[WIP] C&C On face

[FRAWG]

New image... Started it this morning and I need some critique on it.
NEWEST:

[EvilEye]

I was commenting in another thread about the importance of contrast for feature definition, the same applies here with the super dark shadow under her left eye. It looks like there is a hole in her face that goes on for miles.

If you don't have the room to make a detailed ear then simplify it. Doing all that shading does no good if noone can see it through the hair.

All those dark lines on the hair just scatter the attention of the viewer. On something like this you want the main attention on her face.

There's lots of distortions here with regards to things like eye placement etc. I made an edit that trimmed it down ( a lot ) and tried to show what I think is the proper placement of the eyes etc.

[FRAWG]

Thanks for taking the time to do that edit, I have done quite a bit to my pixel now:

She looks a lot younger, which isn't really a bad thing, but it still needs work. I still have to work on the hair+face a bit an then start moving downwards and get an idea of the torso.
EDIT:I think a less harsh light tone works a little better for this.

[EvilEye]

Much improved

Just a few things:

The black under her chin looks like it marks where her neck begins, the neck should start about where the left side of her mouth is.

The reason she looks so young is her eyes are a bit far apart, the nose is flat and undefined and the way you shaded her face makes it look fairly roundish. Not that that's necessarily incorrect, it depends on what you're trying to do.

Don't work on a pure white background, it screws with your perception of brightness levels, work on a neutral background instead ( the color on this forum is fairly neutral ).

[Tourist]

I agree with Evil Eye.  Much improved.  Ditch the pure black and pure white.  Use the black for another dark brown and adjust the rest of the shades.

Give the character some eyes.  They will help define the face, or at least trigger your brain to define the face.

After playing with this, I conclude a 40 pixel head seems to be a bit tough.  A 20 pixel head is easier because you only have room for the most important bits.  A 64 pixel head is easier because you have enough pixels to do anything (any angle, tilt or turn, subtle curves). 

A 40 pixel head is right in between.  Not enough room for photo quality shapes, but too much room to get away with simple forms.  Or maybe I just need the practice.  This is an interesting challenge!



1.  Took your last edit, raised the eyes 2 (?) pixels, and the nose 1 pixel.  Placed a generic eye socket shape - this is not a good shape, but it will do for now.
Sharpened the chin closer to your original piece.
mostly just hacking at this.
2.  Added color, shape.  Ended up with a decent face.  Not young, but with character.  The smile line really helps I think.
The eyes have changed shape, mostly by raising the outside corner one pixel.  In retrospect, I think I like this face and should have stuck with it.
At 1x there is just not enough contrast
3.  But why not simplify and try a younger face?  Erased the smile lines, softened the jaw, shrunk the cheeks. 
Redid the eyes a bit.  Much better I think.
Much wrestling with the mouth.  I don't like these colors - there's a big jump between mid and the mid-dark which makes it tough to add any curves to the lips. 
Similar problems with the nose.  Not quite enough pixels to get the curve right.
4. Playing with colors
5. More playing with colors
6.  Then the muse grabbed me and would not let go.  Sigh.  All I wanted was to add a little red to the lips and pink to the cheeks, test out a new color picker.  But no, the muse was not satisfied.  Still isn't, truth be told, but at least it let go. 
The main problem is that all the lines (cheeks, jaw, nose, shoulders) point to the chin, which is altogether uninteresting.  I guess this should count in the list of things to avoid. 

Tourist