Not too bad! I love it when people take a stab at pin-up art. Especially in a nerdy Trek-ian theme!
Now, if I may play art critic... (If you want some helpful advice keep reading. If you're one of the unfortunate souls who simply cannot receive criticism, then skip the rest of this.)
First the pros: I like the hands and nose you pointed out. They do conform to actual human (erm--- "Orion" ... wink wink) morphology and are nicely rendered. In fact, overall the character's anatomy seems quite plausible. I like very much the swimsuit as well, the texture you've used is well rendered with a very nice genre-appropriate sparkle effect. How did you do it? Just blot the brush a lot on the image or is there a fun filter or something tricky like that?
There are a number of cons but most of them are smaller issues and/or stylistic choices. The girl's left arm is wrong; the elbow should be higher up the arm, more in line with the waist. Also the hands seem just a teensy bit too small. Also there is an unaccountable shadow on her leg, just below her right knee that looks like it's an odd decision made while shading the illustration. Maybe trying to define the lower edge of the patella? If so, don't draw it so far towards the posterior side of the leg, it should stay in a nice little knot just over the shin. Also the eyes seem a bit flat. I think it's both a matter of the shading, as well as the underlying drawing. Also, the bridge of her nose is leading off to her right. One of the advantages of drawing on a computer is that you have the luxury to flip the image and view it in mirror image form. I suggest you try this to this image and see if you're satisfied with the symmetry of her face. Finally, the shading of the girl seems a bit lackluster in contrast to the swimsuit. I like the swimsuit's shading, it's a nice range from highlight to shadow, but the character's skin seems too flat. Bold shadows define sculptural form and really make the figure stand out. I notice shadows right away as it's something that used to have a real hard time with. What helped me was a exercise in one of the classes I took when I was in Art School, where we had to compose images but had to work in only black and white construction paper. It gets you to think in terms of light and shadow and really helped me to compose bolder illustrations.
Those are the only real technical flaws I can see. You might try a few other things on your next pin-up type picture. For example, this girl's build and posture are not what I'd call really sexy (though that's admittedly a subjective opinion) I would suggest making her hips wider than her shoulders and give her a more generous bust-line. There's nothing wrong with the girl you've drawn in this sense, she's just not the typical cheesecake that pin-up images were known for. Also, in addition to simply being sexy, pin-up's often went for the gag. A sort of comedic sensuality. You're probably already familiar with the work of Vargas and Evelgrin. Next time you look them up, note the dynamic poses the girls are in. They are (usually) comfortable, but they still seem dynamic, giving a sense that they might strut their stuff at any moment. But I admit that's a hard look to grasp. I think the figures in my own are artwork are a little too stiff and rigid sometimes as well. It's something I'm trying hard to work out myself just now, so I can't really give you any advice in that vein.
Anyway, for a first digital piece I'm impressed. It's better than my first try, believe me!
--Alex
