@eishiya this is how my dunes look like after cleaning up all stuff https://octodon.social/media/kUFpZjPNQvFOhN_DVZM
@bit_aspect I meant starting with the forms on your rocks, not that you should draw something else xP This is probably good practice too though.
The style on these is nice, but I'm not sure that the forms feel very dune-like. The dark shadows by the ridge and the highlights along the ridges make it look like the edge overhangs, which isn't the case with sand dunes.
@bit_aspect The first thing that struck me is that those are some good colours!
The forms on the two smaller rocks and foreground area look great, very clear, and you did a good job indicating texture/detail with the edges of the shadow.
I can't tell what's happening, form-wise, in the darkest areas of the large rock formation. The terminator (darkest part of the shadow between the parts lit by the key light/sun and the fill light/reflected blue) should generally be relatively small.
@eishiya thank you! I've studied a lot of other artists works with color picker to indicate an approximate range of colors and saturation/brightness levels that people use. Also I realized that people like when you use mixed colors. Green+blue/orange and etc, it's like a chocolate with salty crackers :)
And yeah, dark zone is pretty big but I didn't find another way to show depth in formation. I used lighter shadows on smaller rocks cuz they are pretty round and "classic"
@bit_aspect Using darker shadows to show depth is good, but you have that same shadow span an immense area instead of using it to define the deepest areas. Try using your lighter shadow colours more there, use the darkest more sparingly. Using the darkest shadow so much has the same effect as under-exposing a photo - necessary information is lost in the dark.