how not make your paintings look so flat?
 

anyone know of a way or method to not make your paintings look so flat? i mean i know its a painting but you want your audience to believe it. any tips?

1. use aerial perspective:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_perspective

2. use lateral casted shadows to give volume.

hope that helps a bit.

Perspective, both Linear and Aerial.
Light and Shadow shows form and suggests depth.
A good composition is helpful to show off the painting to its best.
Overlapping.
Scaling - show similar objects at different points in space so the viewer can estimate how deep a space they are looking into. This can be used with textures and details too, eg having windows in buildings so that the viewer can identify how large a human would be in comparison to the building; or having brickwork that gets smaller as it receeds into space.

Hope that helps

Nick