Need help with blending, monochrome and uncanny valley

[old axle]

As the title says, I’m not really good at painting and just do wtv when I feel like it. Ive been working on an anime panel (right)

I would like help with how to approach the trousers and painting folds and blending, I want it to look like how I did the shirt

Thanks

[proven summit]

What paper is this?

[old axle]

Cardboard lol

[proven summit]

Anyway it is acrylics, you can paint over it as you please

I dont recommend going too much diluted on cardboard

You could try doing something very simple

[proven summit]

If u look at reference u can break it into shapes

[old axle]

Yeah I think I spoilt it by over complicating it

[proven summit]

Wait let me edit it quickly

[old axle]

This was how it was before

[proven summit]

Oh it aint bad

[proven summit]

This is atyer?

[old axle]

This is it now

I kinda messed it up

Looking for how to fix it?

I could just paint over the black and do a white to grey gradient instead of trying to get that black shadow

Like this sort of blend?

[proven summit]

U can try with shapes and slowly blend

[old axle]

Like how?

[proven summit]

Im thinkin how to explain
Im not good at explaining

Sec im making example

This is a classic way to paint with acrylics

You can smudge so there is "contours" between colours, to do so simply mix the two colours inbetween adjacent zones and paint in the middle to make an effect of transition

[old axle]

I’m sorry I’m not understanding I’m a bit slow

Contours?

[proven summit]

It would look something like this

[proven summit]

The yellow part, where two different colours meet

[old axle]

Ok so don’t worry about it looking good

Firstly put your light and dark shade against each other

[proven summit]

Ye is easier if u put the most light and most dark first

[old axle]

Then paint highlights over it
Then mix the first two colours and gradually blend over everything to create the transition?

[proven summit]

Some people prefer the middle one but ye

[proven summit]

Ye its an easy way to paint and hard to miss

[old axle]

How do I make it look instead of the sharp contrast

[proven summit]

I dont get this

[old axle]

To look more like the left than the right

[old axle]

Like the issue for me here is how obvious and abstract the black looks

I was trying to create the effects of light and dark, shadow n what not

[proven summit]

Oh okay i get now

Paint grey around it

U can gradually build colours

[old axle]

Btw what app is this

[proven summit]

Procreate

[old axle]

And how do you blend the colours so smoothly that they look like a gradient instead of like 2 completely different colours

Like do you use a particular brush or like technique

My apologies, I’m not very good at these

[proven summit]

One way is how i shown above

Another way is building colours slowly

There is an easier way to recreate that reference in acrylics but your paper must be quite thick

Basically u just make monochrome black and white, then wash over the drawing with cred purple blue

[proven summit]

To do this simple use the paint out of the tube, make sure each layer is dried before applying new one

Or u risk mixing em

[old axle]

Ok so from this

I think I’ll turn the black into like a gradient of grey then blend both

Then after I’ll use white and the grey I used before to lighten and darken the lighter and dark parts of the trousers?

[proven summit]

I think you undertood the theory, you can always make some experiments on another paper

[old axle]

I was playing around with the colours at first

[proven summit]

You want this kind of effect?

It is the closest i found to your reference

I usually dotn paint in flat manga style

Try tomake single straight brush strokes

[old axle]

Kinda like the face in the second picture

[proven summit]

Ye so just make single stroke

And wait the surface has dried before laying the next stroke

I gtg sleep now. Good luck

And do make experiments

[old axle]

Alright thanks