[Bloodnite]

is the scetch.... and for the photo ref.... and http://www.geocities.com/ninaslover2000/gellar.jpg is a larger pic of the scetch.... Blah?


[This message has been edited by Bloodnite (edited July 24, 2000).]

[psi burn]

sorry but em...doesnt look anything like her =P looks kinda fuzzy too

[ceenda]

Hi there.

The sketch is fine, but needs a bit of practice in certain areas.

I'm not Fred Flick Stone or Craig Mullins(who will doubtless both offer better advice than this) however, I'd like to offer some suggestions that, hopefully, will help.

Firstly, listen to criticism but never let it upset you!

Secondly, foreheads are nearly always higher than we estimate them to be. If you look at the photo of Sarah-Michelle, the distance from her chin to her eyebrows is _roughly_ the same distance from her eyebrows to the top of her head. However, I think in the case of your sketch the whole face just needs to be lengthened a bit.

Thirdly, every so often during your sketch, go up to a mirror and look at the sketch in the mirror. You may notice that there are some slants that skew the picture. This can be helpful in showing you bits of the sketch that don't look quite right.

Fourthly, I think that maybe you were sitting down to do this sketch? If so, you may be viewing the paper at an angle, hence the picture looks kinda squashed. If you have package like Paint Shop Pro then resize the pic so that it is about 20% taller - make sure that it doesn't resize the width or the pic will just be bigger in general.

Last, but not least, stick at it! Keep sketching. Even the simplest things like household items. Getting the simpler things right will make you more confident when it comes to more complicated projects.

BTW - you might want to check out a book called "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. You might be able to get it from your library and it has some exercises that you might find helpful.

[This message has been edited by ceenda (edited July 24, 2000).]

[ceenda]

Good point Kramer!

The one thing I remember my art teacher saying again and again was :-

quote

Quote:

Paint what you see, not what you _think_ you see.

[Fred Flick Stone]

Ceenda makes great points. I dont want to get too involved here, as this really to me looks like a quick sketch.

Acouple things about sketching though. Watch the sketchy crosshatching you are applying for the shading. The shading you are doing is more based on skin value, and not real dark pitted areas that would need a shade to identify them. If you make shades, make them where there is true dark spots in the image like below her right ear, her right arm as it passes behind the leg, the left foot, the back of the knee on the right leg, the line separating the top half from bottom half of leg.
Second, dont out line light and dark patterns unless you intend on shading the dark side accordingly. On the right leg, you drew the line that says direct light, shadow separation, but did not shade the shadow. These kinds of lines in your drawing are deceiving and create new shapes and forms that arent relavent to the overall image.

And what ceenda said, practice your ass off. In art, it is more about the mileage you put in that helps you make more educated decisions, but of course the right info always helps...

[Kramer]

Yes Mrs Edward's book will help you if you have the patience to get thru her lengthy explanations as to why you should tap in to your right brain for drawing! (she's long winded)

All in all, it's an decent drawing but I agree with the fact that it looks squashed somehow. Might just be how you saved or scanned the pic. I've read and done the exercises from the "Drawing.. right side" book, and I agree with Ceenda that there are some exercises on relationships, heads and faces, and perspective that should help you.

It seems on the face that you are drawing what you think you see, instead of what is really there.

Kramer

[Bloodnite]

Thanks for the replies. I did skew the pic and uploaded it to my site. Here it is. ...And fred, this wasnt a quick 10 minute scetch or whatever, i think it took like an hour :/..But in response to the comments, In my scetches or drawings at first, I usually use the crosshatch shading and make a dark outline. I usually draw very dark and all. My teacher tells me I should try not to outline my drawings with dark lines, and just let the shades that meet to define the line. The way I draw, i like how it looks, so i havent really tried to draw another way. Im sure you wont understand what I was trying to write clearly, so i wont continue to describe it. Anyways, I want to goto art school possibly after high school. I know I have the talent to draw, I just have to develop it more instead of keeping to my own style-ish drawing or whatever. Blah?

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Life's a bitch and then you die, still tryin' to get a piece of that apple pie...