Ok.. i'm going to give up on this point. xD

Trying to draw a kimono..thing with pretty long and stiff sleeves. Here my first two versions: (zoomed in: click) Both got denied because of the sleeve on the right side. (our right side..) The main points are: *lightsource unclear and *too much left unshaded/shading too simple

I tried to take our other kimonos as ref, but its not really helping. I don't want a lot of folds and wrinkles, its supposed to be stiff and long and without any movement. =/

So.. am i just stupid? xD Any ideas how to shade this? ._. (here is the fullsize - click)

You're not stupid, it's just that CWs are tricky. We have to shade it in a weird form to fit their size. By "unclear light source", they mean you're shading it uniformely. Notice how many of the Subetan items are shaded as having a light source from the top left corner. It means what is at left of HA has to be lighter or have a stronger light focus, and what is at right has to be darker. Also, try adding more contrast, because the way it's shaded it sounds like the shading is actually a different tone of blue of the fabric. You may think it looks weird at first, but when you resize it, you'll notice it works.

Haha, yeah i know what they mean with lightsource unclear.. i don't really agree on it especially on the second version (where i already darkened it manually..xD). However, the problem is the shape of the shading on the sleeve. You know what i mean? I know how to draw folds to break the "too much unshaded" problem. However, i don't want it to be folded. So i need a shading that allows me to shade a stiff, straight piece of fabric in a way that doesn't leave too much unshaded. scratchinghead.. =/

I don't think the problem is so much with what you've got there, as that it just needs more. I'd toss another layer of shading on top along with maybe a little bit of highlight as right now the shading almost comes across more as a pattern to me than as actual shading and the whole thing is left looking rather flat. Maybe try something like so? click (Not entirely sure as to how you want it to come across so sorry if this is completely unhelpful!)

I know you know, but your item doesn't show that. You know, what I meant is, you need to do this: [IMG]http://i364.photobucket.com/albums/oo90/cokelover_otaku/editpigfw-1.png[/IMG]

Oh it is helpful! Thank you much! Mhh.. i see what you mean! I was just afraid the unshaded areas in the front part of the sleeve are still too big.. but maybe they really meant the shading not being "strong" enough.. xD

starts to try that

Actually it is not possible to have a shade like this on your shoulder if your light is coming from the top. xD But yes, there needs to be more/deeper shade on the side of the sleeve.

Glad it helps! Yeah, I don't think you need more wrinkles per say, just another layer or two to add depth. Good luck! :)