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50 Self Portraits in 50 Days Part II

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Posts

  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    Okay, so I screwed up my numbering (multiple times) throughout this thread. This is actually Day 23.

    Okay, Day 23!

    tumblr_m9doepe4QW1qjxikzo1_r4_500.jpg

    Lamp on
  • KochikensKochikens Registered User regular
    every time you post a new one i open up another window with your photo in it and compare

    youre getting better at like, generally art skills, but sometimes things just slip away from you in regards to, does this look accurate and I think you could really benefit from constantly re-evaluating whether youre drawing what looks good or what is actually there.

    like in this one your mouth is tiny and looks nothing like your mouth in the photo (although you are smiling in the photo and not the drawing, in all fairness) and its throwing off the likeness. And your jaw/chin have disappeared when really you have quite a lovely square-jaw. Just make sure that when you're going forward in the artistic skill/technique in these that you also keep going forward in terms of yeah this is totes me

  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    Good call on all that -- thanks! I'm trying every night! It means a lot that you're taking the time to comment!

    Here's Day... 24!
    tumblr_m9g8llxv5w1qjxikzo1_r1_500.jpg

  • KochikensKochikens Registered User regular
    I know its not the same exact angle so I didnt want to do any super comparing lines or a layover, but here:

    mQgzv.png

    maybe this can help you pinpoint some of your problems.

  • KochikensKochikens Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    welp looks like i did wanna do more

    90IKE.png


    Frynf.png


    and even looking at this, i still see a lot of problems. The shape and slope of your eyes, the shape of your mouth is totally different. You just gotta force yourself to be aware of this stuff. Getting into any sort of strong style when trying to make a likeness is bad. It can make stuff look just as much, like, you know how when you draw an anime-face of someone it doesn't really look like them? Same thing.

    Kochikens on
  • tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    yeah I'm with kochi. You're churning these out really fast, which means you're getting skilled at doing the same thing over and over, so your strokes and values are getting better, but overall your improvement is limited because you're not taking the time to reassess your approach on each drawing.

    I think it's a good idea to achieve the goal you've set for yourself, but maybe you need to think about WHY you wanted to do 50 portraits in 50 days. Was it just to do 50 drawings, or were you hoping to be able to look at the last one compared to the first one and say 'yeah, I've come a long way'? Because in the latter case I think you really would benefit from slowing down and taking some more time, You're putting some care into the forms of the eyes and features, which is great, but your hair, neck, clothing etc. is in danger of becoming merely symbolic, and that's hurting the likeness - hairline is actually a big element of facial recognition, and length and width of your neck informs our impression of your body and jaw structure, etc.

    I don't want to give advice which will get in the way of the stated goal, but if you can't afford to take more time on one day then maybe spread even just one portrait out over two or three days and really try to nail what it is about your face that makes it you. Even if you only do it once, I bet you'll find your subsequent portraits will be better for it.

  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    Hmmm, thanks for the thoughts, guys. Honestly, I don't think my trouble with shape and feature placement has too much to do with the amount of time I'm spending on each drawing, since it's really the big, basic stuff I'm missing, which I would get down on paper in a few minutes regardless of how much time I was going to spend refining the drawing. I do think I struggle a bit more nailing down the placement and shape of features when I'm drawing my own head than when I'm working from a model. All the setups I can find for drawing a self portrait are just awkward. I'm always holding my head at some weird angle, which forces me to be at an unnatural angle from my drawing surface. And the lighting is always bad on my paper because I'm trying to get good lighting on my face.

    I'm not sure if I should go on with this. The reason I wanted to do these in rapid succession was because I have a tendency to stay in a "practice and study" mode for long stretches of time. I thought maybe it would help to try to buckle down and just crank out some drawings, and having to make them as "finished" as possible in the allotted time would help me quit noodling.

    I tried to ease up last night and take a fresh look at things. I was feeling a bit discouraged by after taking a comparison shot in the mirror I was pleasantly surprised. There's definitely some things that are still off but it's maybe a step in the right direction?

    tumblr_m9kw3pcHa91qjxikzo1_500.jpg

    gU5LM.jpg

    Lamp on
  • HalenHalen Registered User regular
    Ah. It's apparent the reason you keep drawing your mouth small is that when you're concentrating, you purse your lips!

    The ear is a still a bit off, and most crucially, the eye shape. If I'm drawing a portrait, I tend to spend a long time trying to get the eyes right, because they're so vital to the personality of the face. Nearly as much as the nose, but you've got that pretty cracked.

    Really nice work man. Next challenge: hair texture? ;)

    Draw an egg.
  • LampLamp Registered User regular
    edited August 2012
    I think I just have a small mouth that looks way bigger when I smile :D

    Lamp on
  • tapeslingertapeslinger Space Unicorn Slush Ranger Social Justice Rebel ScumRegistered User regular
    edited September 2012
    Yeah, holy cannoli, your "workin'" face is throwing you way off

    Try working from a photo to get some of that smile?
    edit to add: use a mirror too, but you are more likely to remember to smile if you have a photo of you-smiling to work from

    tapeslinger on
  • tynictynic PICNIC BADASS Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited September 2012
    ^^ well I mean, there's no reason to smile just because he is in some photos - the important thing is the resemblance from the working image.

    but I see this latest one as a huge improvement already - the neck and hairline are much less of an afterthought, for example, and the length of your face and nose seems more tied to reality whereas before it was in danger of becoming caricature-ish. Yeah, not everything is spot on, but whatever you did differently with the latest one, keep doing it.

    tynic on
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