AuthorTopic: GR#172 - Realistic Portraits  (Read 16801 times)

Offline alex pang

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GR#172 - Realistic Portraits

on: November 10, 2013, 04:02:45 pm
very unfinished self portrait. I think its my best trie on portraitur. and the color palette is quit decent, there is too much noice though and the eyes and hair is unfinished....
critique apreciated
« Last Edit: November 24, 2013, 11:31:14 pm by alex pang »

Offline Mr. Fahrenheit

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #1 on: November 10, 2013, 05:16:08 pm
It might help if you post your ref so we can get an idea of what you look like too.

It looks good so far, you have a nice lip color. (I can never get one that looks right)

Offline alex pang

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #2 on: November 10, 2013, 05:33:10 pm

still long way to go :/

Offline Mr. Fahrenheit

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #3 on: November 10, 2013, 05:39:32 pm
The nose is a bit big on you're drawing. Keep at it.

Offline Cyangmou

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #4 on: November 10, 2013, 06:56:45 pm
Weird low camera angel with makes your bottom jaw plane visible. THe cranial mass appears really small and your lower facial mass appears quite big.
This causes an ape like or an primeval human like look. Without the stretched neck it's impossible to tell the posture (on your pixel canvas).

Usually the eye line cuts the head without hair in half.

See yourself whath the perspective did:



You should try to get a photograph from a better angle and also adjust the lighting diagonal from the front to get more form out of the whole portrait.
"Because the beauty of the human body is that it hasn't a single muscle which doesn't serve its purpose; that there's not a line wasted; that every detail of it fits one idea, the idea of a man and the life of a man."

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Offline alex pang

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #5 on: November 10, 2013, 08:20:28 pm
I do have other pictures yes, it was just the first I found.


UPDATE: wits a better refferance but my neck is long, so its not stretching :P
I was thinking to have a warm and soft light from the left and a strong cold light from the right.
Will update when have pixels to show

slow start
Using the 16*16 grid but its in accurate as of now
« Last Edit: November 12, 2013, 10:45:52 pm by alex pang »

Offline Daimoth

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #6 on: November 13, 2013, 04:36:55 am
I actually really enjoy your most recent version. It looks like it's been stylized in a very strange way, but I like it.

Offline Corinthian Baby

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #7 on: November 13, 2013, 08:31:49 am
You're on the right path in terms of trying to nail down the construction of the proportions. However I think all the wireframes and grids are making you to see the face abstractly instead of holistically.

I made an edit, not completely accurate, just a sketch:


Study the volumes and shapes in the face and try to recreate them. Always measure and check the relationships between your strokes. Also I think you could have fun with this pallet. As it stands it's a bit drab, I added a darker color for some added depth, but you could definitely get some knarly light blues/greens in there for the highlights, and some rich purples/oranges/reds. Basically experiment with some hue shifting and more drastic contrast.

Anyway, keep studying and trying to get placement right. Such is the righteous path.

Offline alex pang

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #8 on: November 23, 2013, 09:53:23 pm

went for something easier, not done but getting better
« Last Edit: November 24, 2013, 12:02:07 am by alex pang »

Offline Night

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #9 on: November 24, 2013, 11:38:25 am
Try to go with the basic shapes, and focus more on where the light hits the face; much of it looks out of place currently.
quick edit:

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Offline alex pang

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #10 on: November 24, 2013, 03:51:42 pm
Try to go with the basic shapes, and focus more on where the light hits the face; much of it looks out of place currently.
quick edit:

I know, but I feel, that I keep imroving...
will edit with another portrait, because, I lost my reference on this one... :/
simple shapes like you told me
will focus more on construction this time


« Last Edit: November 24, 2013, 06:00:11 pm by alex pang »

Offline Corinthian Baby

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #11 on: November 24, 2013, 07:34:55 pm
Post your refs so we can compare. The blue girl is looking good, the 2nd/middle one shows some real promise. I think with the 3rd you were doing too much; the values are getting lost and the form a bit more muddy. I would go back to the second one, but post the ref so we can see what you're doing right.

Offline alex pang

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #12 on: November 24, 2013, 08:05:40 pm

I started with a ref for the pose, but went over the top and not using it any longer.
will go back and retry :P
« Last Edit: November 24, 2013, 08:20:46 pm by alex pang »

Offline alex pang

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Re: selfportrait wip

Reply #13 on: November 24, 2013, 10:12:00 pm

oh shit sorry for double post  :yell:
But went over board again.
my ref


« Last Edit: November 24, 2013, 11:22:44 pm by alex pang »

Offline Corinthian Baby

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Re: Portraits in general :P

Reply #14 on: November 25, 2013, 01:27:40 am
On the right track, but I think you need to slow down.

