Mandy

[Denise]

Here is a graphite portrait of my daughter, Amanda,that I have been working on a little here and there, on and off for quite some time.....more time off than on. She was 2 at the time...she'll be 20 in a few weeks....

It has a whole lot more to go and nothing about it is close to completion. The right (facing) eye is too large, the nose needs some adjustment, some of the shading is harsh right now but will loose the hard edge as I progress. I work from the eyes out when I do graphite.

This is 11 x 17, crescent cold press 300 illustration board, Derwent graphite 2h, hb,h, b, and 2b. I don't use any blending materials such as stumps, tortillons or fingers. I use small light strokes (just like cp) to build layers. This is what I'm currently teaching Greg to do...

I could not get all of it to scan and I was unsuccessful in my photomerge attempts:annoyed: , but this will give you an idea.

The photo is one a friend took for me.....she's a great photographer!

I have included 3 images so you can see the whole drawing....even if it is in pieces..:o

Thanks for looking:D

[Denise]

Well...this was not the order I uploaded them...grrr....

[Greg]

Denise, you've been working on this for 18 years??????? Gee, you said you were slow, but Wow!!! I had no idea. :p

I'll be watching this one closely. So far you have gotten the skin looking so smooooooth. I wonder a little about the eyes. It may be an illusion because they are more prominent than the skin tones, but they seem larger than in the reference pic.

I really like your graphite work Denise. I hope to learn a lot from you!

[Denise]

Greg-
The image I'm doing is quite a bit larger than the ref photo. The ref is 11 x 17, the portrait is a close-up of the head through the mid-chest..it is also 11 x 17. The right eye is too large though....it's the eyeball, although one of her eyes does open wider than the other when she smiles. Not so evident in person, it really shows up in photos.

no, it has not been in the works for eighteen years...it just feels like it:p .

you have already learned alot and putting it to good use on your cp work...it shows!

[scottb326]

Great Job, Denise. Your graphite work is wonderful. Can't wait to see the finished drawing. Beautiful child, also.
-Scott

[lene]

Hi Denise
Looking forward to see your progress :) It sounds like you are aware of things to correct :clap:

[Denise]

Thanks Scott and Lene! I posted here for some accountability and to make myself get this finished already:)

[PaintedHorses]

Looking good! I'm seeing her face in the drawing as narrower than her face in the photo, maybe when you have her hair done it will remedy that. I will be following the progress on this one!

Jeri

[Arlene]

you're off to a good start but what's bothering me is you're using line to define your shapes instead of shadow and light. You have some very harsh lines in the drawing that are aging her. I took the photo and put it in grayscale for you to see. Notice their are no harsh lines?

[Denise]

Thanks, Jeri...I think the hair will help, but I will check the width just to be certain.

Arlene- you're right...there are some really harsh line-looking areas that I'm going to lift off and soften...it's amazing how well you can "see" your work when you scan and post it. For me I see it w/ different eyes so to speak.

Can you tell me how to change the % of the scan that shows up in ps when I scan my work? I have the same scanner as you (what a co-inky-dink!) and ps elements. I couldn't get a good photomerge because not all the scans were the same percentage. I did all the scan the same way, but some came out 25% others came out 12.5%...can't figure out how to adjust that and could not fid the answer in the helps. I tried rescanning the images and they kept coming out the same way.... does this make sense?

[marilyn h]

Denise, the one thing that really caught my eye was the left eyebrow that looks like it goes all the way down her face to her jaw bone. That definately needs to be lightened.

You have done a great likeness of her. Just lighten those shadows some.

Marilyn

[Angela]

She is such a cutie! I can't even imagine my babies turning 20!!

The one thing I have never tried to do is draw one of them - you've inspired me to try!

I think you've gotten a very good likeness of her. Doing great!

[Denise]

Thanks for looking Marilyn and Angela!

Marilyn-That shadow that reaches from her templeto her cheek is pretty dark, but I'm no anywhere close to done w/ the skin-tones of the cheek and of course her hair is very dark. Once I get some of that in there I'll see better where and how much to lift off...but a definate softening is coming;)

Angela- time goes by quickly.....seems like yesterday my kids were 4 & 6. I put them to bed one night, and they woke up as teenagers!:eek: Enjoy every precious minute you have w/ your kiddies!:)

[beth]

Hi Denise. What a doll! You've got a great start. I understand working all over the drawing at once with graphite. I never call an inch done until I call it all done. Looks like you work very similarly. Sometimes I'll wait to show the reference til much later if it's a piece where likeness matters so no one gets caught up comparing before the piece is ready for it. I'll look forward to an update. :wink:

Beth

[lucky]

Denise,

Oh Amanda is sooo cute! Almost makes me want one… ;) I’m sure with the corrections you already stated it will be even better. I like the soft values in her face, and it looks like you really nailed her expression! Your doing a great job so far! Can’t wait to see more updates!!!

