Something about Genevieve

Jenni Nolen · 02-15-2005, 09:07 PM

Hi,

I've been working on this portrait of this young girl and there is something that doesn't quite look right that I can't put my finger on. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. This is on Canson and is 22 x 18".

Thanks,
Jenni

Debra Norton · 02-15-2005, 10:22 PM

Jenni,
She is a lovely little girl, and you have the makings of a very nice portrait. I see a few little things you can do to help fix the "not quite right" look. This may seem like a lot, but they're really very small changes.

Her chin is more pointed than it is in the reference. I see the values on her jaw and neck closer together than they are on the portrait. I think your reflected light is too light. Squint and compare, and you will see you can lower the value on her jaw. The angle of the jaw line in your portrait is steeper than in the photo. Plus the shadows on her neck and jaw (in the photo) seem cooler on my monitor than the shadows on her cheek and forehead.

You can lower the outside corner of her (our left) eye. You can lighten the line along the bridge of the nose; it looks like it might even curve in a little just below the eye. You can extend the shadow on the side of the bridge of the nose closer to the inside of the (our) left eye.

I think it would be good to break up some of the brown streaks in her hair, I don't see them so "line-y." And I see a lot of purple/lavender/gray on the top and side of her hair.

I think her forhead slants back a little more than you have it. Her (our) right eyebrow seems a little more curved than in the photo. Check that pupil too, it seems larger than in the photo. The last thing is the intensity of the skin on her upper arms, it just jumps out at me. Maybe dulling it down some will keep from drawing the eye down there, away from her face.

I hope this helps.
Debra

Timothy C. Tyler · 02-16-2005, 10:34 AM

This is just barely off. It's the axis-the bridge of the nose as it relates to the muzzle area. Little shifts mean a lot. The upper part is foreward just a little too much.

Jenni Nolen · 02-25-2005, 05:35 PM

Debra and Timothy,

Thanks for your reply. I've been working on your suggestions and they have really made a difference, it's always great to have an extra pair of eyes to help you see what you've missed. (I'm still working on the hair, especially where it comes in contact with her shirt.)

Jenni

Garth Herrick · 02-26-2005, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timothy C. Tyler

This is just barely off. It's the axis-the bridge of the nose as it relates to the muzzle area. Little shifts mean a lot. The upper part is foreward just a little too much.

Hi Jenni,

Tim is right. With a number of small shifts your drawing and likeness can get back on track. Do you have the photo to scale right next to your easel?

In case you don't, I've done an overlay in Photoshop to show where things need to shift. The eyes appear to bug out because the eyelids are too thin. The chin, mouth and muzzle area, as Tim calls it, need widening and moving forward. The nose is ever so slightly off axis in its angle, and the bridge shoud appear finer and thinner.

Hope this helps,

Garth

Jenni Nolen · 02-26-2005, 01:26 PM

Garth,

Thanks for taking the time to create that overlay. I'm going to post it on my easel so I can tweak those shifts.

Jenni

Garth Herrick · 02-26-2005, 01:45 PM

You are welcome Jenni.

As it happens, I just learned this new technique with the line tool, in Photoshop, with this digital demo. I measured both the photo and pastel from the chin to the eye. Then with a calculator I matched them both in scale. Overlaying the photo over the pastel in the best possible registration, I drew in the guidelines over the photo, then hid the photo layer to show the lines over the pastel. It's neat!

Garth

PS: Jenni, you may also notice that her forehead should be proportionally taller.... another shift to consider! Hint: Look at the hairline between the two images.