One suggests a multitude of different appearances, the other suggests the over all appearance of many things, so it really depends on what you're referring to, but in general you would say 'by the look of things'.
If you say, "the car looks black" you mean it literally, that the car appears to have the colour black. The figurative expression "Things are looking black" means that the situation looks unfavourable or bad.
They look like babies
wind looks clear, daa
Looks, sounds, smells, tastes, touches.
Convex lens makes things look bigger and concave lens makes things look smaller!
it looks like a cube with things on it
They look like a number a different things, there are loads of them!
Nasty little things
zloty looks like a church cantelope with purple things
First and foremost:MONOGOMY Then:Hygiene, humor, looks,and sexiness
it looks like an hourglass with like pole things on the side.
You are imagining things.
when to look or looks
Ellie and Grant said the park looks like a resort and a zoo.
"Look" is used as a verb to describe visually examining or searching for something. For example, "I will look for my keys." "Looks" can be used as a verb to convey the act of appearing or seeming a certain way. For example, "She looks tired." It can also be used as a noun to refer to someone's physical appearance or the way something appears. For example, "She has a nice look."
He looks for an honest open soul. He looks for kind girls, nice girls and all things that appeal under the Nice Column.
he looks for kindness, being pretty. smartness, honest. i listed all of the things that i am.