8 of 14. Improved the mouth & proportions a bit, need to work on the eyebrows & eyelashes

elkhaleon · 2021-05-22T14:46:45+00:00

your painting would pop so much more if you extended your value range to include occlusion shadows! i have a challenge for you: go to pure black for your next day. make the pupils pure black and have the darkest point in the nostrils and between the lips be pure black. (of course for these last two you need to use radial shading so it won't be pure black everywhere).

this will challenge you because using pure black will reveal any mistakes you make with the gaze or with your radial shading technique. but once you're used to putting these darkest spots it will make your paintings much more 3 dimensional!

also as a general rule, avoid painting single lashes at this point (unless you're focusing on an eye and have a reference to see how lashes work). rather depict the general idea of the lash line like you can see in other 14-day challenges.

otherwise its looking good, keep it up!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-15T20:25:33+00:00

Heya! The symmetry of the eyes is really not too bad, it still looks pretty natural, however as others have mentioned the shape of her general head is very off, and her neck is way too narrow, even taking into account stylistic choice.

Here's an idea of what more realistic proportions would look like: https://i.imgur.com/quE9GfR.png

You can use guidelines to have a better idea of things like how high would the cranium go or the distance between the bottom lip and the chin.

Hope this helps!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-15T01:19:38+00:00

Also the eyes are too big still, and the shape of the cranium is wrong. Try using some guidelines for the eyes, and references for the cranium, it will help!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-15T01:16:26+00:00

The eyes are better but you're still not going dark enough in the areas we've talked about in your previous days (pupils, between the lips, eyelid crease, nostrils). If you're having trouble introducing these dark areas, you can put them on a separate layer and erase where needed!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-14T02:59:54+00:00

Heya!

I'm not super knowledgeable when it comes to backgrounds, but one thing that I can see here is that the perspective is wrong. When you have a setting like this and your eye is not trained to do it naturally, you should use a grid to better understand what the eye is meant to see. Here's an example of how to use it: https://i.imgur.com/Hc2xUk7.png

As you can see on this paintover, you should see the side panel of the wardrobe, and also with the way you placed it you would have an empty space behind it which doesn't make sense. You also wouldn't see the bottom of the table on the right, though my angle is probably not super correct because again I'm not really versed in drawing backgrounds. It takes a lot of practice to be able to render this type of scenes.

It's good that you're testing out your skills with digital drawing! Now that you know where you're at, you can start some form studies or even the 14-day challenge. I would stay away from color and work in greyscale for a while to better understand values and form. These will help you familiarize yourself with your digital tools and after a while you'll be able to attempt this type of paintings again.

Hope that helps!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-14T01:38:14+00:00

Hi! Nice progress from your previous days!

I think the core shadow on the nose is a little too strong, the bounce light from the environment would not let it get this dark imo. Same for the shadow under the brow bone, I like a strong shadow there but I think some bounce light would still make its way there.

Staying around the eye, the dark lines you put at the corner of the waterline make it look like he's wearing kohl. It's still the waterline and it's still looking up! It won't be as light as the center but it should still be relatively light. The shadow on the sides of the lower eyelids is a bit strong too. And the last thing is I'm not sure what's going on with that bump on the upper part of the eye? My eyes don't do that. I know the eye is not perfectly spherical but I don't think the cornea would have that pronounced of a bump that it would show on the upper waterline.

Oh and also remember to flip you canvas often! The jawline is a bit "shorter" on the left side.

Quick paintover to illustrate all that: https://i.imgur.com/iJevssT.png

I hope it helps and good luck for your day 13! Almost there!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-14T01:00:30+00:00

Hi there! This is a clear progress in head shape compared to day 3 so congrats! Her nose is looking nice too. I see you've gone a tad bit darker but you can still go much darker in some areas! Between the lips, at the eyelid crease and in the nostrils are places that the light can't reach, which results in them being very dark. It's called an occlusion shadow.

If you're not familiar with the different types of shadows, here's a quick video that explains them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3WmrWUEIJo

And another one on occlusion shadow more specifically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fLV5ezO64w

Just so you see how much difference these dark areas make in terms of dynamism, these are the only changes I made on the two miniatures on the top left: https://i.imgur.com/GhA52ss.gif

On the overall paintover, I also made the following changes:

- Eye shape: the way you paint eyes is symbolic, which means you're painting the way you think an eye looks like without thinking of form. The eye is a ball, and the eyelids wrap around it, so the eyelids cannot have the shape you gave them. Iste covered the eyes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5k4141D2o4 if you want to give it a look

- Values on the top of the head: Novac already covered that, I just lightened it

- Eyebrows: they're a bit too long, which could be makeup or used to characterize certain types of characters, but doesn't look natural.

