Pencil Portrait

[Jan]

This portrait is for a Christmas gift. The lighting in the reference photo was tricky and I struggled to establish the light and shadow shapes. Having a more defined light source would have made it less challenging for me. I do think I’m satisfied with the likeness, though. Any feedback regarding what I need to work on is greatly appreciated!

[Leo DiFraia]

Hi Jan,

The drawing is excellent. I’m sure she will be surprised and love it.

And I’m sure you already know what I’m going to say so instead, I’ll try to show you. This is simply a matter of taste, so if you don’t like it… don’t worry. If your graphite won’t go darker, my favorite trick is to use a Prismacolor black pencil. In the future, you might also consider trying a different type of paper. This one has a lot of texture and it’s preventing you from getting sharp edges.

Forgive me if this seems presumptuous,
Leo

• This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by Leo DiFraia.
• This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by Leo DiFraia.

[Raven Kushner]

Jan,

Your drawing is beautiful. Congratulations! I know your friend or loved one will love it. I would only say that the shapes of the eyes could look more organic. They seem a little outlined or cut out somehow. Maybe sinking them back in the head a little more with shadow will make them look more natural. But even if you leave it as is, it’s very nice!

[Jan]

Thank you so much, Leo and Raven. I’m extremely appreciative of your kind comments and valuable advice!

Leo, I did guess what you were going to say haha. You were not presumptuous at all. I really appreciated the drawover! Those were areas that I had softened, but the drawing looked much better with your suggestions. I went back in and made some slight adjustments, but I had to have the piece finished yesterday so I was afraid to do too much at this point. I’ll definitely use your suggestions as I start the next piece including the trick of using a Prismacolor black pencil! Thanks again for taking the time to critique!

I agree with you, Raven, about the eyes. I was thinking the same thing. I had just completed Steve Huston’s eye lesson before I started this drawing. I began with the structure but ended up softening it too much as I tried to get the likeness. That will be an area I’ll really concentrate on in the next portrait. Thank you, too, for providing feedback! I’m trying to follow your thread but have been so busy I haven’t made any recent comments. I’m excited to see how the coaching goes!

[Tim]

Hi Jan

Again a lovely drawing of a “real” person 99.9% of people will only see

A very gentle drawing of a complex woman , subjectively I feel your subtle use of tonal contrast and wonder handling of the hair communicates much to the viewer , great work Jan very expressive in my opinion this is art .

But what do I know

Ha ha

 

Tim

[erikdennes]

Hey Jan, nice work!  I think the mouth and teeth need to read more like a cylinder.  The sides of the cylinder need to be pushed back (darker) more.  It looks too flat.

[srsanyal]

Very nice work Jan, keep posting more work of yours.

[Jan]

Thank you, srsanyal for the encouragement! And thank you, Erik! Your critiques are always extremely useful. I can definitely see your point about the mouth and teeth. I’ve been trying to build the forms and allow the structure to show, but I always seem to end up softening the female portraits because they look too harsh. This seems to flatten the drawing. I’m going to work on pushing the 3D construction while still achieving a likeness.

I only had a limited time to make adjustments on this drawing after the comments I received since it was a Christmas gift. The feedback I received was very valuable, though, and I will use it going forward. I was nervous about presenting the portrait, but I’m grateful that it seemed to be genuinely appreciated. And I’m very grateful for everyone taking the time provide comments to help me improve.

[Author]

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