Rane

[Jimmie Arroyo]

Before I make another comment, I'd like to ask, how close is this to the original? It looks highly compressed, as does the reference photo. It would'nt be fair to offer a critique on something so grainy, I'm sure it looks better in person. Would also like to know the range of pencils you are using, it does'nt look like you're going any softer than an HB. If you are going softer, then it looks like you're applying it too lightly giving it a see through texture. (I made another comment after all!) if you want to send a bigger file to my e-mail for better clarity, feel free.

[Chuck Yokota]

Hi Jimmie,

I am posting closeups cropped so they have the original pixel resolution of the photographs. While there is some graininess due to the picture resolution, most of the graininess in the drawing is due to the texture of the paper.

I used a range of pencil leads from 2H to 6B. I didn't press really hard with the pencils, trying not to press down that paper texture. Should I go ahead and press harder, not worrying about flattening out the texture?

I will also email you the larger original file of the drawing.

[Patricia Joyce]

Chuck,
I'm watching your progress with interest. I think you have a good likeness. I'm gonna learn "over your shoulder", if you don't mind. Can I ask how large the face is? I'm wondering with my own work if I woud be able to catch details better if I were working on a larger face, therefore large features and more "room" for detail.

[Chuck Yokota]

Hi Pat,

The head is about 4-1/4" tall. I do find it more difficult to work on a face this small; a hairsbreadth of difference can affect the likeness. However, I did want to do a half-length drawing and I didn't want the overall size to be too large, so I'm stuck with it. Especially at this size, I would rather have used a smoother-textured paper.

[Heidi Maiers]

Hi chuck,
This is a very pleasant drawing and is coming along nicely in spite of the hair challenge and is beautiful overall. I do have one observation that you might want to keep in mind, and that is the placement of the inside corners of the eyes. The angle between them should be dead on, or the eyes will look askew. Here in these illustrations, you see the original angle matches the tilt of the head, but in the drawing, a line drawn across these points is completely horizontal and intersects the line drawn from the outside edges.

[Chuck Yokota]

Heidi,
Thank you for your comment. I can see (now that you've pointed it out) how her eyes had gotten askew.