Hi Bogdan. I think this is great! I love the crying Angel . Very nice portrait! Welcome to Drawspace.

This is from this week drawing challenge. I post here to ask for critiques. You see the original photo, a zoom on the face to draw the portrait and the portrait. The woman sitting in a public place, is probably waiting for someone.

I did this portrait for this week's challenge, but she has turned out looking much younger than the original. I can't figure out why. Can anyone tell me where I went wrong?

in my opinion the cheeks are too round and the nose is like a snub nose ,therefore looks younger

NVA,
Good sketch, you have done a fair job portraying her age, the texture of her skin and the lighting.
Looks wise, her nose would need to be larger. Although her hair is white, it does have many shade of gray to give it shape and volume. From the pure white in the sunlight to a gray that is as dark as her cheeks, at the very bottom.


Mumwond,
Nice looking sketch, you have caught her look if not her age.
The space between the nose and the eyes is not large enough. If you look at the lessons on baby faces and adult faces you will see the difference.

Thank you, Paulette. Yes, the nose should be larger, I'll do that. I think I can solve the issue. Hair is more problematic. I'll work some more time on hair. Hair is difficult to draw. I'm not sure and need more practice. Thank again,
An

Thanks An and Paulette, I'll have a read and then have another go. I just couldn't figure out why she looked younger, and I needed 'new eyes'.

Hi everybody,

This is a portrait I made of an old asian woman. I got the photo somewhere on the web but I can't remember the exact location.

I used mainly graphite and some touches of white pastel (for the white hair) and charcoal (for the dark areas). The white pastel kinda turned blue in the scan. It's the first time I've ever tried charcoal or soft pastels, so any pointers are greatly appreciated.

Feel free to criticize. I can only learn from it.

Need some criticism
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I think i did draw the eyes to big.

This may be of some help to you
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so I try to make a portrait of the joker but I don't have anymore the reference fhoto to post here I'm sorry.
so this portrait I made in about 6~7 hours thanks for see then I hope you coment


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nice drawing

SinX,
I'm by no means an expert, but I think your portrait is bold and disturbing, which for the Joker is absolutely spot-on perfect. Great drawing.

Hello to all! This is my first post in this thread...
Well, I really want to learn to draw portraits so all your comments would be very well welcomed!
I did this portrait yesterday, from a reference photo provided by An (NVA) in the weekly challenge, but although I find it beautiful, at least for my skills, it does not resemble the girl in the photo.
What can I do or change to achieve that? I draw it just looking at the photo in the computer. I imagine that if had the photo and used the grid, it would look much more identical. But, can I achieve this result without the grid? And how about the shading?

Thank you very much!!
Sonia.

To get the portrait to look like the original, the proportions and placement of things are the most important thing. How you achieve this is up to you. There are several methods to choose from such as grid which you mention, projection, paper transfer (tracing), computer program measuring, etc..

Looking at the original compared to the drawing, and without studying them at great length I see the following:
The ear is to small the eyes are to large, the mouth is to tall and fat , the distance from the bottom of the mouth to the bottom of the chin is to long, the part in the hair is to low (doesn't really matter since hair can change) there needs to be more shading of deeper tones on her cheek and around her ear, back of neck and under her face in general.

I think you did a good job for a drawing from sight, I could not begin to even attempt anything like this.
Take your time on the initial line drawing to get the position, size and perspective correct before you start adding the values.

Hope this is helpful!

It was, indeed! Thank you so much for taking your time to answer! It was really appreciated.
So there´s no secret to get the proportions right drawing just from sight. The best thing is to use the help on one of the methods you referred, right? Thank you so much for the suggestions related also to the shading!

Best regards,
Sonia.

Well with lots of practice and careful attention to detail, it can be done and done well. For those of us who want perfection and don't have the time or skills there are tools to help. It is up to you as the artist to decide what technique and tools to utilize.

I quickly merged your drawing and the source photo using two layers in The GIMP, then aligned the chin and the eyeline. The drawing is on top and it's transparent. You can see how the eye is larger and displaced relative to the original; you can also see how the ear is not where it's supposed to be. It's a little harder to compare the nose and mouth, but with more care taken to prepare the merged image, you could compare those too.

