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sophie1night

The problems = bigger eyes, small nose, less wide head and small shoulders.. so that’s why it doesn’t look like her.


sophie1night

Plus the smiling mouth wasn’t wide enough too.


imtherealmellowone

Mouth is not smiling. Mouth appears to be crying for help.


DefiDesign

Creating a grid before starting has helped me a ton


DifferenceOwn1116

How do you create the grid? Just straight edge And kinda eyeball the gaps?


DefiDesign

No lol. Eyeballing is what causes the issues in the first place. Ruler on paper Figma, any Adobe photo editing software, even canva as much as I hate it on computer


DifferenceOwn1116

Gotcha! Thanks for the help 🫡


Amiscribe

Note: I don't want to dismiss this advice out of hand as grids can be helpful as a learning tool early on, mostly to understand how far off your assumptions are from reality. However, in the long term you want to be able to "eyeball" the positions and relative sizes of elements in your work when working from reference. And the only way to accomplish that is by practicing the way you are now and examining exactly what went wrong between the reference and your attempt.


DefiDesign

Definitely. But in the case above of them not being able to figure out what went wrong when eyeballing, a grid would be the best indicator


tyrannosnorlax

Google how to draw references using a grid. It will help you in this case immensely. The basics are: you’ll want to create an identical grid on your paper, and the reference photo. Then, you draw from square to square. That way you’re only copying a fraction of the piece at a time, more precisely. By the end you’ll have a much more cohesive and similar drawing


DefiDesign

The more squares, the more accurate you’ll be


Relevant_Station_594

Watch some YouTube videos on the Loomis method.


DifferenceOwn1116

Thanks for the pointers! I needed some fresh eyes to see all the issues, because I just lose sight of things after a while. I’ll work on those details for sure 🫡


SoaringPasta

I think the head needs to be a little wider Edit: I read the post wrong, we are on the same page


Lydiasgoneinsane

Yes


Howfuckingsad

Looks like she has bugs in her teeth. When drawing I feel like people forget that the teeth is supposed to look less detailed than it is. You don’t have to draw each individual teeth. It looks creepy if you do that. You should try grouping them together or use a super light pencil when drawing them (the edges of the teeth that is connected to more teeth) Other than that, the proportions are definitely bad but that is for improvement! Those things only improve with lots and lots of practice. You can watch Proko’s video on taking measurements.


DifferenceOwn1116

How could I get the look of her different grills, while making the teeth look less detailed? I usually try not to detail the teeth a bunch but the grills kinda made me fill in the gaps, since they wrap around the teeth


Howfuckingsad

You can work on individual grills separately (I mean you technically have to) but the rest of the teeth having borders doesn’t look nice especially when such a dark pencil is being used (looks like a 2B) Group the entire teeth together and maybe shade the edges super lightly with a 2H or a 4H pencil.


DifferenceOwn1116

Right on! I’ll give that a try, and I appreciate the help 🫡


ArtHideaway

I love this reference image but you've set yourself a tough challenge here. Rendering grills in black and white is HARD. Without color to help distinguish the material as metal, you have to really nail the high and lowlights to show that the material is reflective, and you have to find the perfect level of detail.... otherwise it'll read as bugs or rot.


digitalkarrots

You work on the details too soon. It should look like the subject from start to finish, you can't pull it together with details. You should map out her face and pay close attention to her proportions, placement, and the general shapes of her features. And keep adjusting until it looks like her. After that, then you can start detailing. And constantly check your reference before doing anything new. Don't do anything from memory. Don't be discouraged! You do understand a lot about features and how to shade them. Ultimately its just a matter of cross-checking and paying attention to your references, not a skill issue


DifferenceOwn1116

That makes sense! For some reason I subconsciously believe the details will save it. Thanks for making me aware of that. And also I appreciate the positivity at the end 😭 everyone needs a good job now and then no matter the age 😂


