Guess Who! (PG?)

PG for possible creepiness to those who don't like needles.

Lately I've been working on portraits and watching way too much television, and it looks like my pastimes have combined! I'd really like help getting them to look like actual people and less like cartoons. I'm worst at eyes, and those are probably the most important part, so if anyone has any tips I'd love to hear them.

Also, just for fun, I'll give 100 points for each correct guess on which tv characters these are supposed to be (so if you can tell who all three are I'll send you 300. ) A hint is that they're from three different shows, all of which start with the letter D.

The link is to what it looked like before I edited it.

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/9070 ... ketch1.jpg


http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/8162 ... ketch2.jpg


http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/7739 ... ketch3.jpg


Thank you so much for looking! Any comments (especially on drawing eyes) would be very much appreciated. Eye really need your help. 0_o

Edited 12/2.

I really like the second one for the shading around the eyes and nose!

The last one is the title character from Dexter I do believe.

They all do look quite nice. The last one looks a tad better than the other two as far as eyes are concerned, and it just seems a tad better overall. That may be due to the camera angle of the other two pictures though.

In any case, good job and good luck.

-Conrad Rice

The last one is indeed Dashing Dexter, and I'm very flattered that you were able to tell (I sent you 100 points.) I don't think it's camera angle that makes it better, they're all low quality web-cam photographs.

I just wish I knew what I was doing wrong, so I could fix it!

I'm studying at art college, and the way my tutor tells us to draw realistic eyes, is to draw them how they actually are, so you start with the eye ball, the iris and pupil, then draw the lids over them with lashes and add the detail. It's good to practice by drawing your own eye in a mirror, that's how I managed to do it =]

Jenna my dear, these are all so super wonderful. And I definitely love Dexter but I’m stumped as to who the other characters are…then again, I generally stick to only watching shows that start with the letter F and H. *shrugs*

Drawing One: Possibly my favorite part of this picture is the flower and the details in the jacket collar and his hands. However, the face does seem to feel very flat and something in the forehead is rather off but there’s still a very shifty feeling about the eyes that I like.

Drawing Two: I love to see a well drawn, kind of old school looking chic. This is really well done and I like the very soft look in her face. Also, the shading at the top of her nose is really nicely done. The only negative I really have about this one at all is that the hair seems very flat. Even if someone has dark hair, you can’t forget the highlights and such.

Drawing Three: Dexter is definitely cool. I go over to my bosses’ house just to watch it. But the problem with this one I think is that his eyes are too far apart which makes the top of his nose seem really wide.

Overall, these are still really awesome. And I’ll definitely have to check back in and find out who the other three are.

~lileh

Hello Jennafina.
These drawings are all very good; let me say that you are a very talented artist.
However, I did notice a few problems. I don't know if these were intentional, or they just happened as a result of a funny scanner.

White Border

It's around all of the pictures, and it's uneven and very distracting. I can't help but thinking you meant to do it, though. Even so, It just doesn't look right.

Lighting

I know you want to try to convey a light source in your drawing, but that should all be done through value. The piece of paper is so bright in some areas that I can't even see what you drew. Besides, it detracts from the picture as a whole.

Angles

This is probably an issue with your scanner, but I'll still mention it anyway. The way you placed the pictures just seemed a little weird; it's like I'm looking at a patterned diagonal wall from the font. It just doesn't seem right, and your picture has a whole shaky and off balance feel to it.

Other then that, I loved them. You're an amazing artist; please, keep drawing.

Thank you so much! I made some changes and posted the redone drawings.

-#1's forehead has more shading.

-#2 has highlights, and her eyes are redrawn.

-Dexter's eyes are redone too so his nose doesn't look as strange, but I'm not sure it's actually any better.

I just wanted to comment on the ones that you altered.

The added shading on #1's forehead does make it seem less flat. Empty space is rather distracting in an image so by adding shading, there's no longer empty space.

I love her hair now. It catches the light better and adds more demention to her face. It looks really nice and so do the eyes.

And I think Dexter's face is definitely improved. I sat and compared this to the original for about three minutes and I definitely think that it looks a billion bajillion times better.