~lucky

[rosemary]

Hi Denise: Lovely picture of your precious daughter. Berthe Morisot, French Impressionist, did her daughter in graphite, and she also captured the moment that fleeting quality that is so in your picture. I noticed it in the fingers, that would be rapidly moving but so alive anyway in your picture.

Don't over finish it, leave some of the spontaneous moment in it.

That is my opinion, anyway. Rosemary

[Rose]

Denise, she is adorable! Reminds me of my little girl when she was that age, always had a smile on (well, almost always!!)...and LOVED the camera. You are doing great on this, I couldn't even imagine where to start on a portrait! I will pull up a chair like everyone else here and watch the progress!

[Arlene]

Thanks, Jeri...I think the hair will help, but I will check the width just to be certain.

Arlene- you're right...there are some really harsh line-looking areas that I'm going to lift off and soften...it's amazing how well you can "see" your work when you scan and post it. For me I see it w/ different eyes so to speak.

Can you tell me how to change the % of the scan that shows up in ps when I scan my work? I have the same scanner as you (what a co-inky-dink!) and ps elements. I couldn't get a good photomerge because not all the scans were the same percentage. I did all the scan the same way, but some came out 25% others came out 12.5%...can't figure out how to adjust that and could not fid the answer in the helps. I tried rescanning the images and they kept coming out the same way.... does this make sense?lmaooo...sorry couldn't resist. and when I tell you what it means you'll hit your head with your palm. :D

If you've scanned everything at the same dpi then all images come out the same size. the % number is just what size they're showing on your screen so it fits on the screen...if you scanned all at say 300 dpi they're actually all the same size....you can go into view and click on print size and it will give you the actual size.

[Arlene]

Denise I wrote out my process for combining two scans and posted it HERE (http://scribbletalk.com/showthread.php?t=1327)

[Denise]

lmaooo...sorry couldn't resist. and when I tell you what it means you'll hit your head with your palm. :D

If you've scanned everything at the same dpi then all images come out the same size. the % number is just what size they're showing on your screen so it fits on the screen...if you scanned all at say 300 dpi they're actually all the same size....you can go into view and click on print size and it will give you the actual size.

Yep...I have a red palm print on my forehead...DUH!!!

You do know that I'm a natural blonde, right?

thanks.....:blushing:

[Denise]

Denise I wrote out my process for combining two scans and posted it HERE (http://scribbletalk.com/showthread.php?t=1327)

thank you...just got finished reading it...I'm sure I'll have to refer to it a few times before I get it down pat....

[Denise]

Rose- aww thanks! yeah...she loved the camera...still does...the child doesn't take a bad picture, she's very photogenic...unlike her mother!


Rosemary-this is my very favorite picture of my daughter because it so captured the moment. My friend was so good at taking kids pictures, she could always get them laughing.....I'm really hoping to recapture the same feel in the closer crop. Thanks for your kind words:D .


Thanks Lucky! I hope you are blessed w/ one some day;) Then you can blow us away w/ a painting of her or him!


Beth- yeah...I like to get the eyes in, model the rest of the features, put a light wash on the skin, then move all over building the values, alot of time throw in some darker shadows just so I can see some dark values to gauge by...then I'll lift and lighten as I need to.... Thanks for the encouragement, it means a lot:) thanks for the tip on the reference...never thought about it like that...

[Greg]

So where's the update Denise? ( rapping fingers impatiently ). Just Kidding.

There's method to my madness. Once I see how you soften some things and build on values, I'm going to attempt to do the same thing on Paula's Portrait.

[Denise]

So where's the update Denise? ( rapping fingers impatiently ). Just Kidding.

There's method to my madness. Once I see how you soften some things and build on values, I'm going to attempt to do the same thing on Paula's Portrait.

uummmm.......I haven't touched it yet...(ducking)

today I'm working cp (sunflowers)...I'll work some graphite tomorrow.

I hope to have an update for you this next week....hopefully....

[Denise]

lmaooo...sorry couldn't resist. and when I tell you what it means you'll hit your head with your palm. http://www.scribbletalk.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Yep...I have a red palm print on my forehead...DUH!!!

You do know that I'm a natural blonde, right?

thanks.....http://www.scribbletalk.com/images/smilies/blushing.gif

Arlene- I also forgot to mention I tried getting this merge for 2 hourshttp://www.scribbletalk.com/images/smilies/eek.gif http://www.scribbletalk.com/images/smilies/annoyed.gif http://www.scribbletalk.com/images/smilies/blushing.gif .....