Starting on a portrait?

[Crow_T]

I don't really mind the mouth, it's kind of a smirky smile- her breasts are going the wrong way it would seem, and if that's a collarbone it needs work.

[artisticdude]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so...

Unfortunately, it ended up looking a lot different than the original, but perhaps there are a few things about it you might find useful. *shrug* Note that I'm not by any means a portrait artist, I just dabble in pixel art from time to time, so take my critique with a grain of salt. I realize this is a WIP, so some of the things in this list you might already be aware of, or might not be finished yet, but I'll throw them in just in case:

1. The forehead was rather tall, particularly for a woman, so I shortened it a bit.
2. The brow ridge was a bit too prominent for a woman IMO, so I reduced it slightly.
3. The eyebrows were rather thick and low, which gave a more masculine appearance, so I raised and thinned them.
4. I changed the nose, mouth, and hairline to better match the centerline of the head (I hope, anyway...).
5. With the nose, the tip seemed kind of... droopy, so I raised it a a little.

Personally, I'd also avoid adding outlining the smile lines (I think that's the right term?) on either side of the mouth and hint at them using shading instead, because the dark outlines will make the creases look deeper, which may in turn make her look older than you intended.

Feel free to disregard this if it isn't helpful, but I thought I'd toss it out there anyway. Keep it up!

[brendan_scott]

Thank you for this feedback.
I have been sidetracked a little on working out how to use GIMP. I have done a couple of roughs for the hair (one of which I lost when the kids closed down the program without saving, another which I lost when I had a crash :-/ , which look similar to what you've proposed.
Re what to outline: I am still coming to terms with the house style (I would not ordinarily outline lips for example).

[brendan_scott]

No real progress. Not particularly happy with the hair. Just posting to keep a rhythm (also not a rejection of any earlier suggestions).

[brendan_scott]

[brendan_scott]

More wip
Now, I'm not really sure what to do with the left hand/arm

[GunChleoc]

I think the head is too small for the body

[brendan_scott]

More wip.
Removed outlines in underskirt, added shading
Incorporated many changes suggested earlier to face - nose is smaller and eyebrows higher. I have made the highlights on the face and chest much more subtle. Tone gradations on chest are also mollified.
Tried to change the smile, but it may have lost some character as a result.
@GunChleoc - I'm not convinced the head is too small, but would value others' opinions.

[SFault]

The skirt looks really nice. The face has too much shadows. It's unnaturally dark, especially compared to the other parts of the picture.

[brendan_scott]

Thanks so much Sfault, the skirt is my first tonal study on a computer. I have compared the RH face to other levels on the figure in greyscale. They seem comparable. I agree that shadow right beside her nose is probably too deep, esp. as I have pulled other highlights back.
How strongly do you feel the rest of the shading is too much?

[brendan_scott]

Added left hand, shading/colouring not complete (match right hand). The left hand conceals a duelling dagger. Another option is for her left hand to hold a scabbard.
Reworked right hand/sleeve. Reworked face a little - lifted shadow beside nose and on right side of face, added drop shadow for top of hair, increased highlight in eyes, lightened left pupil. Slight shadow on top of teeth.

[szopen]

Hi,

This is is a very nice portrait, I must say, despite some problems others have already pointed. If this is for the ANO though, I am not sure for whom it would be - there is an already new portrait for Karen, and besides, Karen is supposed to be very young. Artisticdude is closer to how Karen looks in ANO, actually

[brendan_scott]

Thanks. I was originally going to do a portrait of Karen from ANO, but that was before I upgraded to 1.10 and saw that there already was a portrait. So, after that, it was more an exercise in getting used to everything - from the style right down to everything to do with digital inking and using a tablet. Hopefully she will find a home in some UMC or something.
PS: suggest some other portrait for ANO

[brendan_scott]

Changed to "Wesnothian" outlines (black-> desaturated colour), inked sash, reworked right hand, better matched hand colours, reworked cuffs on both arms
I am mainly unhappy about the hair. There is also an issue with matching values across the portrait - ah well. Am about spend on her now.

xcf is 11.5 mb do I post it here?

[szopen]

Thanks. I was originally going to do a portrait of Karen from ANO, but that was before I upgraded to 1.10 and saw that there already was a portrait. So, after that, it was more an exercise in getting used to everything - from the style right down to everything to do with digital inking and using a tablet. Hopefully she will find a home in some UMC or something.
PS: suggest some other portrait for ANO

She definetely would, it's a nice work, despite your claim that it is more an exercise

Actually, most of main characters for ANO already have portraits - the last one is Grekulak, who is in working queue of very lazy artist, who promised me to finish him within a week or something. What is left are minor characters, who appear in at most one scenario - e.g. king Buffin, other Hagarthen's, and of course it would be nice to have general Akladian portrait for the profiles, as the comomn soldiers sometimes have a line and it look really awkward to see my old work contrasted with other, mor ehigher-quality portraits.

On the other hand, if you really have a lot of time, there are story images