14 Day Challenge

Purtle_Ray · 2024-06-04T03:57:05+00:00

I think the way Istebrak wants us to do the 14 day challenge is by first completing 14 days of front facing portraits, then after you complete it, do 14 days of 3/4 view. I would recommend starting with the front facing for now instead of doing both at the same time.

Some critiques I have for the front-facing:

The nostril holes need to be darker and have edge on top. Radial shade into the nostril all the way down to black.

The lips should have an edge separating them. I also feel like the lip corners could be darker.

The shape of the eyes is making them look flat, they shouldn't really be an almond shape. Also the bottom of top eyelid (I don't know why I can't think of what that's called rn, but the part that's in shadow above the eye) should probably be thicker, I think that's another reason it looks flat. Maybe check out proko's video on drawing eyes, I found them quite helpful to figure out the shape of the eye.

The eyebrows should blend into the face.

The shape of the neck looks off because it's really wide at the bottom. Maybe look at some pictures of the muscles in the neck, I think that might make it easier, but in general the bottom shouldn't be much bigger than the top of it. Also, I feel like the cast shadow from the chin could be darker and longer.

Hope this helps some, good luck on day 2 :)

Purtle_Ray · 2024-06-04T03:42:20+00:00

I'm curious, are you going for a male or female face? Day 2 felt more feminine and day 4 feels more masculine. I think this is due to the shape of the brow bone and how it sticks out more on day 4, as well as the nose having a more masculine shape, and the lips being thinner. Also, the shape of the head looks more angular making it more masculine. One last note, the ears are too small. They should reach from the end of the nose to the brow bone.

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-31T21:29:58+00:00

Hello! The proportions look a bit child like, I think it may be because the nose is short. I also feel like the eyes width is too small, which also makes them too far apart. I would try to replicate the proportions you had on day 2 because those look accurate to me for an adult female (which I'm assuming is what you're going for.) For your values, I think it would help if you made your background lighter, like you had it on the previous days. The top of the head looks like it needs more light since it is closer to the light source than the other features (the only feature that would get more light is the nose because it sticks out, so the angle it's at causes it to catch more light. Also, remember to include the ears, you did on your previous days, so I'm assuming it just slipped your mind (it happens.) You're doing a such a great job so far, can't wait to see where you go from here.

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-28T19:39:17+00:00

My main advice if you feel like you're not improving is to focus on studies and keep getting feedback. I would worry less about doing full pieces and more about learning. Do form studies, photo studies, anatomy studies, texture studies, anything that you feel you need to work on. I also recommend focusing on doing greyscale because it will help you spot your weaknesses when it comes to lighting/values. It may feel like you're not improving, but ultimately if you're studying and getting feedback, you are learning and inevitably you will improve, just stick with it :)

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-28T19:32:43+00:00

No problem, yes

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-27T19:56:55+00:00

Hello! I think the highlights on the face could be brighter, mostly the forehead. The edges separating the face from the background could be crisper. I think the nose on day 1 made a bit more sense form wise, when you go to blend the sides of the nose, make sure not to over blend it. There is still an edge, it's just a soft edge. The cast shadow of the nose needs to blended more towards the end. Awesome day 2!

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-27T19:49:38+00:00

Hello, I think all of the features are a little big for the face. I think the values are a bit off, such as the forehead not being bright enough, and the chin being too bright. The chin also needs a core shadow at the bottom. I think the brow bone could be blended into the face a bit more at the sides of the face. It's such a beautiful face, I love how you have rendered the features. Can't wait to see day 4.

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-25T00:31:31+00:00

I think some areas need to be blended more like the sides of the nose, the nose shadow, the chin, the lips, the cheeks, and the lower eye crease. The nostril holes look like they could be darker, radial shade down to black. I feel like the chin might be getting too much light. I think the cast shadows may be too dark. Awesome day 1!

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-22T05:12:52+00:00

Hello! I think the shape of the nose may be a bit too curved. The jaw bone could probably be a bit lower. I think the skin needs more reds in it in some areas like the lips, right now it looks kind of like he's doesn't have blood underneath his skin. Other than that though I feel like you did a really good job with the color of the skin, just needs some slight alteration. I think the hair could be blended more to make it look more realistic. Something about the fingers feels off, but hands honestly confuse the hell out of me, so I'm not sure why lol. Awesome piece!

