Criticism Request [Digital Painted OC]

[Indigent.Squirrel 4]

Hello World! (First Post)

I am a digital art hobbyist looking for a bit of criticism for the piece below. In all honesty, any criticism you have would be much appreciated; from the art style, topic, structure, character design, image resolution, etc.!

This specific piece is called "Corpus Limbo." The OC's name is "Nebula Swirl" taking place in some forgotten wing of the Canterlot Archive. I've made a bit of a backstory to the character (which, if you are so inclined, you may read on my Deviantart here) the gist of which is that Neb is looking for a secret powerful book deep within the archives to further her own goals (nefarious or otherwise =o).

My primary goals with this piece were to (1) Develop a pony OC, (2) attempt to do something that looks three dimensional (with some level of realism), (3) create a piece that conveys a depth of field, and (5) play with a contrast of light and dark (from a singular point, that being the horn). While I have my own critics on this particular piece, I would like to hear what others with fresh eyes have to say regarding Corpus Limbo, and hopefully apply such things to a future piece.

You can find a slightly higher resolution (I think 1440x1440) of the image on my DeviantArt page (posted above)

 

Thanks!

I.S

[Indigent.Squirrel 4]

WHOOPS, I have included an older version, the correct image is:

 

There are only a few minor changes, but I think they are significant (some anatomy adjustment, and some light shading and other effects)

[Fasu 550]

A play with shadows and light really catch my attention - you've succeed with it really well. Also murky background and uneven pattern of floor gives nicely mystical feeling, fitting well with magical library. All around it looks great!

[Bleu 28]

Woah thats pretty cool!
waaay better than me hahah

I really like the style, it is sorta like a painting style
looks great!

[Lord Valtasar 12,685]

let me start by saying this looks great and you achieved the points you were trying to pretty well,
now then, since you asked for it, here it comes
the first thing that strikes me as odd is her ear, it's a tad too small and facing kinda straight at the camera instead of where she's looking at
while i get that you wanted to make a focal point with the lighted horn, it should still shed some light to the rest of the face and not just the eyes, while on the subject of lighting i'd also consider adding a bit of a rim light where the magic grabbing the book would reflect, hair also tends to be very reflective, same goes with that bell on her neck since it seems to be metalic
you could consider removing the handle from the glasses since there's no way it can go up to the ears, it looks a bit awkward
and that was it, overal it looks great, i'm just nitpicking at this point in little ways you could improve it since you asked, it's by no means a bad piece, and i really like how that library fades, and how you did the magic

[Usager 431]

I would add some shading where the head connects with the neck

Pretty good work, love the light n shade 

[Indigent.Squirrel 4]

Thanks all for the kind words and thoughtful criticism! While I've already considered this particular piece completed (and I do not intend to update it any further), I'll keep your suggestions in mind for my next piece. I still have a ways to go in regards to shading and reflection/refraction as well more thoroughly checking my anatomy. (Ever the problem of any artist, perhaps).

Thanks again!

My next pony piece is a ways off at the moment (still brainstorming), though hopefully it matches or exceeds this one. If you have any more criticism for this piece, or other pointers, I would love to hear them! =3 (Or if you want pointers or criticism but do not want to post them publicly, I'd also love to help you out through a PM; I'm planning on sticking around for a bit).