# Opportunity of a lifetime, and get some fun out of it as well!



## Compaq (Jul 29, 2012)

I am in the process of learning to draw, and I really like drawing portraits (heads/shoulder) - that is what I'd like to be good at. I have drawn my family, I've drawn myself and I've drawn some random old man from google town. 

So, would anyone be willing to post up a head'n shoulder shot of yourself? I need to practice on making people resemble themselves. You could post a "pass port shot", some weird facial expression (those are hard, which means I need to work on them), from the side, from down below, whatever you like.

I would appreciate shots with "decent" lighting. You know, not some shot in hard sunlight and a car headlight from the side, but such lighting that it's clear where the light source is. "One light source shots" could be invaluable learning for me. Light from above/below, sides, it really helps me "see".

All you would need to do is to post a picture here. Colour of black and white, up to you. I draw with pencils, and so the result will be monochrome. I would then look at it whilst drawing, take a photo of the drawing, upload to the intertubes and post it here for all to mock my abilities  If it resembled, then that would be a win for me.

If you feel you need to know at which "stage" I am, just take a quick glance at this thread, where I've posted my drawings.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/just-fun/290390-few-drawings-me-dont-expect-much-lol.html

This is, of course, for learning purposes only, not a bad creep cover


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## sm4him (Jul 29, 2012)

I'm all for supporting artists-in-training, as my son is one!
However, I HATE posting photos of myself; really, really hate it. 

So, I was gonna say you could just use my avatar if you want. But I have a hat on in it (because my theory is that the more of my face I can cover, the better the photo is gonna be, lol).

Anyway, I realize it might be easier without the hat. So...appearing on the interwebz for the first time (except for possibly one or two other times I've posted it :lmao: ):



It's pretty small, but it's about all I got. Bigger res photos of me are just too scary. 
Oh, and if you could draw me with a thinner neck and one less chin, that'd be great!


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## Compaq (Jul 29, 2012)

Great! Promptly posted, I liked it! Never drawn glasses on people, LOL. Also, those curls aren't something I'm used to   Not sure if I'll have time tonight, but by experience I have very little to do at work, so I'll draw it then, tomorrow that is. Hopefully it will be posted by the end of tomorrow 

Thanks, btw!


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## Compaq (Jul 29, 2012)

If anyone else would honour me by letting me draw them, just post a pic, and I will get to it as soon as possible


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## Compaq (Jul 30, 2012)

Okay, done. I apologise in advance 








sm4him said:


> View attachment 15232


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## cgipson1 (Jul 30, 2012)

You are welcome to draw me in my famous Leopard hat if you want to... should be fun!




Self Portrait by CGipson Photography, on Flickr


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## Compaq (Jul 30, 2012)

Lol, I'll give it a try. Plenty of time here at work.


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## sm4him (Jul 30, 2012)

Nicely done, Compaq! Don't apologize--you're learning and practice really will improve your skills. 
And most of the time, when I first get up in the morning, that is EXACTLY the way my hair looks! :lmao:
Now when you're rich and famous, I can say I knew you when... 

Can't wait to see your rendition of Charlie in that hat!


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## 480sparky (Jul 30, 2012)

Can you do kitties?


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## Hypnoso (Jul 30, 2012)




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## PixelRabbit (Jul 30, 2012)

Lol Charlie that is awesome! (I have a polar bear  )

Compaq, it's way cool that you are sharing your new hobby with us  many moons ago I did some drawing and had the chance to get some advice from an accomplished artist. I'm assuming your ultimate goal is photorealistic ? If so you are doing what I was doing at the start, drawing lines to define things, that's a nono 

 I believe I saw you did some still life boxes with directional light to practice shading, that's a great way to practice... No hard lines, all shades of grey, define chin lines and lines around eyes/noses with darker shading to get definition and depth.
Not sure if you were looking for that kind of input or not but thought I'd throw it out there just in case 
Can't wait to see Charlie and his uber awesome hat!


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## The_Traveler (Jul 30, 2012)




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## jake337 (Jul 30, 2012)




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## MTVision (Jul 30, 2012)

Sorry if the quality is crappy. It's off of my cell phone - if its too poor I can post a better quality version.


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## Compaq (Jul 30, 2012)

Lol, activity boost! At least I won't be bored the coming shifts. Thanks for participating. 

Pixel, thanks for input. I know I shouldn't use lines to define edged, but I'm not sure how not to :Lol: i appreciate your help!!

