Need a little advice...

[WarmSoda]

So this is my first painting in about 3ish years and I needed a little advice on it.

The job looks flat, chalky and "dry". I've been trying to push the shadows the best I can to bring out some sort of value or definition, but I'm not doing so well. Was hoping someone could chime in.

View attachment 18739View attachment 18738View attachment 18737

edit: my HDR is making this look a lot better then it actually is. lol.

 

[QuietiManes]

If you do a wash/glaze of a skin tone, darker, it should remove the chalky appearance and some dimension. Just make it really thin and transparent, don't let it pool in the recesses, etc. Dry and chalky always happens with whites added to light colours or drybrushed over top.