A Parting of Ways

What I like about this drawing:

The forests; probably my favorite parts. I found two good brushes for the trees-acrylic captured bristle for the pines, and thick oil bristle for the others, and they were both really good for the texture. With the pine forest, I love the sense of texture and depth I was able to get.

The horse; this was my first serious attempt ever at drawing a realistic horse. I know it's not great, particularly the muscles, but I don't think it looks cartoony or horribly deformed, and I call that a victory.

The people: The focal point of the drawing, obviously, and I think I did a good job on the skin tone, hair, and expressions.

The rocks on the right side of the drawing: The reddish/brownish ones, that is. I like the assortment of pebbles on the path, and I think the path, sides of it, and rock flow at the bottom are well done.

Things I don't like about this drawing:

The clouds and the mountains: Both too cartoony, and I was stumped as to how to add realism.

The rocks on the left side of the drawing: The purplish-bluish ones. I tried adding lichen and moss and just made it look messy and ugly as a result.

The fortress: In retrospect, it looks very stiff and simplified. I could have probably drawn it closer to a 3/4 right perspective.

Aside from that, I've been working on this off and on since mid-December, and there's just something satisfying about drawing a big, grand fantasy piece. I learned a lot of new things about Painter, and about digital drawing in general, and I'm really proud of this one overall.