TWCL

[Kail]

Just looking for some feedback. Which shading style do you guys think would work better for this linework?

Shading with hard edges, like this:


Or shading with a gradient, like this:


Or do they both suck?

[Beertycoon]

I prefer the hard shading
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[Alien Shores]

I agree - for that line style, I think the hard-edge shading looks better.

[johlin]

I third that sentiment. But either way, looks pretty amazing
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[Chilari]

With that linework, the cell shading looks better. But either way, it's looking awesome. That's some nice linework.
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"S*P*Q*R"

[dpat57]

I had to copy/paste and view the images side by side for a better comparison. I like both but the second one really stands out, and makes the first kinda washy looking. Depends on how much time and effort each process takes, I guess. Either way, nice piece of art.
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[Casual Notice]

Honestly, I'd use the cel shading on the skin and the soft shading on the fabric and hair, but I'm a crappy artist. It just seems to me that the cel-shading on the fabric looks a litle flat, but, by the same token, the soft shading on the skin (the face especially) soften's the angles and the look of the character too much.

It's actually a thing I've been struggling with in (what we'll generously call) my art since before I ended CN. Soft shading and cel-shading, and the infinte variants in between do more than indicate the shape of the object, they indicate surfaces and evoke a visceral response (the character looks suspicious in both pieces, but the cel-shaded face is much harder and almost seems calculating, whereas the soft-shaded character seems almost innocent, yet wary).
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What I lack in sincerity, I make up for in sarcasm.
S*P*Q*R

[mooncity]

Yeah, I think a mix of the two may work better. The harder line for the face, certainly. The hair and dress look better soft. The soft shading on the face looks too computery/GCI/fake. I'm not a big fan of that "computer colored" look, and there's so much of it already out there. Overall, if I only could have one or the other, I really like the hard shading.
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Mooncity
Reversing the polarity of the neutron flow since 1976!


The comic strip that never was.

[Kail]

Thanks a million for the feedback, guys

I found it kind of surprising. I assumed people would go for the graded look, for some reason.

Partial might work; even with graded shading I was planning on doing things like plate mail armor in hard edged shading anyway, but I did the skin in graded shading because I thought it looked softer. Or, I might flip back and forth from scene to scene, or something, depending on what they're wearing.

Anyways, thanks for the advice!

[munkymu]

Go with the hard shading. Her face is so stylized I'm not sure the soft shading does anything good towards defining its shape. Also, with the softer shading, I end up questioning where the light source is coming from. If it's from the top right, why are there highlights on the bottom left of her bodice? If it's from the front, then less of her face and shirt would be in shadow.

Anyway, the soft shading has a higher impact because you use darker shadows on it. If you had more contrast with the hard shading, it would look more dramatic too.
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[RBNuke]

I'd actually say go with partial. Although the cel style goes much better with the simple linework on the face, the intricate collar and much of the hair are given a great deal of depth by a very simple grade. Try making a very slight and simple grade that doesn't override the cel base and see if you like that
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[vato]

I like the first one better with the hard shading. I think the design pops out more that way and I like that contour line style a lot. Something about the second seems too "computery" for some reason (although both are really nice and great line art too).
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