about to print this for my gfs bday...

That blur for the background is beyond ugly.

She will be your ex-gf if you give her that.

>looking for any last minute critique before I print it
Can't give any critique, but some advise: If you want to keep that gf of yours, maybe buy her something nice for her birthday instead.

>>2764990

its a photographer thing, used in portrait photography since forever, so i thought it'd be a good idea to incorporate it

you'd rather it just be totally in focus or less out of focus?

>>2764995
>>2764998

this isn't the only thing im giving her, but she's been asking for me to draw her a capricorn for a while

>>2765000
>this isn't the only thing im giving her
yeah, i don't think your dick will cut it

but nice trips

>>2765000
>lens flare
>sparkles
>blur filter
Those all need to go

Also her left arm looks really broken

>>2764970
She lost the election.

>>2764970
terrible color composition
terrible facial expression
stiff gesture
mismatching styles between the back and fore grounds
and te other shit anons mentioned, blur, lends flare, sparkles...

>>2765033

Don't listen to this guy about color OP, i dont think this anon knows what hes talking about in terms of color composition at all


the color composition is actually on point

warm colors in front and cold desaturated in the back

not to mention orange hair and fleshtones go well with the tealish green of the body which also contrasts correctly with the purplish pink water that then leads in the purple mountains and into the greenish grey trees. I dont know if you did all that by mistake, but the level of knowledge here makes me think it was intentional


overall the piece is very well done, the left arm looks off and maybe the tail fin looks a little stiff, but the gesture is great and although i dont like lens flare, Ive read enough comics and seen enough "mystical" material to understand the reasoning for its use

>>2764970
The lady is the only thing that looks decent in this. This piece looks confused and busy as hell. You need to tone down the saturation in the back, and maybe add a little fog for depth if you want her to stand out. And ffs get rid of that lens flare.

>>2765040
hi OP

>>2764970
Whatever you do keep the tits

>>2764970
I could rant for good 10 mins about how badly these various techniques and styles you used go together, but eh.
If you don't have a back up plan, it's alright, print it, she'll say it's cute that you gave her something hand-made and maybe give you a bj.

Tomorrow pick up a good book from the sticky, get rid of the shading and start doing studies. Also surround yourself with some good art, interact with the community so you'll develop a taste. No offense mate, I hope you'll turn out fine.

How do you make your sparkles?

hands and nipples seems too small
background too blurry
ribcage is concave
torso is too short

>>2765010

I didn't even notice, i see it now too thanks

>>2765033

the facial expression comes from reference, actually the entire body does....so saying an actual human has a stiff gesture is kind of makes me doubt your critiquing skills (no offense)

The color composition seems to work for my eyes, but I'm curious what part of that you seem to think doesnt?

Also, i dont know what you mean by differing styles..the entire thing is done with the same exact brushes....so that kinda makes me suspect on what you have to say as well...but im all ears if you care to elaborate

>>2765040

It was. Dealing with color is something I do for a living so....

thanks for wording all that for me so I didn't have to

>>2765041

that's the main focus, the rest is really just to finish the piece. I did desaturate the background, but I can experiment with doing more

>>2764970
I'm surprised no one mentioned the horns are in a different perspective than her face/off center.

Also why make a capricorn a mermaid wat

something I just thought of....are your guys monitors calibrated? Mine is......I wonder if that is playing a part here

>>2765061

hah will do

>>2765070

get rid of the shading? that seems like a strange suggestion

>>2765072

custom brush just for this particular piece

>>2765074

the background bokeh effect was intentional, but I'll expiriment with the different levels of it

the body was all based on an actual human, BUT this is also a capricorn (half goat, half fish, human hybrid creature so the body proportions should be a little more flexible and fishlike). ill recheck the hands though, i think i see what you're saying..fingers maybe long...nipples look pretty good to my tastes though

>>2765099

a capricorn is a seagoat

half goat and half fish

i never knew that till I dated a capricorn myself, always thought it was just a goat

>>2764970
just so you know, you ask for critique on shit in the early stages or a piece, not at the fucking end when it is pretty much impossible to fix anything without redoing the whole thing from scrap. just used these critiques for the next piece, forget about fixing this one (though it is better than 90% of /ic/ as is)

>>2765097
her stiffness is the biggest flaw

her hips are in a position of driving the weight of the body thru them into the ground, where it's clear she's suppose to come out of the water and if you look at dolphins or whatever you want jumping ouf of the water you will see they hold their back straight or slightly bend over in the direction of their jump

on the other hand, going by her hand I would say she's staying still, but for that she would need to keep her tail in the water and definelity not outside

and lastly, fishes never touch their back with their tail, the tail is a continuation of the spine, not of legs, so she would have no knees to allow for that much of mobility. There is no animal I know of which can bend his spine from just one point in an almost 180 degree angle

in conclusion, the position of the hands, hips, tail and overall body imply all a different state (standing still, jumping out of the water, swimming forward - the tail for the last one) which creates a stiff gesture

>>2765102
>half goat and half fish
hmm, I see no half human in there, going by that OP's picture is not a capricorn then

>>2765121
>don't ever personify the zodiac under my watch

>>2765100
Oops, I meant rendering. It's flawed, it distracts you and the worst of all it tricks you into thinking the painting is overall nice.

>>2764970
Just make sure those mammaries don't make your gf feel inadequate.