My 1st portrait.... wip

[racal]

Hey all,

I'm trying my hand at a portrait here... don't worry - it's not for anyone - just practicing! I've got a bit of it done here as you can see.... I'm not really happy with it but I'm not sure why. I feel like there isn't enough color yet. When I look at it in black & white I'm "fairly" happy with it. Also I have no technique - so I feel like the I'm just rubbing the color around. Any comments or suggestions will be appreciated!

- This is my new niece Aubrey...

Thanks!

[Eduardo Flores]

Being your first portrait, I would say that the reference image is very difficult; children require great exactness of drawing because small differences in shapes or values (the clear or dark areas) have a huge effect on the expression.
In addition, the picture was taken with frontal illumination and you have small differences in values to help you.
In any case, this is a good start: try to study very very carefully the details of shape, values and colors of the model (beautiful child!) and practice, practice, practice...

Eduardo

[wetbob]

It looks nice. Good skin color. ONly a bit more attention for the fingers

[CareyG]

Aww, very cute!

Children--small babies even more so--are extremely difficult for the reasons Eduardo mentions. Their soft skin and features make it difficult even in the best of lighting.

But I do think that a baby's portrait is going to be something much different than a portrait of a much older person. And as such, you have a good start here.

I would definitely leave the face and move onto covering up the rest of the canvas, if only just covering with local color. That will make a very big impact on how the face looks. After the background (around the face at least) is covered, you can go back to the face and make what adjustments you need.

Looks like a great start to me, keep us updated!

~!Carey

[Blue Pencil]

good start

[racal]

Thank you all for the kind words and help.... Carey - I will start painting the surrounding areas this weekend and I think you are right - that will help me see the face better. There are some areas I'd like to muck with now - but I"ll wait... :-)

I'll keep you guys posted!

[Scottyarthur]

Excellant start. portraits are so diffacult and child as you have heard even harder. For me so far the nostrels are to dark and the mouth not dark enough.
What type of brushes are you using?

[racal]

Scott,

Thanks for the kind words! I'm Windsor & Newton Eclipse - black sable brushes right now - and I can tell you why - they were on sale at the local artist supply chain! ... I'm quite new to painting - maybe 20 paintings under my belt now - mostly landscapes.

You are correct about the nose & lips... one nostril isn't shaped exactly right and the nostrils are too dark - as well as the lips are too light... I was having some trouble mixing color for the lips that was dark enough -but not too dark.. I'll get back to that later! Also her left eye isn't quite right - too much dark and the shape of the shadows aren't right yet...

Hopefully this weekend I can get back to it!

-Chris

[sonita]

Looking really good so far...looking forward to see the finished work. Soo cute
Soni