Charlie, here you go 









cgipson1 said:


> Self Portrait by CGipson Photography, on Flickr




edit: on my iphone, the shadow by the right eye was very dark, and I thought that leopard eye was another "stripe". Kind of annoying :/


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## JAC526 (Jul 30, 2012)

I like this thread.  Gotta find good picture of myself....


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## Bitter Jeweler (Jul 30, 2012)




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## Compaq (Jul 30, 2012)

Hypnoso said:


> View attachment 15358




Hypnoso, I fear I'm not able to draw this. I know I said "one light source shots", but all this black. For it to work, I need to draw my background very dark as well, and I'm sort of short of carbon in my pencils LOOL. If you post a shot with more light, I'd be happy to attempt. This one just is a lot of work. Sorry.


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## cgipson1 (Jul 30, 2012)

Compaq said:


> Lol, activity boost! At least I won't be bored the coming shifts. Thanks for participating.
> 
> Pixel, thanks for input. I know I shouldn't use lines to define edged, but I'm not sure how not to :Lol: i appreciate your help!!
> 
> ...



Anders.. I think with practice you will do well at this! That is an interesting rendition!!!! Thank  you!


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## Compaq (Jul 30, 2012)

I'm glad you didn't feel affronted by it. 
Thanks for letting me try, it proved to be challanging.


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## cgipson1 (Jul 30, 2012)

Compaq said:


> I'm glad you didn't feel affronted by it.
> Thanks for letting me try, it proved to be challanging.



Anytime! My girlfriend loved it!


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## laynea24 (Jul 30, 2012)

Posting this so this thread is easy to find. I'll participate! Just gotta take a photo of myself first.


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## 480sparky (Jul 30, 2012)

laynea24 said:


> Posting this so this thread is easy to find. I'll participate! Just gotta take a photo of myself first.




Subscribe to it, or bookmark it.


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## Compaq (Jul 31, 2012)

Forgot to answer your question, sparky, but I can always try a kitten.


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## Compaq (Jul 31, 2012)

Due to a certain someone's birthday yestetday, I cheated the line a little bit.  I apologise about your ear! 








Bitter Jeweler said:


>


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## 480sparky (Jul 31, 2012)

Compaq said:


> Forgot to answer your question, sparky, but I can always try a kitten.



I gotta be fair to 'em.... I have two.


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## Compaq (Jul 31, 2012)

Haha, okay then.


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## snowbear (Jul 31, 2012)

Glad to see you are drawing.
I'll play along.




(Photo by Gregory Gaines)


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## 480sparky (Jul 31, 2012)

Compaq said:


> Haha, okay then.



Mittens:






Chubby:






Or if you prefer, here's a composite:


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## Compaq (Aug 1, 2012)

Lew, sorry about the round face. Your shirt I didn't bother 








The_Traveler said:


>


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## Bend The Light (Aug 1, 2012)

I'll play...




Movember 1st by http://bendthelight.me.uk, on Flickr


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## Compaq (Aug 1, 2012)

Jake, this one was fun to do!












jake337 said:


>


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## Compaq (Aug 3, 2012)

That was hard, and this one isn't too good.


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## Compaq (Aug 3, 2012)

Charles


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## MLeeK (Aug 3, 2012)

I always manage to screw up posting pictures... 

If this is just starting to do this you are going to do amazing with it. I don't even want to THINK about how horrific my first attempts were. 
I don't have a shot of myself, but I have one of my son that will make a nice, basic portrait!
View attachment 15706

Here are a few of mine now. By the looks of these I am guessing you'll far surpass these easily!!! As for animals... I have done a few, but I TOTALLY SUCK at them. The hair gets me every time. 

The middle one is drex from here.


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## Compaq (Aug 3, 2012)

Holy hell! Those are superior to mine by far. Your hair is sooooo nice! And they are so contrasty! Mine are flat and boring. Are you using different kinds of pencils? I only have a B, and may be a little limited by that. I'm digging these. What tools are you using?

Man, I need to learn to draw hair!

I got some advice on a drawing forum. They said I need to start taking longer on the drawings, and focusing on sections of the reference at a time. Spending many hours in one drawing, and paying great attention to detail. Get the proportions right, and take my time. If I lose focus, then take a break and start again later with a fresh eye.

Also, I must admit, that drawing is much more rewarding than photography for me at this point in time. After each drawing I'm happy with, I get a sense of pride.