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Wow, fantastic! I saw Kay posting a topic about GIMP, but I had no idea what it was... I will do some research on the net about it!
Thank you so much for your help!

Best regards,
Sonia.

Check the position if her features in general...younger children- facial features closer together and lower also eyes are larger because our eyes never grow...they are the same size our entire lives... older children every thing spreads out as we grow. There is a thread posted by oliverand jazz proportions this should help.

Laura

hi everyone:) i'm totally new around here. I'm so glad i've found this site:) comments and critiques are welcomed, just 2 for now, i'll post more later .


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cheers

awesome, you did a very good job

Hi All......

I've barely started a drawing of my youngest great grandchild (it's a boy!) - this is first rough sketch which had to be revved up a lot cuz it is very light in actuality. Don't know yet whether I will watercolor or graphite it. Comments and critiques are welcomed.

Maire

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Looks like the eyes are way to far apart. Looking at the reference his mouth would not fit between his eyes but on your drawing there would still be space on either side of the mouth if you put it between his eyes. Also look like the perspective is off compared to the reference. your drawing is more face forward than the reference

Thanks for taking the time to critique Airspace! It is important to get a good sketch, so I shall work on it.

Maire

i used references but i like not to copy exactly and add something personal in the drawing

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No critique Impeccable just wanted to say I like your style. Especially the first one.

thank you i'm still learning.

Hello Maire, in addition to the width between the eyes as was already mentioned, please also check the shape of the eyes, on (our) left especially...also the placement of the iris is off compared to the picture. Right now it makes it look like she is a bit cross-eyed I think. Also, I see that there is a wider space from the right ear (our left ) to the eye. One last thing.. check the shape of her face one more time, especially above (her) left eye (our right)...it curves in slightly to add to the roundness of the face. I hope you will post the updates, because I would like to see how this sweet portrait develops. ;O)

Christi

Just a couple more portraits done in oils recently. I've worked with a limited palette called Zorn, after Anders Zorn and quite like the variety of colours and values that can be achieved with it. The palette is Ivory Black (yes black!), Titanium White, Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Red Light.

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Maire, I think you've gotten some good advice here on how to adjust your drawing. I think you're pretty close on this and just need some small adjustments to get a really good likeness.

Measuring is critical in portraiture to get a likenesses. Drop some imaginary lines from one point to another to see where they intersect with other features will help you see where correct placement should be. For instance, drop a line from the inner corner of the viewer's left eye, you'll see that it would intersect about 3/4 across the left nostril and just at the downward curve of the upper portion of the left lip.

Using that same method, and the viewer's right eye inner, you can see that in your drawing, the eye is a bit further over so should be pulled in more.

Also look carefully at the placement of the irises as this gives the expression as he's looking upwards and to the side a little. In your drawing you have him looking straight ahead.

This is truly a lovely reference to work from, great lighting, perfect almost Renaissance child. I'd love to draw or paint him, he's a classic.

I shall be watching to see where you go with this.

Great work Jeanette!
I love the idea of a limited palette, it makes you learn so much more about your colours and what they can do for you.

Hi everyone~

I would love any advice from anyone and all of the help that I can get. I am pretty new at drawing portraits and I am definitely on my way although I feel like I am starting off backwards.

I very rarely finish a portrait (I've done maybe 8) because I feel like I get to a point where I am afraid to go any further. I think I know the problem but I am having a hard time with it. I have read so many books on instruction, problem solving, techniques etc...

I start off struggling with each feature on the face until I am OK with it and then I move on to the next area (this is where I think my problem is, I am not starting out looking at my subject (a photo) as a whole...is that wrong? ) I erase and go back and erase some more and then when I move on it get's further away from what it is suppose to look like. For the most part the end result comes out OK but it definitely was a long trip of back roads to get there.

Also... when I draw a random face whether it's a pic from a magazine or just a face in my head they always come out a little similar. So I feel that my problem is seeing and bringing out what is actually in front of me, it is so frustrating!

I have a problem with hair too.
HELPPPPPP!

I think that when you look at the few things that I have drawn it might seem like there wasn't an enormous struggle to get there. I only have a few side by sides but any help will be greatly appreciated.

One more thing... this is an amazing website with a wonderful community of artists helping artists. I just love to go through the gallery's and look at all of your work.