I read your blog so here I am! And no need for an exchange, I'm always happy to review a friend <33

I'm afraid I only recognise the Dexter one but I'm so out of tune with anime and cartoons so that's not anything you've done wrong XD Then again, the first does look vaguely familiar, I'd be interested to know who the other two are ^^

1: His ears look a little odd, too straight and angular. Not smooth and curvy enough. The flowers stem perhaps doesn't quite follow through either. It might help if you draw it over the hand to start with, really faintly and then draw the hand over that and rub out the faint lines. The buttons on the shirt are a tiny bit flat. They should follow the curve of the shoulder around so that they look like a part of the shirt and not just stuck on the paper. The little finger is a little long. Other than that, everything I see is excellent. I love the gloves and his facial features, his expression. You draw very well.

2: I don't like this one as much as the others. I think it's because her face fills the whole page and doesn't give me anything more interesting to look at than her eyes. They're lovely by the way and capture me more than any other part of her but I love having shoulders in a picture at least, they give that little sense of body structure and what sort of clothes they might wear which gives personality. Her hair is pretty, I love the lips and I find the nose a little odd but I'm not sure why.

3: The needle is awesome, tha hand holding it though is a little off. It looks like the needle is being ballanced against it rather than being held. I think you need the two side panels on the needle and then just a little curve in the fingers either side of it. Look here. I like his hair. The ears are a little off again but I like the insides of them. I think his face is lacking brows but the smile and other features are awesome.

Lily, thank you so much for coming back and looking again. I'm glad you think they're better.

Kitty Darling, you're right about everything. I will definitely make the changes, and I'll put the girl's shoulders and maybe hands in. Thanks for the link, I'll use it when I redo Dexter's hand. (It's actually my hand, I drew it in a mirror though I was holding a marker not a needle. That's why it's so small. x.x)

The man is Mason from Dead Like Me, and the woman is Dr. Saunders from Dollhouse. Here are pictures:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Dx7oBCrojS8/SkIrU ... 5B8%5D.jpg

http://screenrant.com/wp-content/upload ... ouse_p.jpg

Jenna!

Love the sketches! Pencil and charcoal are my two favorite medias, and I'd love to give you any pointers. I did an entire portfolio of faces once upon a time. Pointer number one is get some good paper. Shading is three million times easier in a sketchbook than it is in a notebook. And my second trick is shading sticks.

And Advanced Studio instructor once taught me to bring the eyes to life with glare, and it seems you have caught that trick, I think you really only to work on placement to get your faces looking more proportioned. Right now they almost look like Anime... or what ever those new cartoons are called.

All of the pieces above need more shading before they'll come to life. A trick with mouths is, unless your person is upside down, the top lip will always get shaded darker than the bottom. Hands are so tricky! And you did a good job here, sometimes less is more.





At this point I'm not really seeing any of my pieces with up close eyes or hands that are already scanned onto my PC, I'll have to work on that for you. Notice, though, that you don't see many fine lines in my pieces, just varying shades of gray. It makes them more realistic. Even the whites of my eyes have shading.

I hope this helps you!
RedSmiles

The first one is from Dead Like Me, and the second is from Dollhouse! (Or Doll's House, or somesuch.) The first is my favorite, I think because of the details - something about the black knitted fingerless gloves and his knobby fingers holding a flower just seem so heartbreakingly English-working-class-lad-drowning-his-sorrows-in-drink. I also love his buttons. And the funny quizzical lift to his eyebrows.
The second to me seems the best technically, the shading and the features and the spacing, etc. just seem really polished and professional. I love the wisps of hair across her forehead and the angry look in her eyes and the shading on the nose.
The last one looks *just* like this guy in my dorm. It's a bit eerie, really. I feel like maybe his features are a bit scrunched together in the middle of his face? But I've never seen the show, so maybe Dexter really looks like that.
Also I don't know if this was an artistic choice or whatnot, but I really really like that these are done on lined paper, and that the lines show through.

Nice i love these lots, the shading is excellent and the eyes are beautiful. one thing about the eyes on the third one, they seems a bit too wide and big... unless that's intentional since he looks pretty crazy with that needle. otherwise i absolutely love it!!! keep it up.

-lizzie

Hi Jenna!

I'm so clueless as to who these people are. *Gah, I suck*
Anyway, I'm not going to nitpick on this, I shall give you some sites to help you improve.

1. For facial proportions : http://meggiecat.blogspot.com/2004/10/proportion.html This picture should help you out.

2.Eyes: I think the second's and the first's eyes are pretty good. The third seems disproportioned. Try www.onlypencil.com They have great tutorials.

Hope I helped!
~Lava