Second Portrait Attempt

[Zizka]

It's supposed to be Jon Hamm.

Rip it apart please.

[Yngar]

I like the look of it.

One little change I made, it probably needs more shading under the chin. You might consider removing the black outline as well, but that's a personal preference.
I would consider trying to shade it from a different light source perspective to give it more depth, or at least just more shading in general.

[Zizka]

Thank  you Yngar,

While pixelation was down, I worked on the old version some so I couldn't get your criticism in time unfortunately.



Here's my reference:

[Yngar]

Version 3 is definitely on the right track. The bigger eyes helps a lot. I think one thing that is making it look strange is the symmetry, it makes it look like a mugshot. If you look at most portraits the subject is not looking straight ahead. Even in that photo he is looking straight ahead but his face is far from symmetrical. Just a thought, I look forward to seeing your progress!

[Zizka]

@Yngar, you're right that the face isn't symmetrical. I'll work on this once the general shape of the language is better.

Here's another version:



I think you'll most probably notice the various changes. 

What's next?

[Parkerbaby]

This is obviously a very sloppy edit, but I think the most important thing to focus on is getting readability. Find the features of him that define him and accentuate them. Try to move from typical man to individual Hamm. Also, be bold in your contrast for features.

[Pizza Tom]

Not really as extensive as Parkerbaby's edit, but here you go.

-At this resolution you don't really have room for much detail (e.g. creases in forehead), focus more on readable planes, like his prominent forehead
-Try to sculpt the forms more, right now you're mostly outlining them, for instance the nose. It will help it look less cartoony.
-Right now there's ~27 colors, most of which are very similar. Try reducing the palette to 10 or 12 (that's something I didn't have time to address in my edit)

[Zizka]

Thanks to both of you for taking the time to do some edits. I really am gratefully for you doing this for me to help me learn. I keep all criticisms in a word document so even if I don't make the corrections right away, everthing is nicely stored and archived.

I also tried the creases in the forehead but I thought it was too much detail to keep it at this point in time.

I've managed to fix my wacom pen (the nib was stuck and it was always writing) so I'll work on this tonight.

[Zizka]

Alright, after two hours here's the 5th version. Personally, I'm starting to see some resemblance with the original model:



I'm happy with this version, I think it's a neat improvement. Thanks for your comments, as you can see, they really did help.

Alright, I'm all ears (eyes), what's next please ? 

[Daimoth]

Perhaps a bad choice of subject. I imagine he got that role in part because he physically embodies the generic businessman of decades past. It's difficult to make a character who is a generic archetype instantly recognizable.