Old Graphics... New Graphics

Hello there. :] M'kay, so I was looking through some of my old graphics, and I really do think I've improved.

^This was one of my first ones. I didn't have a good program to use (like photoshop or gimp) so I used and app on a mac. It was: SketchBook Express. Yes, I used a polygonal tool, a pen, and a paintbrush. I got the base color, and got lighter shades which were strands of hair. And I did make sure to keep it dark where it should be.But still it was horrid.

See any improvement? This isn't now, but later. I used an app on google chrome, called sumopaint. I had the dodge and burn tools, but did not know how to use them well. Still had the same light shade for strands of hair technique. But my new dodge and burn tools did not help. They made it, in fact, worse. Improved, but still bad.

This one was not too long ago. A few weeks, maybe. At the time, this was the BEST to me. My best. A braid, I felt so accomplished! Good, right? Well not great, or fantastic, or eye-catching. Simply good. This was for no.1poptropican, who I made a graphic for because I needed practice. 

And here we are today. Well, not today, but earlier this week. XD A new technique, and no failed dodge or burn at all. I'd say I have improved, since that first terrible graphic. It really does show that practice makes perfect.