Hi Chrismh,

Welcome to Drawspace!

I think you've hit the nail right on the head. The individual features -- right down to the strands of hair -- are rendered very nicely, and those details in general strongly correspond to what I see in the photo -- but still, the overall effect is not of a strong likeness. I think you're exactly right in that what you need to do first is look at your reference as a whole, sketching the overall layout first before you attack the details. Look at how all the parts of your reference relate to each other, and duplicate this in your rough sketches. One example of this that jumps out at me from the photo you've supplied: in your drawing, the distance from the eyeline to the bottom of the chin is equal to the width of the face at the eyes (hair-to-hair). But in the photo, the eye-to-chin distance is equal to the distance between the outer corners of the eyes; the face itself is considerably wider than that.

This works in the small, too: concentrate on getting the overall shapes right before getting bogged down in details. Here's an example: the eyes in your portrait are beautifully rendered, but look at her left eye (the one on our right.) Specifically, look at the lash line in the top inside quadrant. In the photo, the dominant shape is concave -- the lash line "goes in" a little as it curves upwards to the top of the eye. But in your drawing, it very clearly "goes out" all the way to the top.

Now, it's easy for me to say what you should do. You're probably asking "how?" And here I'm afraid I don't have any real good answers other than practice, practice, practice. Try Brenda's lessons on this site. Try just drawing a lot. But practice makes perfect and you've got a real good start!

Hello Chris!

I am convinced this is a very good beginning, just keep on drawing and practise, so your eyes will be able to recognize the differences between the photo and your own drawing soon. Just few words, if I may say something:

Sometimes I miss the black in your drawing. I mean the real black. In the past, I was very afraid of all the dark parts, still I am, but I think the real black is very necessary to create a 3D illusion of the pencil drawing. And not only that.

For example, look at the right part of her face: I see a lot of black, but I miss it in your drawing. The same is for the shade under her nose. Then, if you look at her hair at the right side, you see there is a contrast between the blonde and the darker lock of hair, but I miss this contrast in your drawing.
If you want your drawing to be identical with the photo, then you must use the same light and the same shade.

Have a great day!

I did this when I was in Germany. its of my grandfather and looks very much like him. look a few hours. tell me whatcha like or dont like .

I did a quick watercolour sketch from the past week's Drawing Challenge and thought I'd share it here instead of on the thread, simply because it was painted, not drawn. It wasn't watercolour paper, so its buckled. It was more a spur of the moment thing and took about 15 minutes to do.

So, here's Penny.

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I"m a big fan of yours. That picture and such because I) you can see.. thru it..(touch)of pigment more water.I have tried that with my ballerina.Would you look at her and see if that is the part of it with water colours,I would so appreciate it. Joanna.I have been practising now for 2 years but not all at watercolours.I read drawing for ddummies and Brenda says first you must have strong drawing skills before going forward with watercolours. So I draw lots but it is slow going.Any time I watch on a forum and offer advive I'm screaming YES.So I know what is wrong but I have to get to what is right and I just saw your picture and it is beautiful.You ARE water colour! Thanks Joanna Zwaagstra

Hi Joanna. Watercolour is a difficult medium and I am no expert in it by any means. However, I have found out a few things along the way that help.

First of all, yes, I agree with Brenda. To do a good watercolour, in my opinion, it can only be as accurate as your original drawing. You can create watercolours using no drawing and they can be very loose and impressionistic, but I have found that the majority of people do a light pencil drawing first. It really does depend on what you are trying to achieve.

Watercolour is built up with using transparent layers of pigment, so you need to plan carefully where you are going to put your next brushstroke and know how it will react. The pigment/water will react differently on dry, damp or wet paper and often will do things that delight or dismay you.

Now for your ballerina. You have a good drawing there, but the colour is rather flat. Are you using watercolour paint or pencils? Depending on what you use, there is a difference in how they are applied and what will happen when you add washes. What kind of paper are you using? That will make a huge difference to the final piece. On the little watercolour sketch that I did, the paper wasn't watercolour paper and it rippled quite a lot. That's fine for a sketch, but not good for a piece you want to keep.

In your piece, I don't see a definite light source, there are no shadows. And don't use just the obvious colours of what is in front of you. Look carefully at your reference and see the colours that make up the shadows and the light and add them to your drawing. Purples, blues, greens, complementary colours work well together. Experiment with colour combinations on a scrap of paper before you use them on your painting.