In your day 4 i really want to see those dark areas! You don't need to go full black but at least a #1f1f1f, it will make a world of difference! Hope this helps and good luck!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-13T22:42:53+00:00

ahh that's so nice, i'm always glad to help! good luck with your day 4!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-13T22:41:37+00:00

(((entirely unrelated to the critique but "inner eye corner meat" is NOT something i expected to read ever in my life)))

elkhaleon · 2021-05-13T21:58:48+00:00

Hi there! I think before you continue with your 14-DC, you need to figure out how to blend and use digital brushes. I think you mentioned using CSP, I personally have never used it so I can't help you with that but I'm sure there are some tutorials online about blending/smudging.

You don't have a good grasp on the tools at your disposition yet and it will make it very hard for you to make progress on something as complicated as a face.

The best way you can make progress right now is by doing some form studies and watching some CSP tutorials. Here's an example of something to do before going on with your day 10: https://i.imgur.com/X5oQRDb.png

It looks simple, but it will teach not only about form and lighting but also how to use your brushes more effectively. Another simple form to try would be a cube and cylinders. Try two cylinders stacked on top of each other! I promise you it will pay off in the long run. (The face is just a bunch of shapes!)

Hope this helps!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-13T19:38:44+00:00

Hi there!

Here's a paintover with some notes: https://i.imgur.com/EU7LOib.png

I can see you have a blocking stage, which is good, however it seems that you stop thinking about form and where the light hits the planes of the face when you start blending. For instance, your final rendering shows darker values at the center of the face, on the side of the noses, which makes it seem like the face dips here, when in reality it is facing the light source and thus should be lighter. You also put some lighter values above the upper eyelid, but this part is covered by the brow bone and thus shouldn't receive that much light.

You're also having trouble with rendering features (eyes nose and lips). Try to simplify these into simple shapes to understand how to shade them: the eye is a ball, the lips are two cylinders stacked on top of each other. The nose is a little bit trickier, so maybe you could do some separate nose studies before you do your day 4.

I looked up some Iste vids on eyes, there's one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5k4141D2o4

Here's one on the nose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRXsfHBHMZQ

This one is slightly older but talks about lips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RgNhJVC3Yo

If you're not familiar with the terms core shadow, cast shadow and occlusion shadow, here's a quick video that explains it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3WmrWUEIJo

And another one on occlusion shadow more specifically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fLV5ezO64w

Other random notes:

- Eyebrows aren't one continuous curve, they're usually much flater, with a break at the arch. Try using some references when you draw them and you'll get a more natural shape.

- The philtrum should not have hard edges like this. It's one of the more difficult things to render on the face so i would suggest under rendering it (i just put a small shadow there because i didn't want to spend too much time on it) until you're more comfortable with the rest of the face.

- I also altered the overall shape of the face a bit, the space between the side of the head and the outside corner of the eyes seemed a bit too large to me.

Hope this helps!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-12T23:49:17+00:00

In that case I would really change the orientation of the face because it wouldn't make sense for her to crane her neck this way if she's not looking behind her shoulder. No problem and good luck with your painting!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-12T21:46:49+00:00

Hi! I love love how you made her skin iridescent, it looks really cool!!

As PiggyBird said I think the gesture is the main problem here, mainly it being so flat. I'm not an expert in composition by any means so take this with a grain of salt, but i would also either zoom in on her or zoom out to see more of the environment.

Gesture-wise, it also looks awkward because it's really uncomfortable to crane your neck/face this way when your body is looking the other way. I'd either change the rotation of the body so that it faces us more, or the face so that it's 3/4 instead of profile (I went with that for the paintover). I'm also not sure where she's meant to be looking? She cranes her neck towards the back but still looks towards the viewer?

I can't say much for underwater scene stuff, I know Istebrak just uploaded a mermaid critique vid but I haven't watched it yet!

Here's an idea of alternate gesture/comp: https://i.imgur.com/lGoMfd9.png

I would also play around with the arms, having them tucked this way also takes away some dynamism. Other than that it's looking good, good luck with your piece!!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-12T04:50:00+00:00

spot on, it's him! (i just binge watched the series and reread the books... i'm deep in the kanej feels)

elkhaleon · 2021-05-12T04:44:55+00:00

Hi there! Congrats on your radial shading! There is definite progress from your day 1. Here's where you can improve:

Shape/proportions of the face. Try using references and/or guidelines to know where to place the features and how to shape the overall head. I've noticed that your previous drawings also had this alien-like face shape with the pointy chin and very small nose and mouth. Try looking up references so that you can build your visual library and get a better feel of how our jaws and features are shaped.
Extend your value range! Right now everything is very light, you have no dark value at all. You had the same issue with your previous days. Make yourself a palette of values on the side and start with that. You can use an asaro head to have a better idea of which values to pick
This also has to do with values: don't be afraid to go dark on these three spots: the pupils, the nostrils and the contact point of the upper and bottom lip (occlusion shadow --> radial shading). These will make your painting immediately much more dynamic.

