[Iliya Mirochnik]

Hi Jeanette,

I really like how you’re doing these, focusing on the shadows, making sure the terminator reads. Really good job. I do think that some key anatomical areas need to be accented within the big shapes.

 

[Iliya Mirochnik]

Hi Ramona!

Really good job on these! Keep up the practicing. You can already see the improvement from the first image you posted. I thought I’d do a draw-over on the last one to point out some structural mistakes on torso.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Iliya Mirochnik]

Hi Bejarinski,

This is a great portrait! I really like the Northern Renaissance (Memling, Van der Weyden, Campin, Durer, etc,) feel here. Those are some of my favorite guys. Here are some ideas as to how I think this could be just ever so slightly improved.

Keep up the good work!

 

 

 

[Iliya Mirochnik]

As for the color and medium application, I would try to apply it a little more smoothly. This is not because I don’t like texture. I actually do. I just thing that learning to apply texture more smoothly allows for a development of more variation and gradation in that texture. Variation of texture is the key, not texture itself.

Good luck with this piece and others, I think there are some very tasteful things here, but they have to be made to shine, and not be lost amongst too many other qualities that obscure them.

[Iliya Mirochnik]

Hi Johnny!

So I think this is rather interesting because it reminds of 17,18, and 19th century illustrations of Mephistopheles from Goethe’s (or Christopher Marlowe’s or just the fairy tale of) Faust, about the doctor who sold his souls to the devil for wishes, riches, and the woman of his dreams. I would definitely take a look at the famous Mephisto sculpture by 19th century Russian sculptor Mark Antokolsky (link below)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Antokolsky#/media/File:Mephisto_by_Mark_Antokolski,_marble_(GTG,_after_1883)_by_shakko_09.jpg

What I recommend is that you focus on the forms of the head, the skull, and of course, major plane breaks. The thing is, that even if you exaggerate the character and features, they still need to correspond to a structured head (and that’s even if it’s more graphic and flat in execution.) So here, for instance, I would make sure the nose is attaching like a pyramidal form to the face, the jaw by the ear is pushed further back from the face, and the ear (even if kept that big) moved down.

[Iliya Mirochnik]

Hi Julian! This is a looking really good! The hardest thing about this head, and the mistake I most often see made, has more to do with character, likeness and proportions, than with accurately showing the planes. I think those aspects of the head are captured quite well here and it’s a pleasure to see. Thank you for doing my course, by the way. What I do I recommend as you work on this head and others is to push yourself towards removing the lines between the planes. Now this isn’t strictly necessary in such a constructive assignment, but I do believe that learning to replace the plane break lines with either a) the terminator b)flat tone or c) highlight is the real push towards finish and “polish” and will help with the more organic forms of a cast head or portrait later on. In your case, you’ve divided the planes up quite well by shape and value, but the modeling of the areas in-between the planes is missing, or at the very least, rather underdeveloped. It also seems to me that you’re making the main contrast on the lips, whereas I would move it towards the eye and brow ridge, and plane break between the side and intermediary plane. Overall, this is a really laudable piece, you should be happy with it!

[Iliya Mirochnik]

Great work on this drawing. I did a video critique for you:

 

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