My line art has been feeling a bit dull and unfinished how can I improve?

[hazy crane]

I take inspiration from artists like 001_31_ and sirakannnu so that's the line art style I am aiming to be similar to, but I've hit a bit of a road block.

[outer crest]

I think something I noticed with 001_31_ is that their lineart is quite varied in thickness and color! The outside of the character along with larger details have darker outlines (usually dark blue or brown), while smaller/inner details like folds, creases, fingers, and mouths are given thinner line art that's a lighter + saturated color. This makes the art pop a lot more since the line art is working with the color palette! The different line weights also helps bring their art together. If most of their lines had the same thickness, small details would be just as prominent as the large ones, and it'd generally seem more chaotic and less harmonious. While your art has some thickness variation, it seems like they get thicker and thinner at random.

Another thing is how fluid and confident their lines are. They feel quick and bouncy because their lines are very clean and curve in ways that accentuates the characters' poses. Your linework is clean overall, but they often look a bit wobbly or like they stopped mid-way and changed directions. Some lines also cross/overlap in a way that makes the line art look unfinished.

I would definitely recommend trying to work with quicker, more confident stroked when doing your linework so it feels less stiff! If your program has a vector mode, I'd also recommend using that if you aren't already. You can edit your lines and make them thicker/thinner in specific parts instead of having to redraw them just to get the curve and thickness right ^^

Suuuper old example but here's some vector line art before and after I edited the line weight :D super easy to change it up to my liking

[hazy crane]

Thank you so much, that is some very helpful advice! In the past I tried to switch to vector line art and it didn't exactly suit me but I might try giving it a second chance!