I've done a second attempt: https://www.proko.com/community/topics/try-2 what do you guys think, @Nate @Leon ter Molen @E. A. V. ?

One thing that I have been told I need to work on are my shape and value hierarchies, basically, organizing shapes such that there is an appealing and balanced variety of big, medium and small shapes. I think you would benefit from that as well. On my first read of the character, I don't really know where to focus my attention. There is a lot of cool detail work in the chest piece, but the large, brightly lit diagonal armor plates in the skirt distract from those intricate elements. You could try varying the sizes of these areas and lighting of the different armor sections based on an established light source (reducing detail in some places by placing them in shadow, while brightening values in others to increase detail and draw the viewer's eye). Additionally, When graphic shapes are used in the backdrop on a character sketch, they are usually there to direct focus to a particular area on the character. Because the diamond shape behind the character is so large and mimics the diagonal lines in the skirt, it does not create a lot of contrast and the character feels a bit lost in the shape behind them. This can be resolved by placing a shape of contrasting design (for example organic vs. mechanical) and/or value and positioning it more off center so the character breaks the plane of the shape, hence creating contrast which focuses attention.

Hi @zms, Cool drawing!! Did you use any reference photos or did you make the drawing complete from imagination? And is the character connected to a story you have in mind? I think that one topic you could focus one is gesture (line of action), and the other topic is construction. The pose feels a bit stiff to me, the "line of action" is basically a very straight vertical line. I think the pose would improve and feel more dynamic if you would play around with the line of action. On @Proko they offer a great course that goes into depth about gesture: https://www.proko.com/course-lesson/how-to-draw-gesture/assignments . Also I feel that you get a bit lost in all the details. Did you lay-out the big shapes before you jumped into the details? Also I wonder how big is this drawing? Some of the details are hard to "read". Perhaps your drawing would improve if you would make the drawing again, but bigger. Keep at it! :) -Leon

I am a beginner so take my advice with a grain of salt. I would say more line variation would help balance this piece. All of the lines I see are incredibly heavy and dark and the details seem to get lost in this, I end up not knowing what I am looking at. I do like how solid the pose feels, it seems to go well with the armor and the general idea that the character is giving me. Keep up the great work, I'm curious to see what you do next!