CRITIQUE 8 -Portrait of Father

Alice, Very nice likeness and sketching!   I will offer tips and ideas to aid in spacing of the features.   Hope it helps - and - Thank you for allowing me to offer pointers concerning your portrait!

cj

PS - forgive the measure markings in the hair!!  lol

CRITIQUE:

TIP: A good idea with any painting or sketch is when you think you are finished, turn both the painting and the resource photo upside down and then on its edge and see how it looks. By turning the image, you start seeing it more abstractly as shapes and values. Turned, you are more likely to spot if something is a bit off kilter, etc.

TIP: Measure an eye in the original photo - then use that measurement as a base for marking off distance and spacing for all facial features in the photo.

THEN - measure the same eye (either right or left) in your drawing and make the same spacing measurements on the drawing.  For instance maybe the nose is a certain number of "eye's" long, and so on.  This will make sure you have features properly sized and spaced. IF your drawing is the same size as the image in your photo, then you can apply the photo measurements to the drawing too.

TIP: when you feel your portrait is complete, set it aside for a few days, covered. THEN without looking at it, (don't peek!) set it up in an area that you might come around a corner and see it- and walk away without looking! .... I know it sounds crazy, but trust me... When you are surprised later by walking into the view of the piece, it will be like seeing it for the first time. If anything is "off" you will see it in that first glimpse and as you walk closer to the piece. Artists will do these things to get a fresh view or perspective on their own artwork.

TIP: View image in a mirror for a fresh perspective

TIP: take a photo and look at it on the computer screen or print it for a fresh view.

WORD OF WARNING about  working from PHOTOS - "Photos lie!" Well.. ok, they don't always portray the actual truth of a subject. One instance is where a photo might show a black area with no details might actually be not so black and full of details in person! So be aware that especially on a face - we do not have any detail-less black areas.

VALUE TIP: find the area on your portrait that is the darkest value and place it onto your drawing

Thank you for allowing me to critique your portrait - I hope these tips are helpful.

cj

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