Another edit:

List of Changes:
-Reduced the size to 75% of what you had. Your canvas right now is pretty big, pixel art works better in smaller sizes, otherwise you get bogged down filling in the details of the res and make yourself work more too.
-Added another value to bridge the purple and black.
-Took the brown from the BG and worked it into her cheeks to help balance the blue and breathe some life into her.
-Shoulders are way too broad.
-Wasn't sure what was going on with the orange so got rid of it. I guess it was to balance out the blue? It overpowers it right now and confuses the eye.

The main point:
Use more concise, confident strokes. (Smaller canvas makes this easier.) Your lines right now are all over the place. Look at Night's face edit and notice how clean the values are. You don't have to work so sketchy, think about the placement of your clusters/brushstrokes/pixels. One plane of color next to another will define the form, then blend where necessary.

Also I would say to be cautious about using other paintings as reference. A photo or real life is always ideal. A painting already has an abstracted degree of separation from the subject so you're starting away from the real thing already. Still, it would be interesting to study the brushstrokes and make your clusters based on them.

Keep at it. You're getting better. The blue highlights are a cool idea and works well.
 

Offline alex pang

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Re: Portraits in general :P

Reply #15 on: November 25, 2013, 08:13:26 am
I think I wont size it down just yet.
and ye orange was a neutralizer, I see your point in that background color could work better! But my last try on that failed :P
going to make everything look more solid like in your edit and work on a color variation that could work better.
I used a painting because of the abstraction, it looks NEAT!
I really see your point about everything, and will edit this post when I have a new update to show!

My current WIP
(I know about the orange, but just throwing out an idea) (better?)

2

3

LATEST



« Last Edit: November 28, 2013, 08:12:54 am by alex pang »

Offline alex pang

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Re: Portraits in general :P

Reply #16 on: December 01, 2013, 09:42:28 am
Making new post because I'm confused by 10000 images in one post... (sorry mods)

Better or worse? I think I will need to make a new background?

Offline Chris2balls

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Re: Portraits in general :P

Reply #17 on: December 02, 2013, 12:09:58 am
You gave up the self-portrait too quickly!

I had the impression you wanted to do your face straight, whereas the ref was taken from below: I made the edit by looking at both photo references, then using my imagination and my mind's eye to build the face up. The issues of the first reference are the optical distortion and the up view, which both make it hard to place the axes (side plane, centre line, jaw line) correctly and consequently the features too.
« Last Edit: December 02, 2013, 12:13:24 am by Chris2balls »
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Offline Corinthian Baby

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Re: Portraits in general :P

Reply #18 on: December 03, 2013, 07:58:46 am
Agree with Chris2balls, you need to slow down and focus on one thing at a time. For the girl portrait, dial it back a few iterations. The 3rd one with the orange diagonal half with the smiley face looks like it has promise but it got diluted by spastic edits.

I would say go back to that version, get rid of the orange once and for all, bring the ref back up (in the same image as your workspace, so you can see it AS you work.) Study the brushstrokes, think about how each stroke can translate to pixel cluster, WHILE keeping in mind the form and overall facial structure/value. (Pixel) art forces you to consider many problems at once, that is why it's so hard.

You're obviously making progress though, just back it up, slow it down, and focus. Clean them pixels up.

Offline alex pang

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Re: Portraits in general :P

Reply #19 on: December 03, 2013, 10:55:17 pm

2 steps back 1 step forward

Offline alex pang

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Re: Portraits in general :P

Reply #20 on: February 19, 2014, 12:32:27 pm

what I'm working on now




« Last Edit: February 21, 2014, 01:21:16 pm by alex pang »

Offline Mr. Fahrenheit

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Re: Portraits in general :P

Reply #21 on: February 22, 2014, 01:53:18 am
The color change is much better. It smooths out the hairline which the grey one's was very harsh.

Offline alex pang

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Re: Portraits in general :P

Reply #22 on: March 05, 2014, 10:40:20 am
It was colors I wanted to replace when I got the shapes and values right.
now im stuck on the hair :(

Offline rafal345

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Re: Portraits in general :P

Reply #23 on: March 05, 2014, 01:35:20 pm
Looks way better now, but I think there is one strange thing in skin palette - the brigtest and darkest areas are made very smooth but they look like two separate palettes - in these places where they mix they don't work too smooth, even when you're using that cool antialiasing.

The one thing I'd suggest about hair is to get rid of most of there lines and focus on lighting, as it is on the painting ;)