Portrait Practice

[Jad]

Look at a mirror and feel around a bit so you can feel the angles of your face.

I've realized that when you wanna make the jump from round-doll-like deformed manga cuteness to clean simplified-looking faces (like in, for example, death note and so) and which seems to be what you're aiming for here, you've got to make not proportions that ARE 100% realistic, but that FEEL realistic.

For example with your tree-guy, think about his chin, there's something off about it. I'd say it's the lack of space. In real life you if you go from the mouth and downward, you need space for a lower lip, then the skin part of your lower lip, and THEN the chin. right now the chin just merges into his mouth, which looks very plastic and doll-like.

same is with the mustache. Think of real people. The mustache grows on the (skin part of the) upper lip, if you want a real-looking mustache, you need to have a believable upper lip-space for the mustache to grow on. Right now that space is the space-between-nose-and-mouth-line, more or less undefined territory. I think this is hurting your faces, so construct them a little more carefully.

If you want him to look manlier, use your shades to imply a more formful nose, more defined lips (yes, lips doesn't make a man into a woman just like that) and some definition around his chin, so the whole thing looks a bit more realistic.

If you want him to still look kinda cute, then do this: You do what I said above but instead of defining the areas with shading you just change the proportions to make room for the parts of the face that are there! This is one of the secrets to stylize things in a believable manner; you keep good construction beneath the image, but you render only the important things, and as smoothly as possible. That way the brain will fill in the gaps with the parts of faces that it's got memorized, but still percieve the image as smooth.

Man I'm rambling, are you understanding my rant? If not, shout and I'll explain with images, way easier that way actually, but takes effort that I can't bring up right now since it's sleepytime!

Sorry for weird swede-english! Good night.

[mozzy]

I think I might have messed up with the lips.

But thanks, that's some great CC (:
Feel free to edit.

Your English is fine by the way.

[Jad]

Haha, late night, I didn't really trust my english skillz.



Edit!

Construction is a bit weak and 2-dimensional! Guy looks a bit flattened, and his face drags to the -> side! I experimented with adding tree-y things to his face but it looks like poop. Oops! : D



This might give some insight as to how I think, construction-wise. It's important to get this into your head, and if it's there, nourish and cultivate it, so there you go! Symmetry in faces is a good thing, generally, and trying to skew it in 3d space in a believable way. I am in no way very good at this, but actively thinking about construction and trying to make sense of the 3d within the 2d still improves my art, and so will it yours! Good luck!

Edit: Oh, and the all-colours-everywhere principle will help tremendously here seeing as the tree is the man and the man is the tree! Throw all shades in everywhere to get the best results!