Why are self portraits so much harder than portraits of other people?

[ArtEdGradStudent]

I know this isn't perfect, Any specific crits are appreciated. I know the left eye is larger than the other, and I think the eyes are both to big and the nose too small....

[Elwell]

You've hit on most of the points yourself. Yes, the eyes are uneven and too big. Also, the pupils are so contacted that it looks like you're staring into an incredibly bright light. Generally, when the eyes are relaxed and looking straight ahead, the bottom of the iris will touch the bottom lid and the top edge of the pupil will touch the top lid.
Also, I don't know what you actually look like, but I suspect the chin and jaw are a little short.
However, taking all that into account, the picture has a lot of primitive charm. I know that may sound like a backhanded compliment, but it's really not meant to be. Check out Lucien Frued's early work, for instance.

[Craig D]

Why?
Because it's almost impossible to find a model for a self portrait that will keep still. Good thing they pose for cheap.

[Soja]

Because u see urself everyday in a different way =)!!
And u always think u look like the same...and i dont know i hate sps!

Crits...your eyes are too big like the others already say!
Take a good book about face anatomy that will help u a lot
and do it often as u can!

[Glatteveier]

And not to forget that what you see in the mirror(if mirror is what you use) is will be the opposite of the real thing.

[Professor Az]

You could always do an overlay with a photo of yourself to get everything lined up correctly, and then do the rendering afterwards. That way, at the very least, you could get the proportions dead on, and not worry so much about it not looking like you.

[chaosrocks]

but the photo wold flatten the image out and make it stiff and cold.. jus tkepp drawing your self..in different lights and different angles.. over and over...its great practice. and you are the cheapest model you willever get... listen to Mr Elwell he knows what he;s talking about. although his spelling is questionable in this case
google it
Lucien Freud

chaos

[ArtEdGradStudent]

I'm a big fan of Lucien, and that's got to be the best compliment I've gotten on conceptart so far. So, if my pastel's aren't a hit, at least I have a chance with drawing. Chaos, thanks for the support, but before you complain about another person's spelling... ahem.. =)

But I'm not someone who nit picks about grammar.

[Seedling]

Probably the reason the oil pastels aren’t a hit is that they are only suited to impressionistic mark-making when working small. I’ve seen realistic oil-pastel drawings , but those were finished works that were six feet tall. So unless you want to work large and long, you’re stuck working impressionistic.

Impressionistic marks are wonderful, but by necessity such mark-making forces you to stick to well-known topics. So, trees and rocks and water can be drawn impressionistically, because everybody knows what trees and rocks look like. But you couldn’t, for instance, draw a feathered octopus-pig impressionistically, because it wouldn’t be recognizable. The more unusual a subject is, the more information must be conveyed in the image.

About the self-portrait – it seems harder when drawing yourself because you are attached more to the way you look than to the way others look, so you demand more of yourself.

[ArtEdGradStudent]

well, here's another attempt, this time with oil pastels. Before you tear it to shreds, I think the camera's warped it a bit. It's hard to get a good shot of it in low light. A couple other pics were even more distorted. Anywho...

[DanRamey]

I like your use of color. Nice flesh tone. Remember your anatomy. There is one eye's distance between the eyes. The face is 5 eyes across. Your rendering is great, but it seems like your drawings would bennefit from starting looser and putting in some structure lines.

[ArtEdGradStudent]

My eyes really are a lil closer than the 3rd magic eye. Meh, maybe I should just lie and make them wider apart. Maybe they really are smaller too. I should go over a photo just to see exactly what I'm getting wrong, then go back to free hand...