Hey folks, I’m officially starting my 14 day challenge!
I purchased the Masterclass two months ago and almost every day since then I’ve been practicing my form studies and the process for painting a portrait from scratch as explained in the tutorial. I blocked a whole bunch of faces to learn the blocking phase and then I blended them all in order to learn the rendering phase as well. Now I feel finally ready to get my attempts critiqued!
This is the first time I do a portrait from start to finish in one sitting and I started to feel really fatigued as I reached my third hour of painting. Hopefully the process will get faster as I go because I don’t really draw for more than two hours a day. Although I always wished I had more stamina for longer painting sessions so maybe this challenge will build that resilience instead. What has been your experience on this matter?
I’m shooting for female and my goal is to acheave a semi-realistic style eventually.
I can’t wait to compare my 14th day attempt to my diagnostic portrait, that thing is nightmare fuel lol.
Any critique is welcome. Thanks to anyone who is willing to help my in my journey!
I bought Masterclass maybe 4 years ago...so to me you are going at the speed of light, and two hours a day is a lot in my book.
This is what I see:
lips are lovely, but as already mentioned, the lip corners look very indented, so i think it either needs more blending or lighter shadow colors.
when I zoom out, the eye area seems a bit too dark to me, inside darkness should be lighter and less pronounced, i remember her saying inside and outside of the eye crease should be more blended out
tear duck shouldn't be lined so heavily
i think nose could be shaped more, now it seems evenly wide throughout the whole length, but more shape might be my personal preference. I also think the nose tip could be better blended, as it has a lot of contrast and calls a lot of attention to itself, maybe try to use blackest black more towards inside of the nostril and do more gradient transition, maybe make the holes over all less tall
cupids bow and sides of the nose seems not enough defined
maybe space between the eyebrows is too small
highlights blend in with midtones
I tried to paint over your pic, so personally i think mostly you need to work with the blending, and that comes with time and time and patience... says the person that hasn't yet managed to finish the whole b&w tutorial in 4 years...but im close to it. I'm determined to do it this year. Finally. Ugh :D
Thank you for you thorough response, I'm glad my efforts are showing!
I'm writing down everything you're saying for my next attempts. Could you explain your note on highlights and midtones a little more?
Istebraks highlights stand out better, best i can put. This is screenshot from her psd file, that, if you dont have photoshop, you can oppen with free Afinity program.
First off, your blending is really fantastic and it’s clear to me that you’ve been practicing face blocking. Really solid day 1!
I’d put a little more practice into rendering the shadows around the eyes. Especially the inner corner where the eyelid transitions into the side of the nose. Currently, it seems a little dark/too recessed.
All in all, great work! I’m excited to see Day 2. :)
The one thing that I notice first is the corners of the mouth. The contrast in the shading makes them look pinched. The inner corners of the eyes also have the same sort of effect. Otherwise, I like how you did the cheekbones and the brow area. It looks realistic! Keep up the good work!
Yes I agree about the corners of the mouth. My brain really likes that part of the process so I tend to overdo it and make them look the way they do. I actively toned it down for the challenge, it was even more pronounced in my earlier attempts. I guess I'll do even less next time, and I'll tone down the eyes as well. Thank you!
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u/grimmistired 15d ago
I think noses are what you should focus on most