For your ballerina, what are you trying to represent? Realism, impressionism? Will you be adding colour the the body or the background? Planning and layout of your drawing are essential before you ever put brush to paper. There is no magic solution that will teach you how to paint well with watercolours, that will come with many many hours of practice. Yes, books and tutuorials will show you techniques, but nothing works as well as plain old hard work!

Thanks for your answers they really hit the spot ,again thanks for the time you gave me and feel no need to respond because of your valuable time. 1)Used watercolour paper ,can't remember weight but I usually use the best. I realize the reference aspect so it was my daughter but really only a memory thing.3)I used watercolours in a pan .I have invested in Richardson' because they were 1/2 price.They are fantastic,I found the easyness of pan as oppossed to tube,but I do have tubes.4)I forgot about the light ,my excuse? I guess because I didn't have a reference pic( no more of that). I was looking for a flowing pic with the focus on Christine.But background would do that right? I think I'm still afraid of colour and unsure of when to use it. Will redoing the pic and getting a photo and working dark to light? intensify the colours,then do the drawing.I usually do wet on wet because I feel I have more control ? Should I ever worry about draw lines? Maybe that isn't important. You have helped so much and I wasen't even expecting a responsie so I'm pumped .Thanks so much.......Joanna Zwaagstra

Joanna, it sounds like you're on the right track with your painting. But you do need to make a couple of decisions before you commit to paper. One is whether or not you want a background, two is what direction the light is coming from. Even if your piece is from memory, to make it work you need to have a definite light source so that you can give the body and clothing form.

A solid background would put the focus on the girl, but even then you need to carefully choose the colour and how it is applied so that it complements and doesn't compete with your focal point.

Here's a little watercolour I completed this weekend and you can see how the background doesn't compete but sort of flows around the child almost and the light and shadow indicate form.

Watercolour takes some planning and it takes time. Don't rush it, you'll get there. Don't worry about draw lines. But complete your drawing with an H or even an F pencil so the lines are faint. In most instances the paint covers the lines anyway.

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My latest portrait. Any thoughts?
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I think it is beautiful!
Her fore head can use a bit more shading, it is looking a bit flat.
You really have a great touch for portraits!

Thanks. The pic didn't come out completely right on the computer, but looking at the real thing here I can still see what you mean. Sometimes the hardest part is not being shy about how much graphite you put down.

Looking at your other works, I can see that light plays heavy in what you are doing.
The picture of Jennifer Connelly, while I don't know her, is spectacular, very dramatic!

Draw Me In,

I also like the portraits, and the fact that you choose subjects with good shadows. It can be really hard to force those darker shades in. I've observed that the shadows around the bottom of the nose are often some of the most dramatic shading on the face. Did you convert your photo to grayscale to work from it? If not, it would help a lot to do that. Good luck, and great job on your drawing!

This is the first serious portrait I've tried drawing, for a friend of mine. I scanned the picture, converted it to greyscale, printed it, graphed the print-out, and transfered the outlines to my paper. The photo was terrible, it had filtered light coming from everywhere, and the shadows unpredictable. I'm still very shy about adding enough shading as the "base" skin value. At least there's a very light layer of HB over the entire face instead of just white paper. As for the hair, I can't simply hint at the direction of flow, I feel obligated to draw every strand. I need improvement in this area.

So my friend is thrilled with it, says it looks just like him. But I still need to spray it with finisher, so any adjustments will need to be made soon. Anyone have suggestions? I can take the criticism, lay it on me. And thanks.

Fantabulus job!!!
Considering your reference photo you kick some serious butt! Only things that look a little funny is the nose and I think you did a wonderful job considering the reference! The other thing is the hair as you have already stated... it looks a bit ribbony.. then again, your reference is really lacking! Great job, be very proud of it!!!

Thank you Airscapes! Not that it's really noticeable, but I tweaked the shading on the nose, darkened the pupils, tried to soften the hair a bit more, little stuff. Hopefully next time I'll have a better reference to work from, thanks again!

I just dont like flat faces. so i try to look for pictures with dramatic contrasts and shadows that play across the face. Its harder but that much more rewarding.