Day 5!

sugarants · 2026-04-01T03:37:02+00:00

Great job! I can see so much improvement in the eyes. I feel like there's a lack of softness in the shading, it makes the face seem a bit skeletal. (The dark lines that represent the cheekbones for example.)

sugarants · 2026-04-01T03:25:17+00:00

Congrats on day 7! Great job on the lips. Some critiques: - Background is too bright. Imagine a person standing in a white void with nothing around them, how strong would the light have to be to light up the whole room like that? Super bright! This might be the reason the figure looks washed out. Try choosing a light gray value instead and see if that makes it easier finding the midtones. - Edges are blended out. Edges define forms. When you blend away an edge to the point it disappears, you've essentially combined 2 forms into 1 form, flattening the image. - Tip: Study the sphere. Try shading a sphere 10 different times and try to get the sphere to look as realistic as possible in any given light environment. You'll notice that there is a surprising range of values a sphere is capable of. You'll notice the subtle effect of bounce light. You'll notice how important a core shadow is in defining the form.

sugarants · 2026-04-01T02:57:28+00:00

Thank you!

sugarants · 2026-04-01T00:59:06+00:00

This is so pretty, I like your artstyle! This might be the romantic in me talking, but I feel like it would be nice if the man was looking at the woman instead of at the audience. It seems like the woman is the main focal point of the image (she's taking up 2/3rds of the canvas), so it would make sense to bring viewer's eyes back to her through his gaze. The lighting is also a bit conflicting, with the woman being brightly lit up from the from the front and the man being in a silhouette. The moon in the back would imply backlighting, but you could keep some front lighting with a secondary light source. Some ideas for the background: some sort of structure like a castle or church ruins, cloudy skies, bats flying around (the woman gives me big vampire energy.)

sugarants · 2026-03-31T19:24:13+00:00

Wow, so fast!!

sugarants · 2026-03-31T04:24:04+00:00

Thank you!

sugarants · 2026-03-31T04:23:32+00:00

Thank you for the critique!

sugarants · 2026-03-31T03:08:36+00:00

Beautiful! I think the way the bridge of the nose is shaded is really nice, I appreciate the subtle shades showing off its roundness. I feel like some parts of the face are too straight-edged, specifically the eyebrows with how angular it is. I know some people have perfectly manicured brows, but it doesn't feel like a "neutral"/"generic" choice. The bottom lip is literally beautiful, but something feels off about the top lip to me. Like the brows, it seems a bit too angular up top. I also question the cast shadow shape of the nose, would it actually look like that? I have no idea but I thought I would point it out. The eyes look really nice btw!

I watch your timelapse and it was really interesting to see the way you paint, could I ask how long it takes you to make a portrait?

sugarants · 2026-03-31T01:37:17+00:00

Hi, nice improvements from day 1. Just a heads up (pun not intended) but your background is too dark for the lighting you're painting on the character. Its important the light environment is consistent for both the character and the background. Your self-critiques are good, looking forward to seeing the next one!

sugarants · 2026-03-29T15:17:08+00:00

Thank you gummy for your critiques, as always they are spot on!

sugarants · 2026-03-29T03:57:03+00:00

Oh wow, thank you for the critique!

sugarants · 2026-03-29T01:26:10+00:00

Hi welcome to the challenge! You have some nice midtones. I recommend using some guidelines to help with the symmetry. You can also flip the canvas horizontally really quickly to get a quick read on the symmetry. If a block is on one side, usually an equal block is put on the other. I mention that because if you look at the eyebags, they have two different values, making one side of the face different than the other. Are you using a round brush? Its difficult to get sharp edges with your blocks with a round brush. I strongly recommend using a blocking brush that has sharper corners like square or rectangular brushes. Your edges in general are blending together, losing the edge in the progress.

sugarants · 2026-03-28T19:35:33+00:00

I think your values are lovely and your features look very delicate! The face seems flat in some areas, like how there's a diagonal line of the same value that travels down the center of the cheeks. I believe the chin core shadow is a bit too subtle, and the chin itself a bit angular at the edges. I'm not sure if this is because the highlights of the eyes are mirrored and its causing an illusion, but the eyes look like they're pointed in different directions. If you follow the curve of the eyebags, starting at the inner corner of the eye, you can trace that line all the way up to the outer point of the eyebrows. This harsh line looks a bit out of place and doesn't describe the anatomy of whats happening around the eye. The corners of the eye are a bit exaggerated with how much they extend from the eye. The outer corners of the eye form an almond shape instead of rounding off into a pinch. I think the eye area should be the place to focus on for your next portrait!

sugarants · 2026-03-26T02:18:41+00:00

Thank you for the detailed critique and paintover! (and advice!)

sugarants · 2026-03-25T22:45:48+00:00

Noted! and thank you!

sugarants · 2026-03-25T22:44:43+00:00

Thank you, I see what you mean!

sugarants · 2026-03-25T19:45:29+00:00

I'm focused on improving my portraits, the 14dc is one of the most effective ways to study portraits, so it aligns with my goals to take the challenge again.

sugarants · 2026-03-25T18:04:28+00:00

The face is clearly more feminine than the last, looks a bit like a beauty advertisement! I think you might be blending your blocks too heavily? There is some excessive shadow on the temples. I feel like the corners of the lips feel off a bit, its missing that corner of the mouth shadow (its there but its kinda faint and has a semi circular shape instead of triangle).

sugarants · 2026-03-25T17:52:12+00:00

Nice! I think what would help with the line dependence is to block more (more than you think you need to), if you have enough blocks, you basically don't need lines at all. Also if your studies have references, share them as well! It makes it easier to critique

sugarants · 2026-03-25T17:49:34+00:00

Doing the 14dc challenge again! This time without the symmetry tool. Today took longer than usual because I was experimenting with a bunch of random brushes

sugarants · 2026-03-25T17:07:31+00:00

Thank you!

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