Sitting Portrait

Alright, this is my second critique ever so I'm going to try to keep it nice and organized for you <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/let…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Lick)"/>

Lines - The lines are very nice in which you have them going different directions and there are different qualities of lines which helps keep the drawing interesting and less flat. I like how you built up with your lines to create value, for example on her legs you put more lines where there was a shadow so it would be darker. I also like how you lightly implied the line of her calf muscle on her thigh by making it just a tiny bit darker around that edge.

Details: I like how you attempted to incorporate as many of the details as you could/felt like doing. In order to make such details more successful, sometimes and artist needs to go past the bounds of reality <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Smile)"/> For example in the folds of the shirt, it is ok to exaggerate (or even do the opposite) to make the folds more believable or interesting. I for one probably would've carried a short gradation of shadow on a few of them to give them more depth and volume. How ever in general, it seems that your lights/darks are in pretty good shape.

Shape Accuracy: No one is perfect on the first few shots, and it always takes practice to get certain details right. I am horrible at drawing hands and legs and faces and its a plateau that I've been stuck on for a while now. The only way to get past that sort of thing is to practice on those things alone, for example just hands and just feet. I say this because the feet/shoes you draw could use some work, but honestly not a lot. The only thing I would suggest is to make the feet larger so they are proportionate to the rest of the body, and maybe do some shoe studies to really show off. As for the hands, they are ok too, the general shape is just about there but there is still something slightly unnatural about them but I can't quite put my finger on it (har har, im so punny) The face however, the face is perfect. I wouldn't change the face at all, th thing that throws it off a bit is the jaw line and shape of the face on the inside of the head (the side facing us) I can understand it's just how her face is, but I think maybe taking away that very vaguely drawn jaw line might make it easier for our brains to register a more accurate shape for the face. My teachers always say the viewer is part of the art <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/s/s…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Smile)"/>

Lastly, in general, I especially like the incorporation of the patterns, such as the one on her scarf and her wrist. Not only does this keep the composition interesting, it helps draw our eyes and move them around evenly through out the drawing. Even the lines used for the legs and the surface she is sitting on counts as a pattern (to me :T ) and helps to keep a good amount of distribution of technique through out the drawing.

All in all, nice work for just an "attempt" <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/w/w…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Wink)"/>