[Martin Rebas]

I often ruin drawings by adding a lot of inconsistent shading. Here's a slightly stylized drawing I made today; it would've looked nice inked or as a clear-line drawing, but no, for some reason I had to add shading.

My question is: Why doesn't the shaded drawing look half as cool as the sketch? Do I just suck? For extra points, critique the anatomy.

(Both versions were drawn without reference of any kind. And yes, I know that the girl's hand looks really weird on the sketch).

[the_monkey]

i think the shading makes it look that much better.

just add a bit more tones to the skin and i think it will turn out nicely.

[Steven Stahlberg]

It could be that the shading is pointing out more clearly to you some errors in the original drawing, this happens a lot with me. In this case it could also be that the shading in the boots is detracting attention from the head, leave the boots as they were maybe.

[swampbug]

you could keep going with this... LEave it B&W, but make your canvas very long but keep the same general height. Make it look like a bunch of people walking back and forth in a street. (though, no street is needed.. the white space will do fine) This is just a suggestion.

You could practice character/proportions/ poses/ anatomy/ movement//blahh blahh blahh etc.. etc... yadda yadda.. Whatever whatever... ... ... :P

[William H. Daniels]

I think the far leg should be in the position of the near leg and vice versa. Otherwise, there is a strange twist to her abdomen that would cause too much imbalance, whether she is walking or standing. Her shoulders indicate that she is turning toward us, but her hips are turning in the other direction. If she keeps this up, she'll twist in two.

I prefer the shaded version.

[Gryphon]

I, too, prefer the shaded version. I like seeing the clothing folds and I think that they improve the drawing, not detract from it.

As for the anatomy: She seems to have really underdeveloped calves. Normally, wearing heels will actually make the muscle stand out more, not less. Thus, for the foot positioned on the ground, the weight will compress her calf and make it more pronounced than what you're showing.

I agree about the shoulder-hip placement being off - if I recall correctly, the shoulders are supposed to be at an opposite angle to the hips. Her shoulders don't seem to be angled at all, which is why the top half of her looks like she's standing still. I'd say place the left foot further forward and she won't look like she's about to capsize.

Her face seems a little askew as well - are the features too close together? I'm not sure why they look odd to me. However, the jawline should not be curving like that for a woman. It's a little too pronounced.

I very much like the rendering of the skirt, though - again, nice folds. Might be too tight to walk in, though.

Well, do I get my bonus points?