Greyscale portrait help?

[PunkPoodle]

I spent the last few hours trying to create a portrait while working on my values.

It's actually my first attempt at something like this using a digital medium and I would like some honest opinions.

[TinyBird]

Watch out your proportions. Did you have reference? Can you post your sketch, before you added values?

Also the values look really limited and show no form or planes of the face.

[PunkPoodle]

I had somewhat of a reference.


I actually noticed some of the screwy proportions after I posted (I have no idea what I was thinking with her nose), and I'll be sure to pay much closer attention to facial anatomy and proportions the next time around.

The sketch was beneath all of the layers and I lost it after they were merged together unfortunately.

How would one make the values look less flat? I tried to vary them more than I usually do, but that may not have been enough variation.

[PunkPoodle]

Here's a "tweaked" version

She should be slightly more proportional. I also adjusted the values a bit.

[Chris Sanders]

you have a pretty model but an awful reference. if your working on your rendering make sure the light source is not from the camera as it will become over exposed and it's just an unnatural light source (the camera flash). sun light or at least from the top. also get a better camera for the reference or even better get your self a mirror on your desk; it might seem kinda vain to have a mirror on your desk but if helps me make sense of form in the face and hands under tricky lighting or angles.

[PunkPoodle]

The reference was actually a picture that someone posted to be public domain.

I'm unsure of who the model is (haha)

I think it would be a good idea to keep a mirror close by. I'll have to invest in that too

[Maledict]

I had somewhat of a reference.
I actually noticed some of the screwy proportions after I posted (I have no idea what I was thinking with her nose), and I'll be sure to pay much closer attention to facial anatomy and proportions the next time around.

Yes. Look up some of the tutorials and information about how to construct faces, on the internet. There's loads of them out there. Use google.

As for help noticing "screwy" proportions, it'd be a good idea to constantly flip the image horizontally. That way, you notice anything strange or off instantly. Just how the human brain works. Just make a quick bind to a key, set of keys, or menu on the wacom wheel when using photoshop, or you favoured poison.

How would one make the values look less flat? I tried to vary them more than I usually do, but that may not have been enough variation.

Push the values; have a higher contrast. The key reason why b/w paintings, or any paintings look "flat", for that matter, is because they have a short grey scale range. Push it further, and it by virtue of that, it has a larger grey scale range, and thus looks less flat. How accurate the form is painted/molded, however, takes time to develop as it is to paint.

[dpaint]

Geometric planes, they are your friend when trying to create a realistic look

[PunkPoodle]

Geometric planes, they are your friend when trying to create a realistic look

I often struggle a bit using geometric planes to create facial features, but that should be fixed with some more practice.

I'll try to expand my greyscale range more in the future as well

[Chris Sanders]

try studying all of these, they will help a lot - http://www.mediafire.com/?6a4gu147t4lmc4f

[PunkPoodle]

try studying all of these, they will help a lot - http://www.mediafire.com/?6a4gu147t4lmc4f

This will be helpful! Thank you

[tabithakristen]

The reference was actually a picture that someone posted to be public domain.

I'm unsure of who the model is (haha)

I think it would be a good idea to keep a mirror close by. I'll have to invest in that too

That would be me. I'm flattered!