Digital Portrait - Critique Please

#1

Hello!

I have been painting in Photoshop on a Cintiq 13HD.

You can see my reference to the right. I attempted to paint the DOF of the trees in the background, but I felt it was too distracting, so I opted for a more simple background.

Thoughts and critiques are appreciated.

Any thoughts on composition, expression, etc.?

Also, tips on a more painterly style would be appreciated.

Thanks!

#2

Hi sean, my suggestion is, try to learn value in b/w first, so you’re color will be more greater and not flat, as Nathan Fowkes said “If you get the value right & if you got the color temperature right, you got the color right”, try to studying value alone itself first before jumping to color, many good book is good to learn, Andrew Loomis are recommended stuff, here’s my paintover your painting so you can see your value is wrong :slight_smile: (hope you don’t mind I paintover it) :

Before, This is your value

After
Im slowly building all the value structure here (face only), adding highlight on her eyes, make the light more pop on her hair, and make it the BG more dark to make the focus on her face or make her face pop-out even more

A little artistic touch to make it more interesting to the focal point, which mean her face

okay, im recap my suggestion to your painting :

  1. Study the value first before jump to color (use hard edge brush and blend it with charcoal brush with color picker, do not use smudge to blend)
  2. Careful with the brush stroke edge
  3. Don’t stop to study :slight_smile:
  4. Keep it up :smiley:
  5. Good Luck :wink:
#3

Great thoughts, thanks for the feedback! I’ve been watching Nathan Fowkes Schoolism course, so I appreciate the quote too.

Thanks!

#4

Keep in mind that the value shifts are not just brighter and darker patches on a flat surface–they actually depict forms. You have to think about the surfaces you are depicting as forms with volume, and there is structure to the forms. The face has skeletal structure, and the features have forms, as does the muscles that are under the skin. What you painted looks more like a flat cardboard cutout that’s been painted with a person, instead of 3-dimensional forms with structure and volume to all the forms. You need to practice how to depict forms effectively and accurately. Start with simple geometric shapes, then still life, and only after you’ve become proficient at those would you see significant improvement when you try to paint people and other complex compound organic forms.

#5

Thanks for the feedback!

Here is how this project finished out. I’m happy with it for the scope of this project!

I learned a lot though this project and I am going to continue painting to keep improving. :slight_smile:

Thanks again!