Lollipop

#1

Hello, this is a portrait of a top model in progress. I use photo reference to paint this. What do you think ?

#2

With some colors.

#3

The facial expression looks weird.
I looked at some google images and there are no photos of people with that expression.
If you try to smile to show that much teeth with your tongue out in that pose it looks and feels unnatural and scary.

What kind of image are you trying to make here?
What is the mood?
Is she suppose to be teasing someone with a lollipop like that?
Is she just being unnatural in front of the camera?

#4

Ok here’s some new color adjustments and details. Now a little bit better. I will post the photo reference at the end of the process.

#5

Some new details like eye color and hand in progress.

#6

And the reference.

#7

Couple of things:

The anatomy of the neck is all wrong. There are visible forms there you are not rendering, and it just looks like a fleshy tube.

I would urge you to find better source material. This photo is washed out, for portrait purposes, and there’s no color. You need to work with photos that have better lighting, as well, that photo is very flat. The best way to show volume, or 3 dimensions, is through lighting and color, and they are very connected.

The hair is a cop out. Hair is hard, we all know, but you need some more study there. There are great hair tutorials out there - if you’re not a member of DeviantArt yet, I suggest you join, people have great hair tutorials posted there.

You need to study the forms of the face more, as well. You missed quite a few planes and shapes, and it’s too flat in some areas, and too contrasty in others. The bridge of the nose is missing the slope from the bridge to the cheek, for instance, and her dimple is deeper and lower. Your lips are also too flat, and you haven’t shown the depth of the teeth beyond the lips.

Finally, your blending could use some work, and you should improve your color palette - skin has more color in it than you used - warm reds and cool blues and greens. A good resource here is an artist I like, Marta Dahlig, here’s a link to her Youtube on painting “Judith”, it’s great in how it shows how she develops her forms with color and light. She has her colors posted on her blog, too, in the PDF of The Making Of Judith - just copy and paste it into your Photoshop file.

Not a bad start, but the things I listed should point you in the right direction. Portraits are one of the harder things to master, so just keep practicing! Hope this helps!

#8

The problem with artists who aren’t advanced enough in their foundational knowledge/skills is that whenever they try to deviate from the photo references they are using, they end up ruining the painting, because they don’t have nearly enough knowledge to deviate with any sense of credibility and authoritative confidence. But if they were to just slavishly copy the photo references exactly, then it becomes a mindless technical exercise without any creativity whatsoever.

This is why it’s so crucial to strengthen your foundational knowledge and skills. I suggest you read the sticky threads in the Art Techniques & Theories forum (linked below in my signature), and really learn your foundations.

#9

Thank you guys you’re critics are constructive for me. There’s a lot of points that i’m agree.
Now, for the hairs yes it’s hard, i found some website with free hair brushes, it is good using this or is cheating ? Maybe good for start and then modify ?
http://visionwidget.com/resources/vectors/466-free-photoshop-hair-brushes-sets.html

#10

BillyWJ I check the tutorial named Judith from Martha Dahlig and it’s very instructive and long. I like the colors she use for paint. Like we can see she didn’t use lineart, maybe 0 reference ? I check also her page at deviantart and she reveal using poser for her works ! http://blackeri.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=24#/d2epx8
Paint over a poser model add wings and hairs et voila nice work… frontpage hehe :slight_smile: Maybe I should try this technique, it looks the same she uses : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T7AlJzveMU
What do you think good or bad technique ?

#11

I wouldn’t use Poser until you have a more solid knowledge of the human body - I have used it in the past, but the stock models are not very accurate, and the knowledge to make them accurate could be used to simply draw it in the first place. If you’re interested in 3d, then go ahead and play with it - I usually take Poser figures, get the pose, then bring them into Zbrush or Silo.

Marta does not use Poser for all of her pieces, she uses models (real people), photos, and Poser - but she has a degree in fine art. :slight_smile:

#12

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