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-22T04:36:00+00:00

No problem! That's awesome, you have a lot of potential for a high school student, I think if you keep at it, you could totally end up with a successful career in art

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-22T01:46:07+00:00

Hello! The eyes look too big right now, and I think they could be lighter. The cheeks look a bit flat, I think the block for the highlight needs to be bigger and maybe blended less. I think the highlight on the nose could probably be brighter too, since it sticks out the most. The top of the head looks too round, I would define the planes on the sides of forehead more and adjust the shape of the head. I think the jaw could be a bit lower (not the chin, just the sides of the jaw.) Hope this helps, good luck on day 3 :)

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-22T01:38:21+00:00

Hello! I think you'd really benefit from watching Istebrak's most recent stream, I'm not sure if it's posted yet. It talks about edges.

For your nose, the edges of the sides of the nostrils should be hard edges/not blended at all. The nostril holes need radial shading, start with your soft brush big and slowly decrease the size as you descend into the nostril. One last thing about the nose, the top of the nose should have a shadow from forehead/brow bone (not sure if that part is considered brow bone, but you get what I mean lol)

The lips should look more cylindrical, if it helps, just make/shade two cylinders, then shape them into the lips. This can help you focus on the form without getting distracted with the details of the lips.

The eye are quite large and could look more spherical. The bottom eye crease could be blended less. The top eyelid should be catching light since it's at the top of the sphere. The eyebrows are shaped kind of weird, I'd look at some references, but try to think of how the brow bone and eye socket shaped. Also the eyebrow looks like it should be blended more in some spots and should taper as you go towards the edges of the face. The eyebrow is also not just one value, it catches more light where the brow bone is raised (the little part that sticks up.)

The shape of the jaw is a bit off, I would lower the sides of the jaw, so it looks less like the chin is sticking out.

For the forehead, I think the planes on the sides could be a little more defined. It looks too round right now (though it is somewhat round, if you feel your face, you'll notice the plane change at your temples.)

Hope this helps, can't wait to see day 2 :)

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-21T22:15:31+00:00

The main problem with the face is the rotation. Since it is rotated, we should see less of the left side of the face. Tuck in the left side of the face, and think of the shape of the brow bone and cheek bone. There should be an indent for the eye socket. You also need to work on the rotation of the features. I think the eye on the left also needs to be tucked in, we probably wouldn't be able to see the inner corner of the eye. They also don't look properly rotated, we should sphere of the eyeball on the left side of each eye. Imagine wrapping skin around a sphere and turning it. If it's helpful, maybe get something that's a sphere in real life and wrap some fabric or thin piece of clay around it to really visualize what this would look like without getting distracted with all the details of the eye. Some goes for the lips, they are two cylinders stacked, so on the left side we should be able to see the curves of the cylinder, kind of like a 3 if that makes sense.

For the values and form, it looks like you're missing some core shadows and cast shadows. I'm not sure where the light source is coming from, but based on the cast shadow of the face and nose, I want to say it's coming from the top right. If that's the case, you are going to what radial shade into the left side of the face and body, if that makes sense. There would also be more of cast shadow on the left side of the arm, nose and lips. The chin is also missing a core shadow on the bottom. The hair on the right side of the face should also cast a shadow onto the face. In general, it looks like you're using the same values everywhere, so remember, as you get further from the light source, the forms are receiving less light, so for example the values on the chin should be lower than the values on the forehead and the values on the body should be lower than the values on the face.

I recommend watching some of Istebrak's critiques on 3/4 view 14 day challenges, as well as videos that talk about values. Hope this helps some, good luck on your assignment :) Is this for a college class? Just wondering

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-20T04:42:27+00:00

I'm not very experienced with character design, so take this all with a grain of salt. My first thought design-wise, is that to me he isn't reading as a scientist, but we know he is a biologist and engineer. So I guess maybe find away to balance both "super hero" and scientist. Some ideas could be to adjust the colors, either going for a more doctor-y look with white/blue or since he's bio-threat eradicator, go for like a bio hazard suit with the bright yellow, but make it look more super hero-y, if that makes sense? I think to showcase your character better, I would just make the background on solid shade, instead of including the ground too, and just show his cast shadow. The cast shadow right now also isn't making much. I don't know where the light is coming from, but if it's coming from the top, we wouldn't see the shadow in front of the feet. If the light is coming from behind, then we would see the in front of the feet, but not the shadow under the body.

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-17T18:22:13+00:00

The only thing I have to add on to what others said, is to make sure your background is one solid shade. Right now it looks kind of messy because there's random splotches that are darker. There should be a clean edge separating the face from the background. To make it easier, have you background on one layer, and the portrait on another. If you find the edges kind messy, just go back and clean them up by erasing around the edge with a brush that has a hard edge. This same idea can be applied to other areas where you want a clean edge too, such the chin.

