Would dearly appreciate some feedback - re-entering illustration field

lidia-ull

Hello, Everyone!

So.... after some time away I'm attempting to make my work known to the world of illustration and to refresh my portfolio. I think I'm being seen as rather of old-school so it's been super tough going so far.

I would really, really appreciate any thoughts on these three pieces. I'm too close to them to assess with any objectivity.

Thank you soooooo much for looking!

Asyas_illos

These are absolutely gorgeous! Old school or not I think it’s a beautiful style! I have no critique for you great job!

lidia-ull

@Asyas_illos Oh my, thank you so much! You have certainly given me a much needed boost in confidence - especially because I've been following your work here on the forum for some time and love seeing your posts! I appreciate that you took the time to look and comment. It's difficult , as you have probably experienced, when you don't have anyone to give a little feedback once in a while. As artists we work in solitary most of the time! Thanks again!

Asyas_illos

@lidia-ull you’re welcome do you have somewhere we can view more of your work?

Melissa_Bailey

@lidia-ull first off, GORGEOUS style. I'm in LOVE!

Here's a little smidge of feedback:

In the first two illustrations, I didn't realize that the character had that long of a snout. I wondered whether she was a wolf or a canine-ish creature or a wombat. The third illustration made it clear, seeing her from the side, that she's an adorable wolf. Your character consistency is great -- it's the different views that can make it difficult to read what this character is. Perhaps stronger shading along one side of her snout when seen from the front view will make it seem like it's more prominent instead of flatter?
You've handled values beautifully in the first two illustrations, with the focus being on the main character. In the third illustration, she blends in more and the fireflies are what my eye goes to first. Are the fireflies meant to be the focal point in this illustration?

Lovely style. Beautiful rendering. Well drawn and adorable characters. Looking forward to seeing where you go in the illustration field!

Griffin McPherson

If this is "old school" then we need more old school. I find so many children’s book’s illustrations look and feel too similar to one another but your style stands out. I think you could control your values s bit better, have a bit more contrast, but otherwise I like these pieces

Eliana Bastidas

Very lovely and beautiful. IMO, I would only fix the contrast of the images, the characters get lost in the background on image 2 and 3.

Nyrryl Cadiz

@lidia-ull Hi! First of all, beautiful style! Secondly, this style is not old school at all. In fact, styles like these are getting more popular nowadays.

Lovely style, I enjoy the quiet colors in these illustrations.

lidia-ull

@Eliana-Bastidas Thank you so much, Eliana! I will definitely play around with the values more. I was experimenting a little with these and worried that I would lose the night feeling if I went too light. Thanks!

lidia-ull

@Nyrryl-Cadiz Thank you for taking the time to comment and give my confidence a boost, Nyrryl_Cadiz!! I certainly hope this look is going to at least a bit more interest from agents and publishers in the future. Feels like I;m sending things out into a black hope right now. Thanks again!

lidia-ull

@Stephanie-H Hi, Stephanie! Thank you so much! It's always rewarding to hear that someone enjoys the work. I'm trying to put together a project built around things I love doing including colors that are personal preferences. Not sure if it will come together in the end but at least I will have enjoyed the journey!

lidia-ull

@Griffin Oh, thank you, Griffin! I really needed to hear that right now. I'm so happy you read the images with such a positive result! I agree that I do need to adjust the values and I will most certainly work on that. I wasn't sure if it was just me or if others would see that as well but thanks to everyone here I can proceed with more confidence! Thank you so very very much. It helps more than I can say.

lidia-ull

@Melissa_Bailey
Melissa, Thank you so very very much! That's quite a compliment from someone who does such gorgeous work of her own!

Your feedback was extremely helpful. You managed to hone in one the very things that were bothering me the most but I couldn't decide if it was because I was too close to the work [sometimes if I can step away from something for a few weeks I can tell but I wanted to continue working on this project] or if I was too critical of myself.

The image with the fireflies came first and started as just a piece for fun. So, I'm still discovering who this little wolf really is, I guess The nose is a problem for my eyes as well so I will definitely work on getting everything consistent. And, yes, the fireflies are meant to be the main characters in that particular image!

Thank you again, for everything!

Melissa_Bailey

@lidia-ull you're so very welcome! Please keep us updated on your progress. Would love to see more of this little cutie!