1940's Pastel (first attempt!)

My gosh it's been a while since I've posted some of my art....how time flies!
Here is my first attempt at pastels that I did today, I was going for a 1940's style gentlewoman.
And before you review I already realize that there is a bit too much yellow on her face.

Alright now you can tear it to pieces
-day

Hello there, d@ydre@mer27! I hope your holidays are going well and whatnot.

Alright; I will be honest here, I have never worked with pastel, so I cannot give any useful hints or tricks about technique, but I will be able to critique how this art looks visually. So, let's begin. I know you said to not mention the skin being too yellow, but it really is. She looks jaundice. Perhaps use not such golden tones on her facial area next time, as her skin matches some of her hair?

Second of all, her hairline is much too square to be even remotely normal-looking. I suggest rounding it out a bit more, especially since her forehead is so wide and long compared to her pointed chin. Her forehead also seems to be at an odd-ish angle (again, her hairline makes this visible).

Third, I also noticed the odd shape of her eyes. The right eye seems a bit larger and more defined (almost looks like eyeliner!) than the left eye. Her eyes also seem to be a bit too far apart, and it gives off quite the odd look. Her eyebrows also seem a bit odd now that I take a second glance at them. Her nose is decent enough, and you did a fantastic job on her lips.

Overall, I believe you have a good start here, but perhaps this is just a rough draft. With all these considerations taken into mind, I am sure you can change the artwork a bit so as to make it look a bit more realistic. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to message me.

Thanks!
- Mizz

First off, i think that the coloring in this portrait is beautiful really nice. Good work.
Just a few things to keep in mind, though.

- A quick fix to the "jaundice" looking skin, just make the outlines more definite.
It separates the skin tone from the rest of the background, and adds more individuality, so to speak.

- Before you start to draw human being, make sure that the parts are all aligned and proportional.
Draw everything as a shape before you actually being to color or really draw, so that you don't need to keep on erasing as you go.

- Try not to color the hair the same shade as the skin. It adds a little confusion and does nothing to bring out eyes.
Her eyes look a little plain. Try adding a little more of a lady-like feature. Maybe curve them upward.Add lashes.Off-color them to match the shirt.
* If she is looking off into the distance, try positioning her body so that it makes it a little more discernible, and so that it doesn't look like she has neck pain.

Overall, nice picture. ( and even though you may hate me now, i still love it)lol.
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-jojo.

- Her neck is a little bulky, but nothing a little proportioning can't fix. Slenderize it a little more, and try not to make it as long as it is.

Hi there- so I want to start off with structure.

The proportions are all very nice, though as another reviewer mentioned, the hairline is extremely blocky and unnatural. That part shouldn't be too difficult to fix- just try rounding out the corners a bit, and I'm sure it will look fine.

For the yellow skin, I would suggest using some green- you can do some light blending but green and blue are the best base colors for skin, especially when working with pastels. Her skin might turn out a little dark if you aren't careful, so use a really light green, and it will turn out a bit more brown and a little less gold. Also, you might considering softening her right eyebrow towards the end.

I really love the shading in the hair- it's very simply done, but goes very well with what you were trying to do- great job.
And last thing- the sweater. I know it's a minor thing, but maybe go in and give a bit more detail- as it is, it's look very rushed compared to the rest of the piece, which feels very soft.

Overall, great job!

-Coral-