WIP (Work In Progress)
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Saboteur
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Quote Saboteur Replybullet Topic: (NPA) Portrait.
    Posted: 25 September 2006 at 2:21am
Alllrighty. I got a tablet, and decided to learn, for once, how to draw faces, and draw them well. This is, more or less, my first ever attempt at a realistic face without direct reference. That's not in the least bit true, but I say it anyways, because I never have finished a face, or not at least to a decent quality.
 
This one should break the mold, I hope.
 
Things to do!
-Fix the eyebrows even more
-Perfect her left eye (Crit on that if you've got them, any help is very welcome)
 
The lightsource is supposed to be a very high left, just so you know. No inspiration, no direct reference, but I am using this tutorial as guidelines, as well as a few chums on MSN. Their comments. Lol. Go to bed, Sab.
 


Edited by Saboteur - 28 September 2006 at 12:59am
"I was minding my own business and walking across a pebbled path, and a Duck started giving me the business."
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Anlina S.
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Quote Anlina S. Replybullet Posted: 25 September 2006 at 8:38am
The first thing I really notice is that the proportions are really bizarre.

Even if you don't try and reproduce a photo, I really think you would benefit from a reference image.

It doesn't look like you roughed in your shapes and proportions first. I'd sketch out the rough shape of the head, then use lines to indicate the position of the various features, then start building from the inside out. Eyes first, then other facial features, then the outline of the face.

If you're doing realism it's also important to avoid hard lines, since they rarely appear on a face.

I'm not really sure what else I can say about this piece at the moment, since it seems to be lacking in the fundamentals. References and better planning would serve you well.
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Quote Saboteur Replybullet Posted: 25 September 2006 at 9:59am
Hahahaha, okay. I'm gonna resist the temptation to try justify things, and take a closer look at some references. Thanks for the comments, I'll see if I can salvage this 'un.
"I was minding my own business and walking across a pebbled path, and a Duck started giving me the business."
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Lawrence
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Quote Lawrence Replybullet Posted: 25 September 2006 at 10:20am
It's rather difficult to crit this well since it's hard to tell what you need to still do, but I'll go by your list.

On her eye balls, the way you've shaded the top part of the visible eye ball indicates that the upper eye lid is lifted up and is casting a shadow.
The tiny highlights on each of her irides should be a little more to the left, going by the lighting you described.
The curved line immediately above her left eye lid seems strange in how it continues along towards the upper nose when it should converge near the lacrimal duct.
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Quote Saboteur Replybullet Posted: 25 September 2006 at 3:55pm
Alrighty, I've had a crack at everything mentioned, to the best of my understanding. Anything there is open for criticism, with the exception of the strange H or W (Even -I- don't know) at the bottom.
 
Yarr, thanks muchly for the crits so far, and feel free to have another swing.


Edited by Saboteur - 25 September 2006 at 4:00pm
"I was minding my own business and walking across a pebbled path, and a Duck started giving me the business."
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Quote Saboteur Replybullet Posted: 26 September 2006 at 3:08pm
Updated once again in T-minus 30
 
Ignore the "Hair". I don't even know why I tried it, it really just... looks crappy. In hindsight, I should have left it out 'till I actually had something worth showing.


Edited by Saboteur - 26 September 2006 at 3:11pm
"I was minding my own business and walking across a pebbled path, and a Duck started giving me the business."
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PixelSnader
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Quote PixelSnader Replybullet Posted: 27 September 2006 at 8:45am
could you post an animation-like step by step gif of how you create something like this? it'd help me help you a lot i think.

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Quote Saboteur Replybullet Posted: 27 September 2006 at 11:05am
"I was minding my own business and walking across a pebbled path, and a Duck started giving me the business."
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Larwick
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Quote Larwick Replybullet Posted: 27 September 2006 at 1:01pm
Updating well so far Sab. Now i think you could do with widening the bottom of the nose slightly, or at least making the line defining it a little less bold. Also, fill in the entire top-right with hair, and basically most of above her forehead, or it looks like her head is very flat. Coming along well though, good luck!
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Pixel_Outlaw
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Quote Pixel_Outlaw Replybullet Posted: 27 September 2006 at 1:24pm
It reminds me of those little russian dolls that pop inside each other!
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Quote leel Replybullet Posted: 27 September 2006 at 5:49pm
Originally posted by Pixel_Outlaw

It reminds me of those little russian dolls that pop inside each other!
Matryoshkas!!
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Anlina S.
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Quote Anlina S. Replybullet Posted: 27 September 2006 at 9:02pm
The eyes seem rather far apart. Standard facial proportions are one eye width between the eyes. It'd move her left eye in a fair bit.

