First bust, had a ton of fun, looking for feedback/tips to improve for next time.

[cyan wolf]

hello! would like to know what you'd particularly like feedback on? and what you were aiming for here

[marsh silo]

I was aiming for realism and to make it feel lifelike (as much as you can make a Star Trek alien look “real”)

In general I’m just looking for tips on realistic shading on faces, how to get more “life” out of the eyes…

I feel like I don’t know what I don’t know if that makes sense I’m not sure what even to ask to get better.

[cyan wolf]

i see! that's pretty concise. i'll give my two cents on those if you don't mind?

out of curiosity, did you have any reference photos that you used during painting?

[marsh silo]

I just google image searched “Cardassian”

[cyan wolf]

i just did the same and there seems to be a bunch of different photos with different hues of skin, so i guess there's not one way of depicting them huh

but first off i'd like to commend you for working with a sculpt that is rather rudimentary, a good sculpt is a painter's best friend. you did the most you could with such a limited headsculpt haha

[marsh silo]

Thanks! Ya it’s actually a toy from a cereal box from back in the 90s this is the “before”

[cyan wolf]

looks way better if you ask me

i don't know much about cardassian anatomy but i assume they're similar to humans in a way

but first off i think i'll have to ask what you used for the eyes?

[marsh silo]

In terms of colour? Primed black, then a dark reddish pink, then off-white. Irises are mix of blue and green. Pupil is black and a dot of white to simulate reflection.

[cyan wolf]

i see

imo the framing of the eyes could be improved with a subtle outline of the prior red base, and a slow buildup of lighter and lighter values with the reddish pink base color.

it's useful to keep in mind that the eye is a sphere, and it's logical to highlight it similarly to one

smaller features such as tear ducts even with just a hint of red on the corners would add to it immensely

i think you've done a good job with the irises and specular highlight already

with the skin, pushing the values on areas such as the forehead, cheeks, nasolabial fold, septum and chin would help define it a bit more

you might also add features that aren't present on the sculpt by painting them

i personally think you did well with keeping the points of saturation in the cheeks and lips while keeping it subtle

it's mostly a stylistic choice with painters but i like how you've done it

[marsh silo]

Really appreciate the tips, I’ll keep those in mind on my next paint and might try going back and bumping the contrast on this one in the highlights!

I’ve heard people talk about adding gloss varnish to eyes or UV resin, is that worth it?

[cyan wolf]

on larger scales where the eyes are literal spheres, yes. the only problem is it moves depending on where the light source is, as opposed to having it fixed and consistent with the rest of the model.

a problem with smaller scales or less defined sculpts is that the eyes may not be as well defined, and varnish or uv resin could level out with capillary action and add a levelled layer of gloss. the resulting specular highlights may not be convex as you'd typically expect from eyes.

[marsh silo]

Makes sense!