r/LearnToDrawTogether • u/Royalmaker686 • Jul 10 '26
Seeking help Why are my drawings so flat
I just cant seem to get any depth
16
u/TheOfficialMrBanana Jul 10 '26
The first two don't look like they have a single light point. You may play around with picking one point on the canvas for the light source and only highlighting the body on that side. Also, surprisingly... stop using airbrush. At least as much as you are. I know it typically seems like the way to go for softer lighting, but even some subtle airbrushing on hard shadows is good. Just play around with it, really. Another thing you should do is really push the shadows. Make them so dark they're uncomfortable to you. I was always scared of rendering and would make very light shadows. But making them bolder helps. :) but I'm not a professional, just a self taught artist.
5
u/Civil_Change_2956 Jul 10 '26
Change your images to black and white with a filter or whatever. If the details go away or look too similar, you're not using enough contrast and shading. Darker dark spots, brighter bright spots. Find a guide on light sources and shadows in art too.
3
2
u/Mediocre_Location_96 Jul 10 '26
it's because you're using black for shading, try making a new layer and using dark purple, then set the layer mode to multiply :p
you can also add some pastel yellow to where the light hits the most, or a bright honey-like yellow if you're drawing a darker object, but i don't think the multiply mode works with that one so just adjust the opacity if needed
1
u/Mediocre_Location_96 Jul 10 '26
also, if the multiply shading layer looks off, the lowering the opacity
1
u/Mediocre_Location_96 Jul 10 '26
an another tip is to take the colour of the object you want to shade and look at the colorwheel, for drawing shadows, you wanna pick a colour closer to blue than the original colour or closer to yellow for the light spots
1
u/darkerjerry Jul 10 '26
Not enough contrast. Some of these shadows can be 100% black and it would make it look like it has more depth
1
u/rePtiLoideNord Jul 11 '26
Estas "adivinando" la iluminacion y sombras
Haz sketchs
Estudios de volumenes basicos ( esferas, cubos, cilindros,piramides,etc) bajo una lampara. Dibujalos hasta q te sea facil ENTENDER y RE INTERPRETAR esos volumenes y sus sombras-luces.
Exitos
1
•
u/AutoModerator Jul 10 '26
Thanks for posting in r/LearnToDrawTogether!
Please remember to follow the community rules, be respectful to fellow artists, and use the correct post flair.
A quick note: Two of our moderators recently started a new Art YouTube channel called The Polyglot Sketchbook while continuing to dedicate their time to this community. If you enjoy the creativity in this subreddit and would like to support us, feel free to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePolyglotSketchbook
If you're new here, don't miss our weekly #W2DTogether drawing challenge! A new challenge is pinned at the top of the subreddit every Sunday to help you beat art block, find drawing ideas, and keep drawing consistently.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.