First Critique
 

Well, I feel I've learned a lot from reading everyone's posts here (although I have TONS to learn yet). So I suppose logically the next step is to put up a work in progress for critique. This is a graphite portrait of my daughter that I plan to paint. However, I would like to work out any of the beginning problems before I go to the next stage. This was not done from a photo- it was done catching quick glimpses of an active 9 month old. :D
This is her quiet "pick me up mommy" pose. LOL

So tell me honestly what I need to work on. I'm not sure if the lighting is right at all since I had to fake it. I have a long way to go on getting a better feel on composition, so I went with a simple head shot.

Susan

I haven't attached a picture here before, so hopefully this works.

Hi Susan!

Tough subject, an active child! I understand that. Drawing is an art of its own, which I believe deserves to be the end product, as well as sometimes the way towards another medium.

As I look at your drawing, I see a portrait which has form, but which has weak lines. My philosophy: if your lines are weak, the drawing will be weak. If your lines are good, your drawing will be good, and the form will come along.

I see two things about your form: the head looks to be turning down a bit. Therefore, the ears have to be higher in relationship to the eyebrows. Also, the head seems to be a bit elongated. Even though the cranium of a child is larger in relation to the face, it appears to be too long, although I have no reference picture, so I may be wrong. I have done shrunk the head in heighth by 1/6 in Corel, and raised the ears a bit. It may not be correct, but does it help?

Can I make one other suggestion? Try taking your 4B pencil and sanding the tip on a piece of sandpaper just as if you were going to draw. Then make some lines on your pad making the widest and richest lines you can make. Experiment - make parallel lines side by side and just overlapping, and then at different pressures. Strive for control and beauty. Beautiful lines will give you a more beautiful technique. The line is everything. Beautiful line, beautiful drawing.