omg that reminds me of fire three on the ring love it

Oh stop it. I think you heading on the right track. And it looks fine, ya iggit.

"FINE" IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!.... D:<

ANd my problem is that I can't seem to get the brushes to do what I want. My sillouettes and "foliage" look more like bad, blotchy paint.

*looks for landscape tutorials*

You'll get it down. Don't sweat over it. Either by tutorials or consultation/help, you'll get it down, bud.

There is something not quite complete about it, not sure what that is, it seems maybe a little too soft for the effect I think you were going for? With the jagged rocks in the background and the spindly limbs of a barren tree, it seems like it would be more suited to more harsh and rough looking brushes and brush strokes.

But the steps you have taken towards it so far yield quite beautiful results, it's not a total loss really, just not what you were trying for, I think.

Welll, I see your point..... But if I have too many different brushes to choose from, I won't truly MASTER any of them... if you understand what I mean. I need to learn to control a simple brush before I can use "specialized" ones.

This reply turned out much longer than I expected, I apologise in advanced, I've never been very good at keeping my thoughts succinct, honestly my mind is a chaotic realm and pulling these thoughts into words is something I've always struggled with, let alone something which isn't a load of garbled nonsense.

I do understand that you wish to master the basics before you try anything else, but it's just sometimes you need a different tool for the job really. A basic brush can be used for a wide variety of things, but it won't neccisarily give you the mastery over the effect that you seek because it's so basic and generalised, this is especially applicable to digital brushes because regardless of your approach, it won't change it's shape like an actual brush, it will always be the exact same shape, merely with varying levels of intensity.

It's not impossible to use it to the effect you want, but that would require sinking so many more hours into the work than would seem reasonable on you, especially as somebody who has a time to money ratio to consider on some of their work. I used to spend days, even weeks on a single image to overcome the difficulties I had preventing me from drawing normally, and in the end it didn't really feel worth it if the image didn't turn out completely perfect, but you have no way of knowing that when you first start drawing or painting.

I'm not suggesting you use millions of different things so much as, figure out a few which apply to the general mood of what you're trying to do at the time, this for example, I'm not sure watercolour would be applicable to the mood of the image because of how soft it is, to the point of transparency in some cases, unless the illusion of movement in the wind was something you were going for.

A more extreme example would be my friend, he feels that if he uses anything besides MSpaint, they won't be able to improve their skills, yet that onto itself has held them back for years regardless of what anybody says to encourage him to branch out. You can't use a hammer to turn a bolt.

This comment is a great comment.

You can use a few simple brushes, but in order to find the ones right for you, you have to experiment. I've been going through a ton of brushes, myself and I've started to zone in on the ones that help me express what I'm trying to paint. It changes every time though. Different things require different tools.

The biggest issue I see has more to do with you placing unrealistically high expectations on yourself as well as your lack of patience. Relax. You can strive to be better without expecting every piece to be a giant leap forward. I know it gets frustrating. I swear, there's at least one or two moments with every piece I do where I just want to scream or cry, usually both. Heck, I did a great job on my last sub yet I don't really think I've ever drawn a decent picture of my 'sona.

nice atmosphere

i can yiff to trees

I think it looks fine, but if you want more to your landscapes I think the issue is a simple matter of adding more details. Which means spending more time on them and adding as much detail as you can see from your source image or from your own head.

Also I would try to get rid of the color banding. Smooth out the visible delineations or use more of an airbrush when you paint.

This seems to me to be more of an exercise in coloring and effects than a landscape study.
And it does seem a bit rushed as well.
Might I submit a bit of folksy advice handed to me by my elders upon multiplier occasions: Slow down, you'll go faster.

To reiterate the views of others, yes you are heading in the right direction, it has the right feel coming off it and is an improvement over your last landscape, I won't say anymore as everyone else above me has already said what I could say potentially and more that would be helpful (even the I can yiff to trees comment :P).

You need happy little trees!

Try some Bob Ross videos....but for real though, chillax. You're amazing at drawing people and emotions and toony faces and such, so I feel like this is just out of your element, that's all. Try experimenting with new/different/challenging things to try and get an edge next time you try landscapes and stuff, maybe even try some traditional media to get your sea/land legs back?

Put your heart and soul into it!!
If you haven't been already.

a journey of ten thousand miles begins with a single step beau you will get there if you put one foot in front of the other.

You're way ahead of me. This looks good.