Burn scars

[deft nacelle]

I have an oc with 2nd degree burn scars and I'm not sure how I'm gonna draw them. I don't want anything that deviates too much from my art style, but I still want it to be clear that they're burn scars.

I've made 2 versions of his scars so far. Which of the two is better and how could I change them (if they need any change)

[coarse pasture]

I think the first one better shows it's a burn scar

[deft nacelle]

So do I, but during my research about burn scars, 2nd degree burns look a lot smoother than 3rd or 4th degree burns

[coarse pasture]

Maybe soften the color on the burn accents to make it match the base color more

[deft nacelle]

You mean the lines I added? Sure I'll give it a shot!

How's this? (I'm unsure of what to do with his palms)

Unless I make them slightly darker so they'll be more visible

[narrow adder]

i like the first one. you can see more burn texture

[deft nacelle]

Yeah, I'll probably take an approach closer to the first one, but I don't know how to do it because, as I said above, 2nd degree burns appear smooth. Then again, the burns will probably be conveyed better if I add more texture

[narrow adder]

yeah its kinda a 50/50. both could definitely work tho! it looks awesome

[deft nacelle]

Thank you so much! But yeah, it is a 50/50, I couldn't have said it better myself!

I'm obviously not going for anything too realistic (I mean, the guy still has nails for crying out loud), but I still want them to read as burn scars (which I'm worried isn't conveyed well (then again I could be over thinking things))

[narrow adder]

yeah there is definitely a blend of reality in it which is really cool.

[deft nacelle]

I've made sure to make the burns a different colour from any other scars he acquires so there wouldn't be any confusion there

[narrow adder]

yeah that was good call as well

[deft nacelle]

My art style is inspired by The Owl House in a few aspects and one of these is the way scars are drawn

I don't know if you've seen it or not, but the way scars are drawn on characters that have them is what I'm going for

[narrow adder]

i havent but ill definitely check it out. the art style seems cool

[deft nacelle]

You should!

But I'm still unsure of what to do with my character's scars

https://tenor.com/view/crying-cat-sad-cat-me-when-i-dont-get-orod-tickets-gif-13399313231964052110

[narrow adder]

in my personal opinion. it depends whether you want more realism or just to look cool. 2 is more realistic, more smoothed out. the first just looks cooler

[deft nacelle]

I'm just worried that they won't read as burn scars, even though the character is a pyrokinetic and he explains how he acquired the scars

But every time I try to add more texture, I have no idea what I'm doing and I end up just adding random lines that make no sense

And they end up cluttering his hands or adding unnecessary detail (at least in my eyes)

Here is his full ref BTW (without the extra lines)

[narrow adder]

i think it looks really cool like that! it gives a flame kind of effect as well which adds to the character a lot.

[deft nacelle]

Yeah I can see it! It wasn't my intention, but I like your interpretation!