Toss the hair for now, get her face and head shape right before you add it on. Definetely give her an ear, even if you just rough it in.

The shadow along the bridge of her nose is really harsh and sharp. I'd soften it up.

That said, you've made some massive improvements already. The shape of the face is much better.
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Lawrence
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Quote Lawrence Replybullet Posted: 28 September 2006 at 12:44am
It's looking better. I agree the eyes seem too far apart. I think bring her left eye close to the right might help and also, that left eye looks very recessed, I'd bring it out a bit more.
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Quote Saboteur Replybullet Posted: 28 September 2006 at 12:59am

Awesome, thanks for the comments. I've softened up the nose and tried to block out an ear (ugh) and shape the face more like it should be, I suppose.

I took a look, and tried moving the eye in, but to me it looks off. Is it possible that my nose is off-center? I'll try bumping it a touch to the right, and see what that looks like. In a sec, I'll post the tiny updates I did, and try move the eye in closer, to see what you guys think.
 
www.willows.ensellitis.com/Sept27.png
-That's with the eyes bumped closer together.


Edited by Saboteur - 28 September 2006 at 1:02am
"I was minding my own business and walking across a pebbled path, and a Duck started giving me the business."
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PixelSnader
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Quote PixelSnader Replybullet Posted: 28 September 2006 at 10:35am
i actually meant the setup before the 1st image you posted here, when you block in shapes or make skeletons and stuff

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Aleiav
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Quote Aleiav Replybullet Posted: 28 September 2006 at 3:03pm
It looks a little better so far but her head looks too wide.

I've been to a lot of art forums and read a lot advice about drawing and most artists reccomend that you "draw from nature" as it were. Before you decide to do things sans reference, I'd try drawing stuff around you, sitting right in front of you like whatever's on your desk right now. I find that things I've drawn or painted in nature were easier for me to pixel (e.g. the strawberry in my gallery I painted before I pixeled so I didn't need a reference. Drawing from nature helps a lot and it makes you a better artist. And it's a nice feeling when you draw something without looking at anything).

p.s. also, practice, practice, practice. Draw something every day. The idea that one is automatically a good artist from birth is bogus. For the most part, good artists have practice several times and improved.  


Edited by Aleiav - 28 September 2006 at 3:04pm
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Quote Saboteur Replybullet Posted: 28 September 2006 at 3:17pm

Indeed, Aleiav. Lately I've been trying to... well, in truth I write every day, not draw, BUT yarr. I shall draw more and more often. I think the problem with that is before I even start, I see myself at the end going "Yaay. It's my printer." void of any emotion whatsoever. So I don't do it, simply.

And snader, that doesn't exist as a saved file. I made a circle, and egged out the rest of the head, really. Then I stuck her left eye in and started going from there, using a number of different references. That's the earliest file I have of this, sadly.

"I was minding my own business and walking across a pebbled path, and a Duck started giving me the business."
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Quote Saboteur Replybullet Posted: 29 September 2006 at 3:11pm
Took some time today to try draw a chair, lol.
 
It was a gross experience.
 
Then I attacked that ear with a lil more gusto

www.willows.ensellitis.com/Sept29c.png
 
(For the record, this post was the devil.)


Edited by Saboteur - 29 September 2006 at 3:11pm
"I was minding my own business and walking across a pebbled path, and a Duck started giving me the business."
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Anlina S.
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Quote Anlina S. Replybullet Posted: 29 September 2006 at 8:18pm
The spacing of ther eyes looks better, and now that she's coming together a bit more, I have to say that her eyes look too big relative to the lower half of her face. I think, working with those eyes, her nose should be longer, and the mouth and jaw area needs some lengthening and filling out too.

The ear, while not bad in shape, is too small for her head. The ear should be roughly the same size as the distance between the eyes and the mouth, so at least 50% bigger.

At this point, I can't really say is it's a problem with the way you've draw the ear, or the way you've drawn the head around it, but it has a rather flat, pasted on to the side of her head kind of look to it.

Please, please get rid of that scribbled in hair, and instead, give the top of her skull some shape and volume. Her head from the eyes up seems really short and squashed. I think if you fix that up it will really help with stuff like placement of the ear and the proportions of her lower face.
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Quote Saboteur Replybullet Posted: 29 September 2006 at 9:16pm
www.willows.ensellitis.com/Sept29d.png
 
Sorry, had barely any time. All I really did was un-hair the hair, and re-align the chin (at reccomendation of a friend not associated with here).
 
I'll get to the rest of your crits later, Analina. And thanks once again, you've been a huge help.
"I was minding my own business and walking across a pebbled path, and a Duck started giving me the business."
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