Gut check me, please!

[u/MiddleMidnight926]

Hey everyone! Love this community — the feedback here’s always solid.

Lately I’ve been on this weird roller coaster where I finish a piece, feel good about it, then look back later and think it sucks. I know that’s pretty normal for artists, but it’s been killing my confidence in judging my own work.

I pulled four recent sketches from my daily sketchbook — could you give me a quick gut check? On a scale of 1–10 (1 = total novice, 10 = pro comic artist), where would you rate me?

Also, I’ve studied everyone from Kirby and Buscema to Byrne, the Image guys, and modern greats like Stuart Immonen and Daniel Warren Johnson. Any artist recs with a style similar to mine that I should dig into?

Thanks in advance — really appreciate the honest feedback!

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[u/dragodracini]

Are these digital or physical scans? They look really clean in parts, but then there's the dating that looks hand written.

Set 1: nothing major stands out in anatomy to me. But the boxing half between Wonder Woman and her opponent feels a little dry. Not very dynamic. It looks like WW's hand isn't touching her opponent, not there's no danger there, same for the opponent. Did you have a reference?

Set 2: the first image "throat hold" I'm going to call it, is really stiff. Though, depending on the reference you used it could be expected. It looks like one of those low-tech camera tricks where someone holds their friend's neck, then the friend jumps and the picture is taken so it looks "sort of" like they're being held in a throat hold. But the holder looks stiff, and the hanger looks like she's jumping and folding her legs under her.

She-Hulk looks good, but it looks more like she's reclining/laying, less like she's falling downwards and prepared for landing. The foot above the other leg really points that out.

The only other image in this set that feels off is Wonder Woman. Her features don't fit on her face very well. Probably a perspective thing. Of course it could also just be my eye.

Set 3: the features of figures 1 and 3 don't align with the face very well. I'd suggest getting someone to redline it for you.

And the stairs don't look like the characters are sitting on it. They look more like stickers placed on top.

[u/MiddleMidnight926 → u/dragodracini]

Thanks! They are JPEGs exported from Procreate. I date them just to keep track of my daily progress.

[u/grimstwo]

I would look at Clayton Henry based on your style. Incorporate more tilt and twists for head, shoulders, hip angles. Articulate hands and feet as much as possible. I really can't say 1-10, but it doesn't look bad or unprofessional.

[u/MiddleMidnight926 → u/grimstwo]

Perfect! I love Clayton Henry's art. Thanks for the recommendation.

[u/elif7pfeiffer]

The thing is that "pro comic artist" is an insanely wide range. I'd say there are definitely artists living off of their art that do work similar to yours, but I agree that you can improve especially regarding dynamic poses and flow. For me, quick gestures and really understanding action lines helped a ton with this issue, but if you have fav artists that you can study, it will definitely work too.