Child portrait

Hi everyone,

Hope you are enjoying the holidays. Here is the portrait of a child I have done in these holidays. What's more relieving for an artist than capturing the innocence and inquisitiveness of a 5 month old?

It's the most challenging (at least technically) subject I've ever drawn. I've already spent over 30 cumulative hours on this and it still needs some adjustments. I need your comments and critiques.

At the moment I don't have access to Photoshop to combine the scans to make it complete (scanner size is 9" x 15" only). The background in the scan is darker than it is in my drawing. Do I need to make it the darkest (because it's not very evenly blended now)?

Regards,
Seenu

Any comments please ??

[Mike McCarty]

Seenu,

You might tell what type of materials went into making your drawing. Do I understand that the image above is a cropped image? If you cannot display the entire image could you describe how it is composed on the paper and how much of the total drawn image we are seeing.

Very stylistic, it might be a bit difficult to critique. Did you satisfy your own objectives?

[Steven Sweeney]

Seenu,

There's a kind of stark, hard-edged quality to this drawing that seems in conflict with the subject's infancy and the very soft and undefined features we'd expect to see. I think there's too much influence here of a flash or a very strong light above the child (the reflection of which we can see in the eyes), which is bleaching out the lights, exaggerating the darks, and creating hard edges.

I recommend that you try to visualize what this subject would look like without the influence of that strong light. Some of the considerations might include:

-- Reduce the size and lighten the value of the dark shape between the lips. At least on the bottom lip, the transition from light to dark would be more gradual (but for that strong light).

-- Have a look at your resource photo to see if the corners of the mouth really are so prominent and turn down so dramatically. At the very least, almost eliminate the dark values in those areas.

-- Soften the edges of the lips, especially the top edge of the upper lip.

-- Very substantially lighten the values of the dark areas within the ears. What we're seeing there now is deep dark cast shadow, from that strong light source.

-- Lighten the value in the nostrils, and darken the form around the nostrils. Right now we're seeing reflected light on those forms that doesn't belong there. The values should be in closer harmony in that base triangle of the nose.

-- In the eyes: lighten and soften the dark thin "outlines" of the eyeball area, as well as the outlines around the irises. Darken the value of the irises -- the strong light passing through them is fooling your eye into believing their value is extremely light. Reduce by 3/4 the size of the catchlights in the eyes -- right now they're but reflections of the excessive light, rather than form-defining highlights.

-- I would greatly lighten -- even return to white -- the background. This delicate subject can't bear the burden of that dark, heavy background.

-- Greatly soften the upper contour of the skull, and allow the value to darken slightly as the skull rounds back away from us. Same with the edges of the jawline and chin.

-- Don't let the halftones below the cheeks get quite so dark. This too is a result of the strong lighting and has the effect of "aging" the infant.

I guess that's enough to make the point that you're being misled by the photograph and you need to "correct" for it. Have a look at this child in normal, ambient daylight and I think you'll see far softer edges and lighter values in the features. That's closer to the look you want in this subject.

[Lon Haverly]

I have an aversion to portraits of children that are larger than life. It is like looking at a giant parade balloon of the child. Just a personal preference, and one that I have stood by for many years.

Thanks for the critiques. I just imitated the reference for everything. I used graphite and charcoal in making this. It's basically a horizontal drawing with little view of shoulders and full view of ears. It's interesting how critics find it is completely acceptable to tell an amateur that his work or choice is bad without considering any positive aspects of his work.

Regards,
Seenu

[Tom Edgerton]

Seenu--

I have to agree with the other critiques. The style of the drawing is very much at odds with the subject. I found the image very jarring.

Slavishly copying reference material without applying aesthetic judgment along the way isn't producing art -- it's an exercise in accuracy, nothing more.

Steven, especially, obviously spent a good deal of time crafting a thorough and helpful set of suggestions, for no compensation other than the satisfaction of aiding a fellow artist.

If you want suggestions for improving your work, this is the place. If all you want is a compliment and nothing more, you can get that most anywhere.

[Jeff Fuchs]

Seenu,

Please read this thread: http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...&threadid=2112

I thought everyone had seen it by now. Some of us are begging to be roughed up a bit. Please don't discourage honest critiques.

[Karin Wells]

It's interesting how critics find it is completely acceptable to tell an amateur that his work or choice is bad without considering any positive aspects of his work.

I am sure that Steven Sweeney considered your talent sufficiently worthy in order to invest his time and attention into a most thoughtful critique of your work. I think that if you make the effort to follow Steven's suggestions, this portrait would improve dramatically.

When you need a pat on the back there are many other good places (e.g., Wet Canvas) to post your work. I cringe when I see valuable time and effort wasted in an unwanted, unappreciated and ignored critique. This isn't about ego here, it is about trying to offer genuine help to those who reach out. I am sorry that you feel as if your toes were stepped on but you have probably posted in the wrong place.

Thanks everyone for your response. I appreciate your time and concern. I would like to thank Steven for spending lot of time in giving sincere critique. I always thought the word "critique" means discussing the good and bad aspects of a work but I realized my assumption was wrong. Anyway I'll use your comments for the improvement of my drawing.