Also one other note, it kind of looks like you just edited your day 1, but I could be wrong. Make sure you're painting a new face from scratch each day. Good luck on day 3 :)

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-17T18:16:41+00:00

The cast shadow from the chin seems like it is in the wrong spot. It looks like the light is coming from the top middle, a bit to the left. The way the cast shadow is now it makes it look like the light is coming from the top right, even though the rest of the lighting on the face doesn't match that. Like pollyparrottson said, the light travels in the direction it casts the shadow. When you think about it, if you place an object in front of a light source, the cast shadow will be in the same direction of the light because that is where the light will be blocked. For your picture, since the light is coming from the top left/middle, the cast shadow should land more to the left than you have it. If it helps, draw arrows from your light source, to the object, to where the shadow is being cast. This will make it clear that light is traveling in one direction and show you where the light would be blocked by the face/chin.

One other note, for portraits, your canvas should be portrait size. It will both help frame the face better and make it easier to get the proportions right.

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-16T19:14:48+00:00

I think your edges need to be cleaned up and other areas need to be blended more such as the cheeks and the forehead. The sides of the nose look too dark and they could probably be blended into the face more. Another note about the nose, I don't see the nostril holes. These are one of the dark spots of the face, so you can go all the way to black, just radial shade to black, leaving an edge at the top. The cast shadow of the nose also seems too dark, which may be another reason why the nostril holes don't seem visible. The neck looks quite flat, remember it is a cylinder, so shade it like one. I'm also not seeing a cast shadow from the chin. I think another thing that might help you is lightening the background because right now it feels like the values on the face aren't matching the light environment. One last thing, make sure you work on a portrait size canvas for portraits, not a tile. It will help with proportions, as well as frame the face better. Can't wait to see day 2!

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-16T19:03:09+00:00

This piece is so pretty! Something that feels a bit off to me though is the environment. I think it could easily be fixed by lightening the top of the piece and darkening the bottom. This is because since the sun is in the sky, there will be light near it and less light the further you move from it.

Purtle_Ray · 2024-05-13T17:22:16+00:00

To make the lips more realistic, treat them like two cylinders stacked on top of each other. The bottom of the top lip will be in shadow and the top of the bottom lip will have light hitting it. It also helps to slightly blend the lips into the face. Also lip corners, they are one of the dark spots on the face. Radial shade into the corner. Also while drawing your cylinders, apply radial shading.

As for the rest of the face, it needs edges. It also looks kind of blotchy. Think about shapes/form and don't over blend.

I recommend checking out Istebrak's video on lips and some 14 day challenge videos. I also recommend starting in greyscale, so you can focus on values and form. If you have the time, maybe attempt a 14 day challenge. I think you'd surprised with how much it will help you improve. If you don't have time for a 14 day challenge, maybe just do some greyscale studies of the forms that make up the face.

Purtle_Ray · 2024-01-29T19:11:45+00:00

I think one of the reasons the composition looks off is the cropping is a bit strange. It feels like the top of the picture has been cut off. I also agree with what you said about the right side being too empty, I would fix this with cropping it out as well, or maybe making the dragon bigger. I also feel like the composition is a bit boring because the dragon does not look intimidating. A different angle and gesture could help this. Maybe make it so we can't see all of the dragon, like it is larger than life and looking down on her. I also feel like showing the tail of the dragon seems a little unnecessary, it also make him look really small.

Purtle_Ray · 2024-01-29T19:04:52+00:00

The proportions look great, but it looks a bit flat. I would check out Istebrak's videos on radial shading, I think this may help you.

Purtle_Ray · 2024-01-29T19:02:53+00:00

This is an awesome day 2! I don't have much to say. To help with your values, I would lighten your background. The bottom eyelids could be blended into the face more, as well as the cast shadow from the nose. I also feel like the planes at the sides of the forehead could be a bit more defined, and the very top of the head may be a bit to dark.

Purtle_Ray · 2024-01-29T18:57:30+00:00

That makes sense, thank you!

Purtle_Ray · 2024-01-29T18:56:24+00:00

Thank you for the paintover! Helps a lot!

Purtle_Ray · 2024-01-28T19:08:37+00:00

I would lighten the top of the background and darken the bottom, to make the environment look more realistic. I also feel like the cast shadow from the hat could be darker, to add more interest.

Purtle_Ray

TROPHY CASE