The right side (her left) of Amidala's face is particularly nice. I think the iris on the left is a bit oversized which makes the eyes look a bit out of balance but I think they both look really good!
Keep it up. You can't improve without practice. I went to a figure drawing group a couple weeks ago and I had so much fun. I need to do that more often!
I agree on all points. There's a Doctor Sketchy's here in Ft. Lauderdale and I went on their inaugural outing. I'll have to catch the next one, as it'll likely be my last chance before I leave.
Who knows... maybe I'll start a Doctor Sketchy's chapter in Shanghai!
I think it does look like Natalie Portman - just what I would expect her to look like in 10 years or so... I'm not sure what it is that you've done with the drawing that has make her look "older" to me, since you've not added wrinkles or any kind of age signifying marks at all...
Ahah - I think I might have an idea - Natalie looks so young because she has big apples in her cheeks - you've not defined them in your drawing, and so she looks gaunter than she should, and that's what is making me think "older"...
And I agree - I've always liked doing images from my own head, because when I try to create something that looks like something/someone "real", I fail miserably... With something you've come up with in your own head, there is no reference to judge by, so no one knows how far off from your ideal you are... *wry smile*
In either case, you're doing a lot better than anything I can do... I suck at drawing, especially people... I make sketches of cartoons, not people...
Oddly, I find people the easiest. That's not to say I find them easy, just easier than the rest. It's what I've drawn the most of. Ask me to draw a building and I'm done for.
Her left eye struck me as perfect. Her right one too, but slightly less so, and with no relation to her left. The nose looks good, but the mouth is... could be anyone's. I think that this image will be difficult in pencil simply because her makeup is so striking, the lack of color might be throwing me (or you) off. All told, it's a whole hell of a lot better than anyone I know could do.
It can certainly be learned-- Just try to make a point of it, starting with people you see a lot of. Parents, siblings, lovers-- Somebody whose face you have memorized. Then, when you see them in person(A photo will work too, but in person is better), watch how their face moves-- For instance, I started with my brother, who obviously I knew well. I remembered that he, like me, has very full lips. His eyes squint to the point of disappearing when he smiles, and he has a very strong jaw. My drawing sort of looked like him, but it wasn't until I saw him again in PERSON that I realized the little things that I'd forgotten-- He has a dimple, just one, and his smile isn't crooked like mine, despite the similar shapes of our mouths. I fixed those things, and voila! There he was.
It's always easier with time and practice, of course, but I just found that to be the easiest starting point.
There's actually an artist at Dragon*Con that I'm friendly with who learned how to do likenesses in just that way. He exaggerated features to the point of caricatures and something in his brain just went "click!"
well, I do caricature art AND realist stuff, and I've got to say -- well, it sort of does. Not as much as I'd expected when I started getting into caricature, to be honest, but it does.
But mainly I think it's volume. I think if I'd drawn those 4,000 faces I've caricatured over the past 4 years realistically, I'd have probably learned just as much.
Honey, I don't know if I can ever tell you enough how much I love your pencil sketches. I'm like you in that I like sketching more than the other aspects of fine art-- I don't know why. They're malleable, almost to the point of intangibility, and all it takes is a few quick strokes to change a piece to something entirely different than you thought it would be when you started.
Oh, and for the record... One of the things I think that makes Natalie Portman so stunningly beautiful is the combination of her enormous, deep-set eyes and her round, youthful cheeks(As ravenskye8 mentioned). Try some more intense shading around her eyes & browbones, and perhaps some subtle shading to bring out the highlights in the roundness of her cheeks?
Just a thought-- I'm TERRIBLE at realistic portraits of strangers.
Comments 15
Keep it up. You can't improve without practice. I went to a figure drawing group a couple weeks ago and I had so much fun. I need to do that more often!
Reply
Who knows... maybe I'll start a Doctor Sketchy's chapter in Shanghai!
Reply
Ahah - I think I might have an idea - Natalie looks so young because she has big apples in her cheeks - you've not defined them in your drawing, and so she looks gaunter than she should, and that's what is making me think "older"...
And I agree - I've always liked doing images from my own head, because when I try to create something that looks like something/someone "real", I fail miserably... With something you've come up with in your own head, there is no reference to judge by, so no one knows how far off from your ideal you are... *wry smile*
In either case, you're doing a lot better than anything I can do... I suck at drawing, especially people... I make sketches of cartoons, not people...
Reply
Reply
Reply
Fingers crossed!
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
It's always easier with time and practice, of course, but I just found that to be the easiest starting point.
Reply
Reply
But mainly I think it's volume. I think if I'd drawn those 4,000 faces I've caricatured over the past 4 years realistically, I'd have probably learned just as much.
Reply
Oh, and for the record... One of the things I think that makes Natalie Portman so stunningly beautiful is the combination of her enormous, deep-set eyes and her round, youthful cheeks(As ravenskye8 mentioned). Try some more intense shading around her eyes & browbones, and perhaps some subtle shading to bring out the highlights in the roundness of her cheeks?
Just a thought-- I'm TERRIBLE at realistic portraits of strangers.
Reply
Baby, you could tell me every time and I'd never get sick of hearing it. Thank you!
Reply
Leave a comment