Realistic Self Portrait

I had to do this for my artclass that is just starting out. Unfortunately, because of the way my schedule works im stuck in 'Foundations' which is the beginners art class (DAMN MY 5 APS!!!!!)

sooooooooooooooooooo, im kinda bored in the class, but its senior year, so i want at least 1 fluff class this year.

i did get really irratated at this about 3/4 of the way through it because i realized that i had started it too low, and was going to cut off my chin. then i realized it didnt matter worth shit and i really like the drawing despite that uberflaw. to put it into perspective as realative to my real looks, its near identical, except that my eyes are a little narrower than that (vertically) and my nose is a touch longer, but i spent so much time just getting what i had that i was unwilling to erase them and start over, so deal

CC plz

Pretty nice . . . you cut off his chin by the way.

(Runs away.)

*pulls out large hammer of death, destruction, and utter doom and geastures aggressively*

the one thing i hate, is that i sketch really lightly and it looks good there, but when i scan it in, it loses alot of the subtlty. Then i have to go in and multiply the pic, so it looks darker, but that makes it kinda look like i have dirt smudged on the face. i gave you all the darker one....

good, but u cut off his chin and u need a bit darker shading.

i hate you. (that was sarcasm, but seriously, read the previous posts before you say sommat like that or, if that comment too was sarcasm, let the damn thing die)

roar! that kickass (ignoring the flaw), great nose, maybe some deeper details in the eyes would make it even better

I think the darkness of the lines depends on what kind of pencil you use. I find that a 0.5 millimeter mechanical pencil leaves the darkest lines and that they stary pretty dark even after you scan them. Oh, and also you did a good job on the picture. Who cares if you cut of the chin.

That's not bad at all. And I totally agree with you on the subject of scanners selectively scanning only the darker values and leaving out the more subtle greys. But it's been a long time since I scanned anything, so it doesn't bother me any more.

The face isn't bad at all, and is in fact pretty good. I like the nose, and the eyes exude character.

Your face is turned to one direction, but the features till look more or less centered on the face. They should be slightly shifted towards our right. Those eyes seem kind of big, and don't curve around the head as they should. The whole area below the nose looks elongated is comparison with the rest of the head. Also, was smiling a requirement of the assignment? Because if it wasn't, I would have not smiled, because that way it'd be easier to realistically portray the mouth.

What kind of pencil did you use? The shading in general is pretty good, but could be improved. I find if I want to achieve a full range of greys, I'll start with something around 4H for the lightest tones, and use 4B for the blacks, using intermediary pencils in between. The shading could use more contrast, especially if this is a darker version.

All in all, I like the picture and its overall presentation. Just the specific details which can detract from it. Keep it up!

i know the eyes are a bit big (i said so in one of my post.....) i did notice the not quite centered issue now that you have pointed it out, and i will try to pay more attention in the future. i used an HB pencil, because i prefer that to a 2b. Im going to try to invest in some new pencils (with some more variety) but for now, i like HB for just basic all around sketching. Also, this isnt an indepth thing.... we were only supposed to invest about 30 min in this, because we had to do 2 more pics that night (the Hand *whoopee* and a portrait of a famous person from memory [aka, a portrait that sucks because i wasnt allowed to use any sources! i chose elvis and only invested about 20 min... ive been told that its good but i made his eyes too droopy :P ])

finally, i smiled out of force of habit. i didnt have a conveiniant mirror handy, so i had to take a picture of myself with my digital camera, and i smiled without thinking >.<

btw, thank you so much for these crits! these kinda crits are what i really need to hear in order to improve

If you have troubles to shade with HB pencil, try a bigger one at least (min. 0.7 e.g.). Still working good with HB (I only use HB). But if you have to fill big spaces you may use a carbon rod (comes cheaper).
But else, the image is good! Its not easy to draw full-faced head within 30mins ;).

whats the diff b/w HB, carbon rods, and etc...? i drew my self portrait in my gallery.. but all i used was a regular mechanical pencil... does the type of pencil you use make a huge impact in the way shading comes out??

but anyways carigon... i think the portrait is pretty good. but i think you should shade the hair better.

i was thinking that right eye (not YOUR right eye...the eye to the rightmost side of the page) is rotated too far the wrong way. rotate it a bit to the....

actually no. bring up both ends of the right eye...thats basically it.

and you have no cheekbone or jawbone?

ear looks a bit too close to the head too...

gj man

-flames'

@Fung: A carbon rod is basically a stick of pencil lead (which is actually graphite, a hexagonally crystalline form of carbon). Think of a pencil, without the wood, and in its place, graphite. It's usually encased in plastic or something so your fingers don't get dirty. It is useful for filling in large areas quickly. Hah, at least, that's what I'm guessing a carbon rod is. Things are named differently in different places (what with dialectical dissimilarities and all), but that's my experience with the tool I described.

HB and the like refer to the hardness of the lead. A high number of H denotes a very hard lead, whilst higher values of B accompany soft leads. If you look at some of the pencil stuff in my gallery, I used a combination of pencils. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. A 6B, for instance, can make some very dark tones. But 6B, thy name is not subtlety. You can't get light tones with it while maintaining a degree of finesse. A 4H, on the other hand, can make some really very nice tones in the liht grey area. But it won't go much darker than a 50%, so there you go.

The full range of pencils aren't necessary, and an HB will work just fine in skilled hands. Myself, if I had a 2H and a 2B, I would be just as happy.

I never was too fond of mech pencils myself. Some pencil techniques can't easily be replicated with those, but then again they do have other advantages.

Like drawing in school... don't look at me...

Ogre beat me to it. I was gonna say the same thing...

wow ogre, your posts have so much detail, i swear, if you became an art critique youd make it big