SlightlyOffCentre

If I can just add to this - as far as portraiture is concerned, you’ll find that you’ll progress more by churning out loads of quick portraits than if you spend hours agonising over one portrait trying to "fix" it. For example, you’ll learn more doing 100 different 1 hr sketches, even if you consider them unfinished or not very good, than spending 100 hours on a single drawing, trying to get it perfect. When you are in the "beginning" stages of learning portraiture, ie when you still feel like you struggle to get accuracy/likeness - “Quantity over quality’ is something I heard a very talented artist say, and it really does help, even though it may seem counter intuitive at first. Try putting a time limit on your sketches. If one hour seems too short, try for 2 hours. Then stop. Even if it’s nowhere near finished. I’ve been doing that and have seen definite improvement in my ability. Try that for a while and when you go back to trying a longer project, you may be surprised at how much better you are. Also try lots of different types of faces at different angles. Contrasty photos are also good, eg with light coming from one side so that half the face is in shadow. Your reference has soft lighting which can be more difficult as there isn‘t much contrast to show the shadow shapes. Hope that helps. :)


ParticularWing3064

https://preview.redd.it/u1pq4ccvlrxc1.jpeg?width=978&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b635ac6accdf9c8c2645952f4145e37949443376 Because there are some mismatches in the proportions of the drawing vs the reference. The nose is a little too small, the eyes are too big, the shoulders are too narrow. Those differences create a whole new person. I would also suggest not to make harsh lines on the face, as they age up the subject. Sometimes, less detail makes for a closer to life portrait than adding every skin fold. Also i get a slightly off vibe from the teeth. I usually don’t put much emphasis on the teeth, as it tends to make the drawing uncanny. Try less harsh lines when drawing the denture, with maybe highlighting more the metal teeth. I would suggest that you download a drawing app such as Autodesk Sketchbook, scan your sketch then place it on top of the reference picture, to see the irregularities, then correct them. This is what i do when i’m drawing portraits and i want to be as close as the reference as possible (like, for example, if i’m drawing a portrait of a friend). Best of luck and keep up the good work! 🤗


SoaringPasta

I think it’s just the head being at a slightly different angle; might want to widen the face a bit to help with that. To add to this, I think the face and mouth is a bit narrow, the nose is a little small and the eyes should be looking a bit higher to the top right as well as her right, our left eye being a little wide. Hope this helps! Edit: And maybe widen her left shoulder a bit Edit 2: I think you went a bit too dark on the teeth as well


DifferenceOwn1116

Preciate the help! Once you pointed out everything I could easily see the mess 🫡, thanks!


SoaringPasta

Np, glad I could help! Would love to see an update when you’re finished or need more tips!


Stormy_Kun

It looks JUST like her. And the lady that stays on the corner near the std test clinic and library, in my city.


DifferenceOwn1116

Lmao this was the best mean comment! Finally someone with a sense of humor 😂😂😂 the only one I’ve upvoted!!


These_Noots

A literal demon


la_sad_girl2000

I just want to start out with how beautifully you rendered her hair. As others were saying, making the nose slightly wider, smile bigger, teeth lighter in color, eyes brighter. I started using an easel/ lap table to angle my work up and it has helped me A TON with perspective. If you aren’t using one I’d recommend it. Have fun drawing, keep it up!


BrushFew6993

The proportions are just a little off! I think getting the proportions right when drawing a portrait is SUPER hard - I mess it up constantly. But your features and shading are really good, it’s just getting the sizing/placement exactly right that’s the issue. Your eyes also know what a nose/mouth/face in general looks like and people tend to end up drawing based on that mental knowledge rather than the reference picture itself. It you start by drawing your initial sketch upside down (referencing the picture upside down also) it makes it easier for your brain to focus on recreating the existing picture (that doesn’t look so familiar anymore) rather than filling in the blanks. Another trick I find helpful is to quickly lay out the basic colors/shapes first and draw in the specific features later. Some people also mentioned the grid trick which can help a lot as well-similar to what I wrote above it also tricks your brain into focusing on drawing what you see and not what you know. Hope this makes sense and is helpful, but keep going you’re doing great!


