Enhancing Art Style with Contrast: A Step-by-Step Tutorial on Improving Drawings

Can we improve this drawing submitted by Lala, who says they love this art style and they wanna get there. You’ve done really good. And this art style is amazing. Notice how there’s a think separation between the skin and the hair and a clear outline between them that shows contrast. When you place dark next to light, you’re creating contrast. That’s the purpose of outline. So I’ll just make the outline of the face slightly darker and darken the features as well, because that’s separating them from the skin. I’ll do the same with the eyebrows and also add a darker outline between the hair and the face. And right next to the outline, I would make it lighter so there’s higher contrast.

Also notice these shadows here in the hair. These are called occlusion shadow and they appear when two hair strands have a gappy between them and less light is able to read. That’s why they’re so dark. So another way to add contrast is to add these occlusion and have a lighter color right next to them in order to show the clear separation between dark and light. Finally, for the hand, I would add more light on the edges, slightly darker outlines and dark reclusion shadows. And this is before and after. Did we improve this drawing?