Portrait Progression

SeraphSword

So, I'm trying to get back into digital painting, after a long layoff. I'm definitely rusty, and I was never exactly a pro to begin with.

For the moment I'm focusing on value and form, but I want to start moving into color as well, since it's always been a weak spot for me.

Any crits and commentary are welcome. My one asset as an artist is that I have pretty thick skin.

Here's my first attempt. Approximately 3 hours, in Manga Studio, from reference. I can definitely see a lot of issues (proportions, value range, etc.), and it's technically unfinished, but I didn't think I could solve the problems here without starting over, so I'll just start fresh tomorrow.


Here's a gif of my basic process for this:

And here's the photo I used as reference:

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I can't say I'll be updating everyday, but I think I can manage two or three times a week.

Iruka

Your brushwork is really hurting you, here, I pulled this crit from another thread, but the basics are the same:

Iruka wrote: »

This egg is a great start and shows me a few things,

First, If you are going to primarily use Photoshop, you are going to have to jump through some of the technical hoops to really make the program work for you. You'll want to experiment with switching brushes and changing up your flow/opacity to get smooth results. don't settle for splotchy results, use your selection tools and push the tech to give you the results you want. You would similarly try to control any traditional media, try to think of your digital tools as flexible things.


The trick is though, is not using them all at the same time. When you are going for that extra level of realism, pull out the stops to try and achieve what you see. The benefit of trying to accurately replicate textures is that you will start to think twice about pulling out a "chalk brush" and just using that over a whole image for no good reason.

I just linked these in another thread, but frendens brushes are really nice: http://frenden.myshopify.com/#_= you can also find free manga studio brushes out there, though. The measurement is off, but its not awful, the value range is pretty light compared to your reference, I would really push yourself to hit it.

SeraphSword

Thanks for the feedback Iruka, I obviously agree on all points. I wouldn't consider this finished, but those are all issues that are present in most of the stuff I do. Hopefully, by putting in some regular time over the next year or so I can start making headway on those areas.

I tried to touch up yesterday's portrait with some more contrast and slightly cleaner brushes, but the measurement problems with it just started bothering me too much to continue (the mouth/chin area and the eyes mostly).


I'm starting another portrait tonight, but I probably won't get it near finished until tomorrow.

Natri

If you're having trouble spotting where exactly you're off in your measurement, flip your images! It works wonders.You'll almost immediately see what looks wrong.