[dead] portrait

[Feron]

my advice would be to go back to pencil and paper and try out following some templates.

pixels are my pencils and paper.  I don't practise any other art forms (except the odd doodle in my maths books) so what would be the point in trying to draw a face with a pencil.  I'd make all the same mistakes i have when i pixel.

Helm, i did look for profile tutorials last week, but like you say all i could find were shit anime ones.  Perhaps you could write one , cheers for the edit, i am happy with this so far:

[vedsten]

my advice would be to go back to pencil and paper and try out following some templates.

pixels are my pencils and paper.  I don't practise any other art forms (except the odd doodle in my maths books) so what would be the point in trying to draw a face with a pencil.  I'd make all the same mistakes i have when i pixel.

Well, paper is just quicker. You could've made like 10 sketches playing around with different approaches in the same time you've pixeled this. Not that I'm to talk, since i tend to do the same thing, still i wish i could pull my self together to do more pencil stuff tho.

Anyhow, I think the new draft is way better than the old ones, seems like a good idea to start over. Minor crit - The distance between nose and mouth is still to great i think.

[Terley]

I think you'd get so much more out of this if you just leave the dithering and AA until it's needed, It's something thats said so often yet people always do it. Work on your forms first because parts of this just seem unnecessary for this stage.

Great progress btw.

[Feron]

Well, paper is just quicker. You could've made like 10 sketches playing around with different approaches in the same time you've pixeled this.

time is relatively unlimited.  I can see where your coming from, but would 10 bad sketches really help me?  my pencil sketching is terribly terribly shit.

I think you'd get so much more out of this if you just leave the dithering and AA until it's needed, It's something thats said so often yet people always do it.

adding a little aa takes a few seconds, plus the eye and nose is almost done anyway so i won't need to do that later.

thanks peeps.

[Turbo]

It's time to hit the books, Feron, study the theory behind human proportions. Read Andrew Loomis' book on head anatomy (you can find the link in the tutorial section, but here you go: http://www.fineart.sk/index.php?cat=14). I personally learn head anatomy from Burne Hogarth, the first book i found about the subject, but it has some flaws. I remember quickly perusing a book which was loaned to me, written by spanish painter José M. Parramon that i recall was much better than Hogarth's stuff, i think it might have been this one http://www.fineartstore.com/Catalog/tabid/365/CategoryID/11286/List/1/Level/a/ProductID/8288/Default.aspx

Anyways, you need to study the theory, practice a bit, and then see the improvements for yourself instead of flailing around without any base to build from and not getting anywhere.

[Feron]

It's time to hit the books, Feron, study the theory behind human proportions.....

......Anyways, you need to study the theory, practice a bit, and then see the improvements for yourself instead of flailing around without any base to build from and not getting anywhere.

indeed i should read more, I did read a lot of the link you posted, however im not doing this to get amazing at anatomy, im just doing it because i fancied doing something new.

small updates:



cheers

[JonathanOfDrain]

I don't really see the harm in improving your anatomical knowledge. You've already improved a little bit, let's keep it up then right ?
I'd like to see the hair as you progress.

[Turbo]

That's much better! You've improved from a inconsistantly formed face to a quite realistic one. When you follow the basics of anatomy construction, you move away from the amateur/begginer look into something solid. Anatomy study, as with everything, is a continuous process, so there's always the need to keep at it, even if you're not aiming to become an expert.

There's still some room for improvement. Suggest the bone that connects the nose to the cheeks horizontally; draw upper and lower eyelids (the upper one could be a just a dark line above the eye, the lower should be a vertical line that goes from eye to cheek).

Smooth the lower cheek to make her appear younger (as i think was your initial purpose). Smoothen the connection from jaw to neck (you can suggest it with just a light shade rather than go to the darkest shades to say "there's a jaw here".

If she's using eyeshadow, use a different color than a skin shade to indicate it.

[Helm]

Well, paper is just quicker. You could've made like 10 sketches playing around with different approaches in the same time you've pixeled this.

time is relatively unlimited.  I can see where your coming from, but would 10 bad sketches really help me?  my pencil sketching is terribly terribly shit.

Pixel art can hurt your artistic growth exactly because it allows you to endlessly fiddle with something until it sorta by-accident falls into place. This isn't real knowledge, you should study so you know what you're trying to do from the beginning, without making many mistakes. If your pencil art is bad, be brave and take the plunge and study from the beginning. Your pixel art will only stand to gain. That book Turbo linked to is very good from what I can see.

Pixel art allows people to draw from beginning to end a picture in relatively little time and the finish is very precise and oil-like. This is addictive for artists, to know they can get near-photorealistic results in such a small space, but what it also does is make people not study their fundamentals and care more about finishing rendering (what you're doing with aa and dither when you're nowhere near that stage yet).

Heed my warning Feron, you don't want to be Lazur. You don't want to be able to render very lushly in pixel art and yet still not be able to draw a human being comfortably with paper and pencil. Study your fundamentals.

[JonathanOfDrain]

I need to agree with helm here, every art form gives you a new perspective on art. I used to paint miniatures and I was taught/told that if you wanted a darker color you add black to your paint. If you wanted a lighter color you'd add white. I did that for a while and somehow got into pixel art and tried to apply the same thing, I understood shading and highlights so I figured I was good to go. Coming here I learned about hue shifting which quite literally blew my mind. It made so much sense and I was surprised I never thought this before!
Now imagine what you'd be able to learn if you picked up another art form. Pixel art will still be your primary love but you'll be able to do a whole lot of learning through pen, pencil and paper. Your people will have more structure and maybe more dynamic to them.

To get back on topic, I think you should get some references for hair ready.