From brief looking & comparing to your ultimate goals:
- learn anatomy. It's overwhelming but worth branching into. I still struggle but take it a piece at a time.
- Gestures are important but what are you wanting to achieve out of them? Find a focus.
- learn composition and how to frame shots. What helps me was to study my favorite films alongside comics. This will help make things more dynamic!
- blackspotting & line weight. This is the biggest i see out of everything. Your values and lines are very muddy and dull. This can distract from what you want to achieve and underwhelm the scene.
Here is a rundown i already wrote up prior on inking.
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line weight depends on
- fluid vs stiff
- direct exposure to light source
- Foreground vs Mid vs backdrop
- importance of detail
- stylizations vs realism
fluidity can stem from longer natural strokes.
"Use your arm, boyo!" Move the entire arm to make a stroke instead of flicking the wrist.
This guy helps demonstrate:
It can be harder to make long motions with a digital tablet but it is doable. Push to see what is manageable.
Your light source will determine your line width!
The more exposed to light, the less width. It helps create a depth without relying on color. Black spotting is your best friend when there is meant to be intense shadows. As well, defining the light source will help garner mood and attention.
A method i was taught and loosely keep is the 80/20 rule. If you have 80% black/dark then you need 20% light/white and vice versa.
For work that involves backdrops. Keep in mind that an object in the direct foreground of a frame will appear heavier than the dude standing on the hill way in the backdrop.
Detail will also play a large factor. If something is meant to stand out, make it so. Keeping everything the same width can make it feel “busy” or cluttered. It forces the eye to not be able to find what is needed and short circuit. Don’t be responsible for broken eyes!
Lastly, stylization does not always equal up to realism [obvs]. It’s okay to experiment and break things. See what works for you. Realism relies more on value vs contours. Inking sometimes requires a suspension of belief!
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Godspeed and hope you find what you want/need
Edit: i noticed you do use some black spotting but i feel it's still very mismatched and blurrs into the other values.
