[Samson & Friends]

I did as a gift for them, although they'll probably throw it in the trash, heh. Any crits?

[Neo-MatrixX]

When you want to get an image to look realistic, trace, don't draw.

[edible snowman]

that's some pretty awful advice if you want to learn anything.

[dontfallin]

if your brother throws it in the trash sleep with his girlfriend - that'll teach him!

[Samson & Friends]

quote:

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Originally posted by Neo-MatrixX:
When you want to get an image to look realistic, trace, don't draw.

---

I wasn't really aiming for realism, but ermm, thanks for the comment...

[gArGOyLe^]

umm.. I dont think tracing is a very good idea..

anyway.. were you going for realism.. or like a caricature?

[Samson & Friends]

Leaning more towards caricature. I'm feeling kind of embarressed. I know I'm not the best artist in the world: I've got a lot to learn. Is there some major flaw I'm overlooking?

[dontfallin]

I went to your site - I think you should do a cg of them

[dontfallin]

If you think theres some flaw I would put it away for while and come back to it later thats how I see mistakes in my work.

(when I was little I would get angry with my drawings and stab them with pencils and my mom would always tell me to take a little break- so thats whats always helped me)

[vurx]

If you are drawing from a photograph, turn the picture upside down, and draw what you see.

Anytime we, artists, decide we want to draw something, we wrestle with our brains as to what the image should look like. Our eyes see something (a photograph, or a live model), and the image is relayed to our brain. Sometimes the brain enlarges the important features, mostly the eyes and the mouth, because that�s where we get most of the information from people�s faces. It happens every time, the more detailed the area, the bigger the brain tells you that it is.

Faces, in particular, can be problematic. We all have a simple picture of what a face is in our brains. Two eyes a nose and a mouth, very simplistic: too simplistic. So we start to draw a face and the brain says, �Make the eyes bigger!� or, �Make the forehead smaller, it�s not as important as the eyes, and make the mouth bigger and the nose smaller, too!�

It is a long arduous task to break the habit of drawing what the brain tells you is there, rather then drawing what is actually there. That is why turning the photo upside down and drawing it upside down helps. Your brain isn�t accustomed to seeing faces upside down, so it is a lot quieter.

Most importantly don�t get discouraged! Doing a good portrait requires more than 100% accuracy. The reason that is requires more than 100% is because good portraits emphasize features and nuances that make a stronger image. If you are 95% accurate, it wont be a good portrait. Keep drawing!

[vurx]

oh and Neo-MatrixX:

the worst advice ever...

[Neo-MatrixX]

Some of you may think that I’ve given bad advice, but if someone pays you to do a painting of their kid... the painting better look like their kid.
It's fine if Samson & Friends does not use my advice, but it’s just something to think of.
The best artist will use photo reference to avoid making mistakes.
If you want to do a realistic painting with realistic results, than trace. But if you want to learn how to draw... than don't trace, it's that simple.
Note; You should only trace your images not copyrighted material.

quote:

---

Originally posted by vurx:
Doing a good portrait requires more than 100% accuracy. The reason that is requires more than 100% is because good portraits emphasize features and nuances that make a stronger image. If you are 95% accurate, it wont be a good portrait. Keep drawing!

---

Duh... than shouldn't you trace to get more than 100% accuracy.

[ February 10, 2002: Message edited by: Neo-MatrixX ]

[vurx]

if you have to trace in order to do a portrait, you need to find another line of work until your skill level is up to snuff.

[Eire]

Hmm... I think if you're going for charicature it should be made a little more obvious, maybe exaggerate features more or blacken the lines. On first glance it's hard to tell if it was an attempt at realism or not (as you saw with all the comments people left, heh).

I do like it though, especially the guy's face. The only thing that really bothers me is the scratchy lines in the background and hair, I find them kind of distracting.

[Neo-MatrixX]

vurx, since you know so much about drawing realistic images, why don't you post some up.
That's if you can back it up?

[vurx]

I could dig through my portfolio and take out my digital camera and take pictures of my work � all in the name of self-validation, but in this instance, there is no need. I was simply responding to your advice that one should trace a photograph in order to draw an accurate portrait (my second comment was: if you are taking commissions to produce portraits and you have to trace the image in order to get accurate lines and forms, you aren�t good enough to do portraiture). That is awful advice. The key word is accurate, not �realistic� (as I never used the term �realistic�). If you want to draw an accurate portrait you must unlearn what your brain is telling you is there and draw what is really there. That means practice, practice, practice, not trace, trace, trace. In tracing you aren�t learning how to see correctly and are not growing as an artist or honing your skills. To me, that�s what this is all about, growing as an artist, getting more skillful � not taking the easy way out.

Do well all know the difference between accuracy and realism?

-- vurx

[Neo-MatrixX]

Just like anything else in life, to get good it takes practice, practice, practice.
And Practice takes time (years).
vurx you may be older and have the experience that it takes to draw a person’s face 100% accurately off the top of your head.
But when someone pays me to draw a face, I want to produce the best results for my customer.
And when I'm not working, I will practice, practice, practice.

We all have our own methods of creating art, what may work for one person may not work for another.

[el scoono]

hmmm... well first of all, tracing is definitely not the only way to produce an accurate portrait. i'm fairly certain John Singer Sargent never traced anything in his life!

i think Neo-MatrixX is just trying to say that if one doesn't have the artistic ability to draw a face accurately and a rapidly approaching deadline, tracing might be the only option. however, any half-way competent portrait artist would never resort to tracing. also, a good portrait artist is not necessarily 100% accurate. he/she can choose to slightly emphasize certain features to achieve a more dramatic result.

besides, this is all a moot point because Samson and Friends has already informed us that he was trying to create a caricature, not a realistic likeness.

[ February 10, 2002: Message edited by: el scoono ]

[elam]

I don't know what it is, but I really like this drawing.

Maybe cause so much of what I see around here is the same ole thing.

The only crits I would have would be the background and the mouths.

The background looks like it was done in a hurry, and the mouths could use a little more definition. Hint of a tongue or teeth.

Are you planning on coloring it?