I was looking around at several portraits and no two seemed to have the same bottom! By that I mean how the portrait ends. Usually with head and shoulder portraits the shoulders taper to form a "V" neck or they curve and fade out etc. this drawing I posted here I used a torn sheet of paper and erased the outer edge of the bottom of the drawing creating that rough edge.

I have seen other drawing that either turn into cross hatching or wild scribbles, I'd like to see some other techniques of ending off those really cool portraits

that is really nice, I love that idea you had to finish the portrait

I really like your work, it makes me want to put down my hammer and paint roller and get back to drawing and painting pictures rather than walls.. maybe in Nov....
Looking around a the 5 portraits I have done.. I just kind of crop the original and take it to the edge of the paper where the matt will cover it.. nothing fancy..
Probably because I have been trying to fill the paper with the face..

your work is wonderful...just like that..however i tend to favor a 'dirty' background to solid black...crosshatching is nice too..but you can also frame it with a pretty drawn design..oh and sometimes a nice pastel background works really well too

really great work

I wouldn't change a thing! Lovely job.

I agree .. you have done beatiful on this ....I think you end it very well .. I tend to do what feels good at the time .. not all of mine are the same .. depends on the drawing .. the hair length .. the shirt they are wearing .. when I get to that part I do what feels right ....sometimes adding even more detail to the buttons or lace to add to the drawing so not only the face stands out .

I am currently looking around for new and exciting alternatives to ending the drawings I do, if you see any that are extraordinary or very different let me know...

I did that a couple of times when I started but the problem is that I didn't know how else to end it so I'd just end with the straight edges, and that became a little bore.

I actially tried using the eraser in one diection, at the edge of this portrait, as I said I would like to see some more exiting options that I can employ on future portraits.

I see what you mean, my work may be limited by the style, the smooth tones I use does not quite lend itself to a hatched or crossed hatched ending like BRB's drawings, if you check BRB's pieces, his drawing style lends to many different endings, because his drawings feel very he mixed sketchy and photorealistic, so he can end sketchy, cross hatchy. If you see any really cool new ones let me know.

thank you very very much

Well I looked at your Kelly Drawing age 15, and it has no top or bottom... very cool

I'm rather fond of the "dissolve into wild scribbles" option; it's like an exclamation point that says "this is a drawing!"

I'm in agreement with Ernest.

I like the fading out of the detail like in my "Happy Farmer" portrait.
Of our members the one that stands out for dynamic and originality is Barmak.

If you haven't visited his gallery, have a look.

Barmak Portait Gallery on Drawspace

All the best,

Wow, Fantastic work... I dont know what else to say! Good job.