Hey guys! I started practicing portraits last week and this is what I have so far. I'm working on likeness. They look like ok faces(for a beginner), but not the ones I wanted. Any advice on likeness in general? I have Zendaya, Gal, and we named this one Aubrey Hebpurn because it's not quite her (or any of them). I took notes on what I think needs changed, but it's hard for me to tell while I'm sketching. #portraits #faces https://mastodon.art/media/QPqOpqgUbdcxh57O8Vs https://mastodon.art/media/VQO_jZvZGLUR7Tf1Hjc https://mastodon.art/media/OfcLvqjzq0jcFTo2pos
@spacecaadet (cont'd) The book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" has exercises that will help sharpen your observation skills and move you away from symbols and hard-edges (if realism is where you wanna go). "Keys to Drawing" is another good one.
Keep drawing! This is great and worthwhile stuff to be working on!
@AesAthena Thank you for all the suggestions! There's a lot of little techniques that I still need to learn and I really do struggle with eyes the most haha! I try so hard to get the shape right, but they look wrong still! I'll keep practicing and studying! Thank you.
@spacecaadet Start with the outline of the entire head, including the hair shape.
Remember that the spaces between the features are as important as the features themselves (see also "fiveheads"). Consider trolling your library for caricaturing books (I have a couple by Dick Gautier, they're great).
Have you done any upside-down copies yet? From the way you do eyeshapes, I feel like you're still drawing "a symbol for an eye." Drawing=observation of individual shapes, not symbols.