Reinventing The Tattoo Forum

Hi everyone!!! thanks in advance for any advice....Im having trouble figuring out how to post a pic so I ened up with a link, once I figure that out Ill edit the post.. I've painted here and there but always improperly I have recently took it appon myself to learn the correct paint thinning layer building process with acrylics. This is number 3 for this process also in a bio style so everything's semi new to me.... Really any questions would be with design texture and pallet... With all of these I feel like I understand but am just kinda guessing with it.... I understand light pretty well from my other art... Textures I really feel like I'm just missing something... And pallet I understand the color wheel but feel like I'm missing something to give it more of a natural feel rather than neon/ unnatural feel to the colors on this. Thanks again for any comments 

Don't take this too harshly as I am giving you my honest opinion to help you improve and I know it can be hard to take criticism. The weird play-doh figure who reminds me of the symbol on a mens toilet door is smack bang in the middle of canvas. Try off centreing and using the other elements or shapes to draw the viewers eye into the focal point. The shapes you have used go in all sorts of directions confusing the viewers attention. Remember directional lines/shapes suggest movement and lead the viewers eye through the painting . Try mapping an idea out on paper to try different compositions that work before commiting to canvas, change the position and angle of things to figure put what will work best for what you are trying to communicate. Just like a good tattoo you want the painting to flow nicely on the canvas and not be this cluttered. If I hadnt read your description I would not have known this painting was telling a story of alien abduction. You could have used dark sinister tones and even green eerie light source to make it otherworldly and create an atmosphere or feeling to the image. You could have used imagery such as an aliens face, hand or even a ufo. I see a lack of depth and your execution and textures still need a lot of work, you may need to try different sizes of brushes if you don't already have a selection of sizes and shapes. Your colour palette is a bit dull and unexciting in this piece. Work on some smaller canvases for practice versus tackling a big project when your just starting out. Experiment with more colours and using tonal values all the way from dark to light. I would suggest also going back and reading the design chapters to help you improve on some basic principles this piece is lacking. Not all paintings turn out a success so keep trying. Hope this has been helpful and you can start to see where you went wrong.