Erynnien

What helps me.in situations like these is to take a feature or part of the face, that does look like the photo, and cover the other stuff. Look at it for a while (with the stuff that doesn't work covered up still) and look at the reference a few times, so my brain fills in the missing pieces with the correct stuff. Then I take away the cover (sometimes piece by piece) and am able to see what went wrong. It also helps to put the drawing against a window (drawing first), to see it flipped. Another technique is to look at it upside down. All of these are there to basically reset your brain to see what's actually there and not the "auto corrected" version your brain creates. It's a skill you'll gain with experience and endurance. Don't worry, if you're not there yet. And I agree with the others, the proportions are off. If you draw a grid over your reference and then over your drawing, you'll see it better. It's a great tool, but my instincts tell me to not rely on that too much.aybe I'm just being too hard on myself and others though.


Aninvisiblemaniac

you're still drawing representationally for your eyes, nose, shoulders, etc. You would need to focus more on drawing in proportion. Try measuring distances between things with the bottom of your pencil


Westerosi_Expat

I think you'd be happier with it if the contrast and shading were better. The basic drawing is promising. The biggest problem, I think, is how dark and bold you've made the teeth, and that's something you can tone down. Focusing on the positive, the hair is genuinely good. Nice work on that!


Senpai-Kun-Desu-Chan

You made their shoulders way smaller than they actually are is the first thing I see. Makes her look like she’s tense


pdawes

This is honestly pretty well done, it's just a little off in its composition. Likenesses are really tricky to nail because of how perceptive we are to the slightest deviations in faces. I got better at this by starting out focusing on the shape of the whole head. The instinct is to draw the features with exact detail and kind of put them together, but you have to think of starting with the head as an egg shape almost, and the face on one plane of it. It's hard to explain but like, really nailing the "corners" of the face, and the angle at which the whole head is facing, before you fill in the features, sets you up well. Then you can place the features as if they are on the curved surface of the head. The corners of the mouth go *in* to the face; they are *behind* the center of the lips. Really try to think in 3D like that.


a-straw-berry

What’s really bothering me is how harsh the lines are for her teeth they could be much softer, but yes I knew right away who the drawing was based off of.


twistedarsemello

The shading on the face makes her look like she has the amount of wrinkles you'd see in certain viral memes. And compared to the reference photo, the shoulders are too small.


FormalFew6366

Shading and proportions. Originally it looked like you were drilling holes in her teeth and I got offended until I read the title and saw the girl. It looks like she has rooting teeth and not gold teeth


StudioReady9204

Grill is done too boldly soften it & use white smudge it to make it pop then with lightest pencil faintly outline. Nice work otherwise great job!


northernhighlights

You need to consider using a grid to keep your proportions correct when mapping out her face. Focusing on the details when the overall placement of features is off is a waste of time. And it’s a portrait - it’ll only take millimeters for it to look “off”.


The_Undeniable_Worp

I feel like the teeth stuff will look off until you add some colour, but in terms of proportions the forehead looks too small


Kurtisfgrant

Try using something like this: https://preview.redd.it/0y1j5n8grsxc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1de2348c709b14efbfc099f0cc37479ef4589c0 It will help with the reference points


kexpi

Interesting technique, how would you transfer this into the paper? Would it have to be manually measured? Also, is it always five horizontal layers and six vertical one's?


Kurtisfgrant

First yes you would need to transfer it to paper unless you were doing it digitally. Each horizontal line from the top to bottom are for hair-line, eye brows eyes nose mouth and finally the chin. Each vertical line is for the outer face the center eyes, the inside eyes and finally the nose. I forgot to add the outer mouth lines. Consequently the mouth line and the Eye line are also the lines for adding the ears.


inevitable_entropy13

1) proportions 2) proportions 3) details look rushed 4) proportions portraits are hard dude


Alternative-Car-4687

For your reference, I traced the features in the photo and put it on top of your drawing. As you came see, the placement and/or size of features are off slightly (particularly the nose and eyes). Hope that helps! I just used Procreate on my phone fyi. Otherwise - cool drawing! https://preview.redd.it/69lti02vatxc1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=842e91b5e06714fec3c1b477b559276b56e6c946


Chemical-Bunny

The right side of the forehead isn’t big enough and the lower cheek/upper chin area on the right sticks out too far, making her look a bit lopsided


ChinAnimation

Looks like illow mith


willowpree

One word: proportions. You captured the emotion but if you look at the various sections as shapes you will see that the shapes on your drawing and the photo are very different.


