Football Hero - WIP

[danna23]

Hey everyone :wave:

I've been watching this forum...very fun. Anyway I've been working on a drawing of my son. I took this picture a couple weeks ago and when I saw it I knew I had to draw it. I would love to get some advice. What do you see I need to do with him and also should I go with the whole background? I'm afraid that the tree will take away from him. Though I love the look of the tree and would love to tackle it.

So what do you think? :rolleyes:

Thanks - Danna

[Fozbot]

Hi Danna!:wave: nice to met you! i had boys in football. your drawing brought that all back! this is VERY good! i can see you need to get a few highlights going on in this one. there's a highlight missing on his nose, his lip and you could add some highlights to his eyes to make them come alive. as for the BG, that's always been problematic for me, too. you almost have to put something there because he's obviously leaning back quite a bit. i think *I* would put the tree there but not put in all the detail of the bark. make sure your values are right whatever you choose to put there.

[sultry]

Hiyas Dana & Welcome to WC D/s is this your first post here? You do have some nice darks in this piece.
The hair is done exceptionally well.
Only critique I have is that the head shape does not look the same to me, in the ref pic it is wider at the top then what you have rendered.

[chaz]

nice work Danna. My only nitpick is with his far shoulder. Perhaps it's just the scqn, but the arm seems to sort of fade into the background. Maybe just a little definition of that arm and shoulder.

As for the background, go a head and tackle the tree, They;re not really that difficult. Just be sure that the darks are really dark, and don't bend too much because the edges of the bark are hard. At least that's how I would approach that tree. Someone else may have a better suggestion.

Chuck

[Judi1957]

Hi Danna! :wave:
So glad you are sharing your drawing of your very handsome young man with us. I think it is wonderful. If I can add my 2 cents to the other comments: I think I would recheck the distance from his nose to the corner of his mouth and justdouble check a few other places. Maybe lightening the lips a tad and make them a bit fuller. His eyes are a tad too large/open. And I would cut back on the top of his head a bit-like Sults said-check the shape. Don't curl his neckline into his shirt. ..it is a straight vertical drop there.
This is one thing you will find useful. Careful measurements. Do a rough drawing first and do all your correcting there. Then transfer to your good paper. This is a life saver on your paper and your nerves!:D
Everyone's comments here may sound like a lot to you, but they are all pretty easy fixes. REALLY NICE WORK! The fabric looks wonderful! :clap: :clap:
Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

[Brett Lee]

Hi Danna. I'm totally fired by your enthusiam and brave attempt to bring this out the best you can! I know the eagerness of executing one when you just feel you have to! I'm sure with the valueble advice given by the forum members here, we will always be able to learn something from each other, and be better artist in the future. Keep drawinnnnng!!

[danna23]

Hey Thank you everybody for your advice, I will be working on the corrections after I get home from football practice. I knew you would all have some kind words, and I will post WIP updates. :p

Thank You,
Danna

[danna23]

Well I made some of the adjustments and have been working on the background. I love doing trees, I just enjoy a lot of texture in my pictures. And Chaz I didn't blend the tree at all, wanted it to look different from my son.

So here it is so far.

Later - Danna

[Troy Rochford]

Hi Danna, you seem to be on the right track following the advice already given. I would suggest that you also revisit the angle and placement of the numbers/lettering. This is throwing things off balance.

[Fozbot]

this is coming along just great Danna!!! i would've gone with the tree, too. BTW, great pencil work on that tree!!!!!

[sultry]

Very nice Dana I do like the textures your rendering even with the helmet. Just add more darks next to the highlights to get that shine even more noticable. What really makes bright reflections is contrast.

[danna23]

Hey everyone....

Here it is pretty much done. I'm sure after I look at it for a day or so I'll be making a few changes to it. I already see the little tree in the background needs to go a bit darker. I wanted to go back and add colored pencil to it but hubby likes it the way it is.

So what do you guys see? :rolleyes:

Thanks for all your help.

Danna

[Troy Rochford]

Looks good, Danna:) I'd still recommend re-working the numbers and letters though and correcting some of the placement/angle issues. You'd see a dramatic improvement with some adjustments there.