I've just been starting to do my own CWs and I'm concerned about a few things so if I may I thought I would ask for some critique on my current project.

With the overlay I added shading that basically copies the shading on the arm since it's supposed to a solid black. I'm also worried that it makes the arm look too flat? Tried curving a few lines but want to make sure hopefully it's enough.

Lining is not my strong suit, will this do? pointed out to me that some of lines look off, tried to fix a bunch of them on the bottle and I'm worried it wasn't enough. Also hexagons + perspective of some sort, probably needs to fixed a bit better...

Originally had the ink flat but it looked really off to me.

Any constructive critique is welcome, just getting started on things and my confidence isn't really there so I keep questioning myself. Thanks again ahead of time. You're welcome to draw/red line all over things haha.

edit: oke im really super not free im soweeee ;-;

hi hi!!! first of all i love this idea and ill take it in every color, please ;)

so - from a purely aesthetic point of view i think you don't necessarily need curving of lines even though it's anatomically correct. i was thinking the same thing about my and i was slightly nervous it wouldn't be accepted because the lines were so sharp but i REALLY wanted that digital look - and i ended up keeping all of the lines sharp and it worked out. (but of course this is slightly different because yours is more of a true tattoo instead of an appliqué)

i personally think the shading youve got now is more than enough not to make the arm look flat! if you don't want to do shading, one thing i often do with tattoos if i feel they look flat is i color the entire thing pure black but reduce the opacity of the actual tattoo to anywhere from 75-90%. it just depends on your personal preference!

overall i think the overlay doesn't need anything changed, it invokes the spirit of the original very well without looking muddled (though i'd need to see it at the actual HA size to be positive on that one; you may have to make the gaps between the hexagons bigger for it to look as good tiny)

as for the CI - i think you're almost there. aesthetically, i like the bottom one more because i like your little hexagons and how they lay out, but i agree with you that the perspective might be grounds for a denial.

linework wise, the first/new example is looking good, but they're still a tad bit wobbly. you might want to try using the pen tool for the outer lines then go back in with the brush to taper them; that's the only way i can get smooth lines ;_;

another strategy is to do the CI HUGE - i usually do mine at 500x500px (which might be overkill lmao)

actually now that i look at the bottom CI, the non-perspective hexagons look kinda cool like you're pouring it from above to make a vertical floating pattern? lmao

sorry im long winded and exhausted so let me know if any of this doesnt make sense ^_^v

the first thing I noticed with the CI is that the hexagons themselves do not look tangible. The bottle is lying on the "ground" with ink spilling out -- this means that the hexagons should also lay flat, not front-view. I am currently at work and cannot draw but here's a google ref i found!

has a good suggestion for larger CI canvas but make sure that the lines are super super soft otherwise they'll resize very sharp and pixelated. This tends to happen more with SAI than it does with PS though. The one thing I slightly dislike of large CIs is that you spend a lot of time on details that will hardly be visible once resized at 64 x 64. I mean it's good practise to work on those but it can get a bit frustrating to love a particular bit of your CI only to not being able to see it in the end haha

One last suggestion! Try not to shade purely in grayscale. I totally get that it's supposed to be a transparent bottle & black ink but there's usually small hints of colors to avoid the whole 'looks gray' denial that sometimes pop up.

First, loving this!! I'd love to see a rescaled HA version as well so we can have a better idea of how it looks when you submit ~ Overall, though, dollipop's recommendation for lowering the opacity slightly was what I was going to suggest to make it look less striking / flat on the arm :)

For the item, echoing dollipop's sentiment that the bottom one could be really cool if you make it look like you're pouring! Otherwise, it may need to be tilted to get the proper perspective.

Personally, I think the "pouring" look might be challenging and might be denied anyway, so I'd maybe prefer just changing the perspective of the ink.

CLICK FOR REF

Chose that ref because you can almost see vague hexagon shapes if you squint at it enough XD

Hope that helped a little bit ~ <3 I can't wait to see more stuff from you ~ :D

Thank you both so much for your help! The ref you gave me Cathii, it will help a lot. I do think it needs to be grounded with the bottle, the flat on didn't look right. I was working with hexagon brushes for the overlay and they don't quite work for the CI haha. I'm working in photoshop since I'm not accustomed to SAI, but you might be right to work on a larger canvas, currently I'm doing 128 x 128.

I really appreciate you both taking the time to help!

[edit] Yeah the ink part needs quite a bit of reworking, getting the right perspective is a challenge. The ref I used for the bottle only had a small drop and not a larger puddle to work with so I'm making it up as I go. (I should've used something with more of a puddle, xDD) Thank you as well for your help!

Normal size for viewing

I think the perspective on your bottle looks great! For doing your hexagons in perspective though, I'd start out with squares and carve from them to make the hexagons. It'll make them a little easier to put in perspective that way.

Like so!

I set up some quick vanishing points based on your bottle, and used those to make the squares so it would feel like it's in the same perspective as the bottle itself! I eyeballed the squares so the hexagons look a little stretched, but you get the idea! I found the midpoint using the cross section and eyeballed the other points if the hexagon. You might want to even form them as "blocks" of hexagons to get your basis and then make them a little more organic to feel more like puddles of ink.