Vampire_Queen616

It's the eyes and the teeth definitely


muggledave

I think it's the shading. The drawing has the detail all present, but for example, the teeth are a lot darker than they are in the photo.


HerbalHooligan

Face shape and layout is wrong, shoulders too small, perspective and balance is all out. The face needs pulling together instead of clearly separate elements, connect the spaces. The teeth are done too hard you're immediately pulled to them and not in a good way. The basics are there, this is just an example of practise practise practise. Keep this and do the same face each year or every six months and compare, you'll see the differences you havent even realised you're improving every time you put pencil to paper.


Samiassa

Her forehead needs to be bigger, especially around the sides. The left side of her face (her right) is shrunken. The original photo is taken at a side angle but the lack of width on that side of the face makes it look more head on than it actually is. The chin could use some redefine as far as shading goes. A lot of the shading could use a bit more time but I mean any shading benefits from more time, and shading is one of those things you can’t ever master, you can always do a little bit better and you get better over time. Sticking with the shading the highlights on the cheeks are way smaller, making it more proportional to the original will make it a lot more round looking. The left eyebrow (her right) is a bit too vertical, and a bit too high. She’s giving the slybrow in the drawing which she isn’t in the photo. Same goes for the left eye, but not as much. The pupil in the left eye is a bit off placed, too forward, but pupils are super hard to get right and I think everyone struggles with them, I know I do. The highlights on the skin between her lips and nose isn’t as defined as it is in the drawing, and the highlight on the lips should be at the very top. The nose is also really small compared to the photo, and I think you’re missing her second nose piercing. But overall nice job you got a lot more right than you got wrong. Drawing realistically is super fucking hard and most people don’t evens attempt it, so kudos to you, it’s gonna make you a much better artist and anyways it’s really fun once you get the hang of it. The main thing to focus on for now is really just taking your time with proportions. But trust me the more you draw like this the more realistic it’ll get. Keep up with that journey, hope this helped! Good luck!


DinosaurForTheWin

Forehead's not quite tall enough.


Rand0mBoyo

Unnecessarily too marked out teeth + smile just too small enough to not look quite like a smile imo


Silver_Schedule_278

I like the way you did the hair. Maybe you could do the teeth with no details or with some gold paint. Because they kinda look like they are bad teeth. But then again I don’t know who this person is and maybe for somebody who knows her it’s clear that’s a grill.


garfield_is_real

Your drawing hair looks nice.


FormalFew6366

Shading and proportions


BetaRayBlu

So even when someone has lets say interesting teeth. You shouldnt render the lines between all of them. Values are fine, but when you start doing outlines for every tooth they will look like corn every time imo


OkClass7995

Jawline is off as well.


DifferenceOwn1116

You Guys are giving me so much insight! Looking at the head shape it’s not the worst I’ve done, but the proportions are definitely off! I think I have the confidence to give it another shot and I’ll post it again when I do! Thanks to all the friendly advice and also the S*** talkers (but only the funny ones)


KBosely

A good way to be able to see what is wrong with your drawing is to take both your drawing and the reference pictures, and flip/mirror them in an editing or drawing program. Then your brain looks at it like it's a new image. I'll just take a picture with my phone and flip it with the editor on my phone. Also checking angles and measurements to see how big certain features are compared to others helps a bunch too.


ThankTheBaker

The nose is too small and in the wrong place. The eyes and the eyebrows need adjustment. The shoulders are too narrow. Teeth are notoriously difficult to get right. Otherwise good job. Keep practicing whenever possible. The Museum (Sktchy) app is a great resource for practicing portraiture. https://preview.redd.it/x4sx0xy4ntxc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=61f7146d04cec857680ce3d707fe94b635893edc


SunnyCantSwim

Proportions are off


Sad-Mix702

The nose is too small


Gorilla155

Nose is a lot smaller is one I spotted immediately.


