Colouring crit?
 

I'm just not entirely happy with my colouring style. I can't quite put my finger on it. I'd really appreciate some comments/criticism on the way I colour.

Here are my two latest pictures :]

http://fc24.deviantart.com/fs44/f/20...mai_Azarni.png http://fc67.deviantart.com/fs45/i/20...mai_Azarni.png

That's useful, thank you.
I'll try making the shading a little less soft, and see how that works for me. And a larger pallet *nod*. Thank you!!

They are nice and clean, but, yeah, they could use a little texture.

I think that you need more depth to your shading, especially on your skin. :3 Adding more values like dark purples for shadows or something (as an example) would be nice. =) After all, skin doesn't just go from brown to pale flesh in terms of color palette.

You can even try experimenting with different colors for shading/highlighting purposes. =) More fun when there's some form of outer lighting involved as well. :3

i do agree that you need more depth and saturation

when it comes to skin colors, this is a great ref

every line is a skin tone, from light to dark

and you can mix and match to get the effect you want as well as adding your own tones

http://deviantnep.deviantart.com/art...tches-23379123

Gosh, people on here are so much more polite and useful than I'm used to.
Thanks everyone, I'll take all of that in to account with my next picture <3

it's waaaaaay too smooth.
keep in mind not all shadows are blended, some have crisp edges. it all depends on the picture.

try playing around with different colours for shadows, they give different interesting effects. :D
i'd recommend creating the colour by a 50% or so layer of the shading colour over the skin tone. or overlay a whole bunch of 10% opacity layers.

hope that sorta helps. e__e