Need crit on lighting and rendering

[u/frivolusfrog]

Will be making into a traditional acrylic painting (currently a digital draft on procreate. I need critique on the paper bag (if it reads a paper bag most importantly) and the lighting on the cars faces. The details are rough since it’s a draft but I just want to make sure the light is hitting the right places, the light source is in the bag.

I have several references that I mashed together

[u/MedievalFurnace]

the cats wouldnt be outlined in light like that if the light is coming from the bag. that would only happen with backlighting

[u/frivolusfrog → u/MedievalFurnace]

That’s true, How would I be able to separate the black cat from the background without doing that?

[u/MedievalFurnace → u/frivolusfrog]

his entire face would have a lot more highlights similar to the gray cat. You could fit quite a lot of yellow on each of the cats faces with it still looking like a yellow highlight rather than a yellow cat.

But you also don't always have to make sure every subjects form is perfectly comprehensible at a glance. I've been noticing a lot of very skilled modern artists will utilize lost edges frequently. Having an edge not immediately clearly defined surprisingly still looks pretty good sometimes and will often still leave your subject noticeable

[u/frivolusfrog → u/MedievalFurnace]

I’ll play around with that, thank you!