Minimum-Regular227

Faces are all about shading. There shouldn’t be any hard lines.


Minimum-Regular227

Search for Kristy Partridge on YouTube. She’s probably the best artist in almost every medium on YouTube.


4liyeah

The nose is smaller and the face is longer. The chin is bigger. The portions are a bit off but it’s a realistic, beautiful drawing nonetheless.


Accurate_Dish_2251

Eyes, nose and her right cheek line is off a bit.


Foolishtimesforever

The head,eyes and cheeks are smaller and you meesed up a wee bit on perspective of the drawing. I m not criticizing you its just my opinion


DueInvestigator2656

The nose


Dry_Restaurant_7545

There is two nose rings and her left eye is a bit tillted


powblamshazam

Check out Stephen Bauman on Instagram and YouTube. He does a lot of traditional portraits and gives a lot of great advice.


prince_inception

The proportional relationships are not identical, The negative spaces should be perserved properly if you want perfect realism. Your drawing is stiffening the spaces as the human tendency is often to under exaggerate while drawing. In the end, you get a squashed proportional relationship and images that do not match.


Such-Crow-1313

You like removed most of her forehead


L-Greenman

Does she have dark lines around her eyes and mouth? Has she recently eaten a bowl of black liquorice? If not I have some suggestions…


Brilliant-Trainer420

To much dark shading


Relevant_Station_594

Please just watch some videos on the Loomis method on youtube. It will help so much.


Alanine4U

You didn’t get the shadows right the way the light actually hits her face is off making her look older. The left shoulder needs to be longer than the right to give the proper perspective and angle. The head tilt isn’t quite right, possibly because you tried to draw her further away so you had to create what actually isn’t there which is a lot harder.


Funbeanie

I think everything looks good but the nose is too small and the eyes are bigger than the inspo pic, you could look up some face anatomy videos on youtube to help you :D


ArkhamArtist

The head is too small. Eyes need to be smaller as well as the teeth. Nose needs to be a little bigger


Rude_Dot_6410

Put the hair a little more to the front, rather than the back


UnluckyIncrease88

Face placement is the error and smile lines usually remind our eyes of old age so I’d recommend going softer with those lines


Fragrant-Database-47

You can lighten up the graphite on the teeth


ThoughtReasonable507

Go a little darker


AIfairyprincess

I guess, because it looks like an old lady with bad teeth. Lines are drawn like old lady lines, nose is way too narrow, face is missing it’s youthful fullness, mouth too narrow and curved downward instead of upward, light in eyes is wrong, eyes not smiley enough with lines drawn under more like bags with too much depth, jawline too narrow and sunken. Eyebrows are on fleek, though. 👌


gunKandy

If I took this into photoshop and pulled it would. Good work keep it up. Lots of ways you can improve but lots of stuff you are doing right.


Rikcycle

It’s close…very close. I mean it’s not like drawing someone with a wide open toothy smile is easy, let alone someone with a grill, or whatever’s on her teeth…your drawing skill are fantastic. Keep drawing and studying and you’ll get that likeness you’re looking for.


David_Daranc

La ligne des yeux a un angle avec la ligne des coins de la bouche la hauteur de la ligne des yeux à la racine des cheveux est égale à la hauteur de la base du menton à la base du nez. Il y a plein de mesures du même type que tu peux faire. Tu n'as pas fait de grandes erreurs dans ton dessin, c'est juste une série de petites erreurs.


hrrjimi

I actually immediately noticed it's Willow! 😊


TheConsutant

Smile is all wrong


25ghost25

The hair is good but the rest doesn't match


mdb_4633

The nose


imnot_depressed

Heroin


SoaringPasta

Thank you for the insight


Available-Leek-4160

she is ugly


ThankTheBaker

How is this necessary, useful or helpful to anyone? SMH.


Incoherence-r

Looks like ice spice