Hello all! As a disclaimer, I'm not the best artist - I'm really very amateur - but I want to get better and MAYBE even good enough to release a CW someday.

This is my very first attempt at drawing a wearable, and it's just the start of the drawing, but I wanted to post and get some feedback on what I have so far. It's an original idea I had for a demon-themed bag. I'm a noob when it comes to shading and would be really appreciative if any of you could help me figure out how to shade this, or link some good shading/highlighting tutorials!

This is done in Photoshop by the way, which I'm still figuring out how to get the outline to look right.

My drawing so far

Thank you!

(Also, pinging cuz I mentioned this to you in a comment, in case you wanted to take a look c: )

Thanks so much for the ping, my buggery bug friend! Oh man, I like this concept by the way; it's somehow cute and mischievous simultaneously, heehee. While I'm not the best at more clothing-related CW critiques, I think you've got some good perspective going on here! The lineart is maybe slightly thick in my opinion, and the horn farthest from us looks very slightly lower than it should perhaps (even with perspective taken into account), but that's just me.

As for shading-related tips, you should totally use more than one layer! I know you said this was still a work-in-progress and very early stage though, so I'm sure you were going to. I actually made a CI (Custom Item) Tutorial back in 2011 (and there are more resources linked in the description of it, too), but I should probably update it / make a new one that explains more of my process that I use nowadays.

When it comes to coloring, one of the best tips I can give you is to use dynamic colors (like how I explained in my tutorial, for instance) - here's a step-by-step of an image I did to show you some of my process for shading.

- Step By Step - Animation of Steps

Does that help any? Good luck with CW-making! With enough practice, you'll get there! ❤️❤️

I'm not an artist but I just wanted to say that purse is SUPER cute! <3

You're honestly doing really great, and I think with some patience and tweaking you'd have no problem getting this onsite. It's already got an amazing shape and it's a great design! From what I can see currently, I think your lines will need a bit of thinning, but they're very smooth and are great quality! C: Shading on this really depends on the type of material you're looking for it to appear to be made of n_n A stiff fabric like leather will be shaded entirely different than something soft like cotton! Feel free to ping me if you want any kind of in depth help! I can redline a basic idea of shading to get you started in the right direction if you'd like and once I know what type of fabric you're going after, or if you'd rather I can assist you in finding some refs!

GL! C: You can do it!

@Cresenta Thank you so much c:

Thanks for the feedback and advice! One thing I wanted to ask was about the perspective, because I asked another friend for his feedback and this is what he said about the perspective:

He thinks that the top edge of the bag is a bit too slanted, and he drew (in green) where he thinks it should be. What do you guys think of this? Should I change it to follow his suggestion? I definitely wanna get the shape and outline right before I do any more shading or anything.

To : I'm actually not sure - since it's my first attempt at drawing this kinda thing, I guess I'd want to do whatever material/texture would be easiest? But I do imagine it to be leather, but dark red and not very glossy. The horns and tail I imagine to be made of metal, so eventually I will be adding some highlights/glare to it. I would definitely appreciate any redlining you'd be willing to do for me, because I really don't know what I'm doing with shading - I just imagine the light source (top left) and try to put the darker shadows on the right corners?? But other than that I don't really know how to determine the shape, or what colors would be good to shade with :o

Okay, so starting out the first thing I want to state is that shading is typically unique to the person, and as you learn to shade, you'll develop a style of your own. I highly suggest experimenting with your style as you learn to shade these items, and even when given advice, I really encourage you never to copy it to the letter, if only because while someone offering help may have more experience with cws, that doesn't mean we can guarentee you an approval. Only Jessi (who does the queue) can approve or deny items. C:

That said, back to the item! In regards to the critique your friend gave you, yes, you could raise that side a little, or you could lower the bottom a little to match the angle of the top a little more. I don't really encourage you to make it an accurate rectangle though, since a bag isn't a solid, but will crumple and fold and adjust since it's fabric. Even leather would have a little bit of give to it. C:

And now for the detailed shading stuff! I shaded this as basic as I could and I tried to leave my personal style out as much as I could so you can pick up your own habits n_n LINK (Light 2 is optional, if you wanted it to look semi-glossy but since you don't, you could skip that. The drop shadow, if not 100% easy to spot, is the shadowing cast by the horns onto the bag. Always remember to shade as a whole, and not each item individually C:

GL! Let me know / ping me if you need any clarifications / have any questions or comments / want to ask for opinions once you've done more work / etc. I promise it wouldn't be a bother and I'll be happy to help n_n

This looks so dope! I love this bag! 😍