computer glitches! Anyway, this is a lovely illustration. I'm not familiar with the story of the black swan, so I can't really comment on the context of the illustration's back story, but I'm guessing maybe it's the same as the black sheep? But I agree with Chip that a cool colored background would really help make the swan pop more. Also, I'd maybe add some greys to the swan with a white highlight or two on his feathers and feet. That will all help to make him look a bit more dimensional. I love the pose!

Nice! I am loving these sketches.
How did you find your new Cintiq?

Good mood piece! and Happy Halloween!