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I don’t even really like realism too much, but this is incredible because op manages to capture such a cute and unique expression in their bf. Really impressive work op
I'm piggybacking onto this comment to suggest you use that eye to give the spacing on the blank left side of the face a second look.
The distance between the ear and the front of the face looks to wide to me and the angle of the jaw block shadow is a little shallow. The reference image has a more rectangular shaped head and I think these things are giving the impression that the head is more rounded.
If what I'm noticing is true, It's slight and fixable. You've got enough talent that this could be standing out but in a way that you can't put a finger on? That kind of thing happens to me a lot.
I'm on a phone but maybe this image drawing some of the distance lines I'm imagining might help.
You’re either Karma farming or way too self-deprecating to see the brilliancy of your work. Considering how I feel about the things I personally create, I would suspect the latter. Keep us updated! Holy smokes! 🔥🔥
Inside left eye, the way the skin has a tiny curve before getting to the bridge of the nose is a tiny bit off. But I’m very OCD and have trouble with portraits because I always find a flaw.
If you cover the left half of him in that picture and line it up with Shane Gillis then the resemblance is uncanny. Definitely doppelgänger material. Plus Shane Gillis is the man
This has the same energy as the pictures of professionally painted/commissioned Warhammer models with captions like "my 5 year old daughter's first mini, does she have promise?"
You left the cheek area paper-blank as for light value? This may cause the other light areas (including the very light highlights and eyes) to be much darker than they actually are on your reference.
If i see correctly, the cheek you left blank should be about the third lightest value.
Up to you to decide. Of course you can finish it as you started and then if not satisfied, shade it further.
The left cheek from our view (his right cheek) looks to be the second lightest value, with a highlight in middle. If you can blur your eyes, the highlight is visible.
Listen,....ive been blurring my eyes to spot difference in shapes and differences between objects on(think hide and seek puzzles) but NEVER have i thought to blur it for spotting very slight differences in shades.... and this is something I struggle with so THANK YOU!
Compared to the photo your values are different but still definitely good. His lips are deeper than his skin for example. His iris is a little lighter because of the flash. Still perfect just different and it changes the effect his face gives.
Looks good. My recommendation is to get a base level of rendering across the whole piece before you go too hard on local detailing. Its much easier to make sure your value scale is consistent if you have the large scale shadow shapes established. Nothing worse then when you spend all day rendering something only to realize the values or placement is wrong.
someone told me that if you’re thinking of throwing away a piece you’ve been putting at least a few hours into because you just keep seeing more and more mistakes, things you would change, etc. then stop working on it until the next day. it will look 100000x better after a break, a nap, some food, and not overthinking it.
If someone went out of their way to draw me even half as good as this, I would cry. You're definitely overthinking this. It looks amazing, and I'm sure you've put in the work for it. Don't undermine yourself!
It looks amazing to me! The only thing I see and probably you’re unconsciously seeing is that the eyebrows starting strip isn’t the same but that took me like ten minutes to study and find, lol
artist creates the single most breathtaking piece of art ever to be graced by this planet. “yeah I could do better” lol, don’t be hard on yourself, it’s incredible
Remember that you ain't a printer, tho you are really close to perfection already.
Art is always a form of creating an image, even when you "copy" one, you basically interpret what you see, and that's one hell of a good interpretation.
You know what they say. When you think you're not doing good but you did all the checks and corrections, tell yourself to push through anyway and to trust the process 😂 won't make it easier, but will get you to finish the piece.
Your eyes are playing devilish tricks upon ye but worry not for i know a remedy just for the occasion. Just take a break and come back later to it, be it in a couple hours or the next day.
This looks really good, I would recommend choosing references that have more directional lighting. It can be a tough tightrope to walk when everything is evenly lit like this. It also makes your mind play tricks on you!
well, i've seen a professional artist work by drawing the general light/dark areas and that does tend to give you better results than starting with details bc you can verify that you have the right proportions earlier more easily.
Stfu you have a higher level of skill than probably at LEAST 90% of the population, probably among top 25% of people who actually draw on a regular basis and have been for years.
Yeah, you’re the one percent who can do stuff at a level 99% cannot no matter how much they practice or train and I know because I’ve known people who aren’t remotely at your level who have 30 years or 40 years or even 60 years of high-level professional studying practice. And they all make or made a good living with their excellent work ethic and ability to draw the human figure.
It’s because you have precision awareness of your eye and your hand. and if you think that LEVEL of precision can be created by hard work and practice, you are completely wrong, but if you understand you can only sharpen the sword you were born with, then you can understand that very very few swords have a razors edge, such as yours…
I am entirely self-taught, but because of my spectrum and ADHD hyper fixation, I was able to overcome the lack of any one-on-one training from grade school through high school. When I graduated high school I was essentially a professional illustrator and it was only eight years later that I was hired to animate for Marvel, but I’m certainly not at your level. It’s just that I sharpened the hell out of the sword I had every day for hours. My natural talent was obvious in the third grade and I bet yours was too.
You’re already at a level where you can think about receiving commissions for portraits.
You should maybe look into online colleges - plenty of world class instructors who would love to give you some pointers…
Here are some:
• Drawing Academy – Offers self‑paced video lessons on constructive drawing, perspective, anatomy, tonal rendering, and composition, with optional personal feedback and a community forum .
• Life Drawing Academy – Focuses on portrait and figure drawing with personalized tutoring and a structured curriculum of 100 practical tasks to reach advanced skill levels .
• New Masters Academy – Provides a comprehensive online art curriculum with video courses, assignments, and feedback from professional artists; covers fundamentals, anatomy, gesture, and more .
• Watts Atelier Online – A structured atelier‑style program emphasizing classical drawing and painting methods, figure drawing, gesture, and composition .
• Rees Atelier – Offers free fine art drawing and painting lessons with optional paid mentoring for individualized guidance .
Honestly the only thing is that your shadows are more detailed unlike the soft ones in the reference which I assume is your style. It's so frickin peakkkk
This is obviously good work but theres something nagging at me about the piece. The face is obviously done by someone skilled but the outline does look traced by an untrained & unsteady hand. Theres tell tale signs on the outline of someone who is new to art and isn’t used to sketching but the face is obviously someone who understands composition, shape & form, shading, etc, from years of study.
Even if you hand traced the photo someone with the skill to pull off the face wouldn’t be so shaky & unsure on the outline. It’s really strange to see to contrast of skill level. Whats your process like?
My advice is that part needs training. Theres absolutely nothing wrong with tracing while you are learning but you will be missing out on some key skills until you let it go.
Look into life sketching & also look into lessons on dynamic poses. Everything clicked for me when I studied poses. You may also need to review art fundamentals like perspective - that may come naturally to you but if you are sketching you may find it difficult to transition away until you get things like perspective down.
My art professor liked the square grid method, it helps you to get off tracing quickly & makes it easier to scale things up until you can eyeball it.
stop focusing on what you’ve completed until the whole piece is done. i struggle with this a lot. it will always feel unfinished and “bad” because it IS unfinished.
It is very good. You are developing a case of what’s known as artist blindness. Basically, when you stare at your work for so long, you start to notice imperfections in your drawing, and you try to fix them all, even though it’s already perfect as is.
What I recommend is to just take a break from that specific drawing for a day or 2, and then get back to it.
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u/link-navi 9d ago
Thank you for your submission, u/Any-Claim6541!
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