Eavesdropping

Argh! I don't know how to upload here, so here's the link.
Please "like" if you did.

http://flic.kr/p/8qR5Fw

Things I already know:
-Crappy scanner, I don't know where those black dots came from.
-The lips and nose are off center
-She's laying down on her side actually.

Very cool! i liked her eyes the best, that's always the thing i have trouble with whenever I'm in the mood to draw. =]

Argh! Lined paper! -cringes-

Um, anyway....

I'm going to go ahead and assume here that you weren't going for realistic and leave the anatomical corrections out of my critique. If you would prefer I leave them in, go ahead and PM me and I'll revise this =)

You actually have a very good grasp of proper shading, here, however I'm a little concerned that you haven't designated a light source. It's a good idea, when sketching, to decide where your light is coming from and to shade accordingly. Right now you have a couple little discrepancies that could use some revision (nothing major).

The only other thing that really bothers me about this portrait is the quality of her hair. I would love to see your technique change a little more drastically between her skin and her hair, because right now they are a little similar in that sense. This creates a flatness in your drawing that could be eliminated pretty easily. Don't forget that her hair needs highlights and shadows, just like any other surface.

All-in-all, this is a nice sketch. Good work!

Wow, I really like how you used the whole page, and the notebook lines actually make it look cooler. And, (not knowing if that was intentional), it makes it look like a puzzle, like a mystery. I also really think you did a great job on the hair, giving it a windy, tousled look.

Thanks for the comments. The shading looks bad in the scan. ): Thanks so much Shepherd for the critique! This is the first art that I have ever uploaded anywhere... XD She's supposed to be lying on her side but I thought it would kinda make it hard to view. Thankies so much!

-->I didn't actually mean to draw on lined paper. I'm obsessed with drawing eyes and I was just practicing in my notebook, then the drawing "magically" came together :O

I absolutly, posotively, freakishly love the eyes! How do you do that! They are so rewal and so intimate and...and...real. I cant stand it! Argh! Please, someday show me how to do that! I wanna draw eyes like that!
Anyways, did you draw in pencil, if so, i think you should really fix the hair. You could smooth it out more, smudge it with your finger and make the top darker. That would look amazing.
Her lips could use some darkening. I cannot remember, but i think the top one is supposed to be lighter than the bottom one. And around the cheeks you should do some smudging. I think also you should definatly make the nose more defined. You could...i dont know. Just define it more.
Overall, i liked it. Smudging and darking and shading need to be done, and its a little cartoonish exept for the eyes, but i liked it. Keep up your work, its beautiful.

Hahaha, Thanks emmylou, I did do it in pencil. She's supposed to be like me (almost a non-existent nose bridge)hahaha. Anyways, I kinda fixed the hair today and I'll try to do your tips. Oh and the eyes, well, thanks. They just came out like magic and I'm finding it hard to do 'em again. I guess it takes practice. (I draw eyes a lot its almost creepy.)