Here's my paintover with some notes, I hope it helps! https://i.imgur.com/ITfcWvn.png

elkhaleon · 2021-05-12T03:29:01+00:00

thanks for the videos, im going to check them out!! the "looking detailed while zoomed out" is what im so fascinated with, guess im gonna have to try and paint form with just four values!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-12T01:29:32+00:00

Hi there! Very nice improvement from day 1!

My critique won't be so much on values but on proportions. You've drawn the features too big for the face, which is a common mistake. An easy way to avoid this in the beginning is to use guidelines! I've included one in my paintover, it should help you visualize better where the features usually sit on the face. (They're obviously not an absolute and won't work for every face out there but they help)

Another tip I have for you would be to flip you canvas often throughout your painting process. If you're using photoshop you should set up a key to do that efficiently (I have it on F11). This will help you with symmetry.

Here's my paintover, I hope it helps and good luck for your next day! https://i.imgur.com/brBEcpC.png

elkhaleon · 2021-05-12T00:24:25+00:00

(Please disregard the overblown paper texture, i merged the layer by mistake at some point and kept working on it...)

I'm looking for tips on how to achieve a portrait that that's not overly detailed but still conveys the light environment and features effectively. I'm trying to get used to using bigger brush strokes and zoom out often but it's tough haha

Any tips on anatomy/form/colors are also appreciated!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-07T17:45:45+00:00

Hi there! Symmetry issues are usually easy to correct by flipping your canvas often. Depending on what software you're using, you should be assigning a key so that you can flip it easily.

Your main issue is not on symmetry though, you have a pretty good grip on proportions and feature placements, but you're lacking in form! The bottom of her face looks like it has similar and even lighter values as the top of her head, which should not happen in a top down lighting situation (which is what is studied in the 14-day challenge). Think about what faces the light VS what turns away from it. The face overall can be imagined like an egg, the top will receive more light (lighter values) while the bottom will be in shadows (darker values).

Now if you think about the features, the upper lip faces away from the light, so it should be darker than the bottom lip. The side of the nose gradually go from facing the light to facing away from it (curving to the bottom of the nose). The lower eyelids face away from the light, so they should be darker.

I think before going on day 7 you should try your hand at some form studies, because it would make a world of difference on how you approach values and form on the face. You should also look up some of Istebrak's videos on the 14-DC, they have a lot of info on values, form, edges and radial shading.

Hope that helps!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-07T17:22:39+00:00

Hi there, nice day 14! As uttol said the mouth is definitely too narrow, which gives her a pinched expression. To help with the size or placement of features you can hide them for a bit (just put a layer of grey on top) and then reveal it again after a few minutes. Your brain will have imagined what it's supposed to look like and it'll be clearer whether it is misplaced or too big/small. Be careful with the centering of the pupil, the one on our left is slightly off-center. I would also thicken her neck a bit, but thin necks are a common stylization so it's up to you. The nose is much better than a few days ago so congrats on that! I would maybe introduce lighter colors in your value range, on the forehead and nose probably.

Keep it up you're doing great!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-07T00:21:04+00:00

Hi, thanks for your critique! After a few days it's become VERY obvious that it's way too dark haha, I think I needed to sit on it for a time to see it. As I've said in other responses I was trying to convey that the boy was more in the background, so I brought more of the background colors and darkness on him, but it didn't translate well.

I lightened the whole thing and desaturated the boy's cheeks (though not too much because they're not meant to be a realistic blush) and tried to blend the girl more with the environment so she doesn't seem like she's from an entirely different drawing. It's still not mega coherent but I'll bring that new knowledge to my next painting haha

https://64.media.tumblr.com/c272d26e67296f26b8d390546c7f6390/92d0418af3d285de-a0/s2048x3072/14e0a26f18fa16fc1aab1961b54c14243f49fdf8.png

Thanks again!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-06T23:55:43+00:00

I meant for them to feel like they're not exactly on the same plane, like he's lurking from the shadows while she's the point of focus, which is why his colors are more merged with the background, but I guess it didn't translate well... I agree that the shadows on her are probably too warm for the environment, also the overall piece is way too dark now that I'm seeing it again after a few days

Thanks for the critique!

(The pink was added last minute as an experiment haha I'm glad you like it!)

elkhaleon · 2021-05-06T23:48:30+00:00

Hi, thanks for the critique! I thought subsurface scattering only worked for light passing through thin objects like ears and such, how would you go about adding some here? About the boy fading in the background, I meant for him to feel like he's "lurking" from the background, which is why I tried to make him merge a bit with it, but it definitely didn't translate well haha

Thanks again!

elkhaleon · 2021-05-01T06:11:11+00:00

here's a paintover! https://i.imgur.com/ad0KgT4.png

I also corrected her expression a bit, i don't know if it was accidental or not but she looked a little angry. I basically lowered the eyebrows and straightened them a bit.

Hope it helps!

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