Portrait Study Russian Style

[Jan]

I chose to work in graphite for this assignment instead of sanguine. Since I’ve been drawing along with Iliya during his demonstrations, I used 9×12 paper instead of 20×24 as suggested so that I would be able to keep up with his pace while using a pencil. I’m not sure how successful my version is, but trying to understand and replicate what he does has been tremendously helpful as I strive to improve.

[Lewis Bell]

Nice mark making, underpinned by accurate drawing! I’d be tempted to push the contrasts a bit more and soften the edges further away from the face – saying that, I’m unsure of the style – I haven’t gotten round to watching the videos for it yet. Good going!

[Jan]

I really appreciate you taking the time to offer a critique. I’m happy that the drawing seems accurate! I’ve been working diligently on studying the skull and muscle structure, and I do feel like I’m finally starting to see some improvement. I agree with you about pushing the contrasts and making value relationships clearer. I also have to fight my habit of not outlining, and I can see how softening the edges would help the form seem more three-dimensional. Again, thank you for the suggestions as well as the positive feedback!

[Tim]

Wow incredible drawing Jan are you on a course , as I would like to start portraits/figure ,it amazing what you have achieved with graphite .

 

Kind Regards

 

Tim

[Jan]

Thank you, Tim! I’ve learned so much since I joined NMA earlier this year. It’s an incredible resource and has more than surpassed my expectations. The feedback from other artists on the site has been invaluable as well. It sounds like you are a new subscriber. I would highly recommend the Russian Academic Drawing Course no matter what level you are. All of the courses I’ve taken have been exceptional, but that is a great place to start to learn fundamentals or even just review.

[Author]

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