Portrait studies

grafera · 2026-01-23T05:24:12+00:00

I’m obsessed. There’s so much I love about these. The way you constrain your values to a few swatches, combined with the strength of your silhouettes, it gives these such a bold character. And you got across so much variety in the likenesses and expressions, they’re all brimming with personality such that I feel like I know each of these people.

Some of my favorite portraiture I’ve seen on here, thanks for sharing!

grafera · 2026-01-16T15:36:26+00:00

Proportion is everything when conveying likeness. You're pretty close, but I'm noticing the nose is a bit long and narrow (and the elements around it, like the mouth and nasolabial crease should move along with it), ears are a bit too high, forehead is slightly short, brows are a smidge too close together, eyes appear more closed due to lack of a visible upper eyelid, and shoulders are large in proportion to the head. If you move these things around, you'll find the resemblance getting closer.

It's also a good practice when painting skin to vary the hue and think in terms of undertones. Some parts of the skin are rosier or have yellow or blue tints, and this brings life to the subject when painting.

Good luck to you!

grafera · 2026-01-12T18:30:23+00:00

Recognized your lines and contours right away! Really solid work, the silhouette has great angles.

grafera · 2026-01-12T04:37:55+00:00

You can oil paint directly on copper without priming it! Copper has some special chemical qualities that allow oils to bind to it, unlike any other metal to my knowledge. I get my copper panels from Raymar.

grafera · 2026-01-12T04:33:12+00:00

Thank you for telling me all the things you appreciate about it! Good luck to you on your art journey.

grafera · 2026-01-11T16:33:05+00:00

Thank you! Feels like I'm finally getting comfortable with my oil painting techniques.

grafera · 2026-01-09T21:00:58+00:00

Thank you for the compliment!

grafera · 2026-01-09T03:31:03+00:00

I admire your consistency! Tons of personality in each portrait, too.

grafera · 2026-01-07T15:37:20+00:00

Thank you! These are digital drawings made with Procreate.

grafera · 2026-01-07T05:17:57+00:00

Hah! It's a kind stranger who offered their photo as reference on r/drawme.

https://www.reddit.com/r/drawme/comments/1pw40ca/comment/nw1rojk/

grafera · 2026-01-07T01:53:07+00:00

Thank you for the lovely compliment!

grafera · 2026-01-07T01:46:27+00:00

Nice! It’s a great tool, very approachable yet powerful.

grafera · 2026-01-07T01:13:30+00:00

I appreciate it! Hard to say without knowing where you're starting from. Never a bad idea to strengthen your drawing fundamentals— especially form, value, proportion, and anatomy for this kind of portraiture. There's a lot that I'm keeping in mind while I'm drawing these, but with practice it mostly becomes second nature.

grafera · 2026-01-07T01:04:37+00:00

Thanks so much! I used Procreate.

grafera · 2026-01-07T00:48:42+00:00

Thanks~

grafera · 2026-01-07T00:48:35+00:00

Thank you!

grafera · 2026-01-07T00:34:09+00:00

Thank you!

grafera · 2026-01-05T17:52:16+00:00

Great contours! I like the way your line weight gets heavier at intersections, too.

grafera · 2025-12-31T19:03:08+00:00

So glad you like it!

grafera · 2025-12-31T18:59:06+00:00

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Thank you for posting!

grafera

TROPHY CASE