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## 2WheelPhoto (Aug 3, 2012)

Can you do this pic with a slight glamor flare and leave the shirt junk plain??  This little girl would be VERY happy!  She wanted to play with studio lights and we shot a few snapshots, she adores this one


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## Compaq (Aug 3, 2012)

Could you repeat what a glamour glare is?


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## MLeeK (Aug 3, 2012)

Compaq said:


> Holy hell! Those are superior to mine by far. Your hair is sooooo nice! And they are so contrasty! Mine are flat and boring. Are you using different kinds of pencils? I only have a B, and may be a little limited by that. I'm digging these. What tools are you using?
> 
> Man, I need to learn to draw hair!
> 
> ...


I have found that I really like charcoal for portraits and yes, I use several different pencils ranging from very hard to very soft. It does make a big difference. Believe me, you are doing really awesome. My first attempts were... well... they weren't stick people, but they probably could have been a whole lot better. 

I also stop when I get frustrated and go back at another time. If you keep going when you get to that point you'll just make a mess for yourself. 
Get a set of drawing pencils or drawing charcoals, a pink eraser, A GUMMY ERASER (like chewed gum, it's pliable) and a regular gum (brown) eraser plus a can of fixitif. Yes, that is spelled correctly. The gummy eraser is my friend!!! I use it for EVERYTHING!!! It can take up just a bit or a lot. If you need to ERASE use the gum eraser and/or the pink eraser. If you get down a layer you REALLY like spray it with fixitif. That makes it permanent so your hand won't blur it and it won't get picked up as you work on the next layer. 

Graph paper underneath your drawing paper can help for now. Place a matching graph over the image you are working on. It will help you to get the outlines/basic features in place properly. After that it's a matter of the shading. Once you get your features in place correctly the shading will come pretty easily for you. Just remember that we aren't made up of lines-for the most part. Just shadows and highlights.


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## MLeeK (Aug 3, 2012)

Oh, my trick for hair is to shade first in light layers and finish with the actual lines on the top layer! A white highlight pencil helps, but I use it sparingly. I did use it in the hair on the first drawing and the eyes of the last one.


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## Compaq (Aug 3, 2012)

MLeeK said:


> Compaq said:
> 
> 
> > Holy hell! Those are superior to mine by far. Your hair is sooooo nice! And they are so contrasty! Mine are flat and boring. Are you using different kinds of pencils? I only have a B, and may be a little limited by that. I'm digging these. What tools are you using?
> ...




Thaaank yooouu! 

I bought one of those gummy erases today. I've also got a pink eraser. What's the purpose of that brown gum eraser? And, I've read about a nifty contraption you use to smudge the shadows and layers, to make them more realistic. I've been using my fingers, but it's not exactly accurate. I keep rubbing it out of the outline, and then end up erasing that again, which leads to some ugly edges. I don't know what they are called. I will buy a set of charcoal pencils when the pay comes. Until then, I'll live with my trusted B pencil, hehe 
Thank you again for great advice!


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## MLeeK (Aug 3, 2012)

Compaq said:


> Thaaank yooouu!
> 
> I bought one of those gummy erases today. I've also got a pink eraser. What's the purpose of that brown gum eraser? And, I've read about a nifty contraption you use to smudge the shadows and layers, to make them more realistic. I've been using my fingers, but it's not exactly accurate. I keep rubbing it out of the outline, and then end up erasing that again, which leads to some ugly edges. I don't know what they are called. I will buy a set of charcoal pencils when the pay comes. Until then, I'll live with my trusted B pencil, hehe
> Thank you again for great advice!



The brown gum eraser is much easier to get up a full layer if you want to than a pink gum. 
I have done portraits with one hard pencil. 
The smudge tools you are talking about look like a pencil but essentially they are paper. I rarely use one, I make a tip with my gum eraser and use that to push and pull shading around. 
Be careful to lay soft layers that aren't going into the grain of your paper so you can work with them. You can also use the typical plain old school pencil-they're fairly soft usually and might be easier for you to shade with. Use the side of your pencil too! 
You can also use hairspray as a fixatif. Aquanet is cheap as hell and the areosol can works nicely. Make sure the nozzel doesn't get clogged on it.


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## Compaq (Aug 3, 2012)

Okay, so you have the gum erase (the stretchy one??), pink gum and brown gum. Which one did you use to pull shading around? The chewed one?

Never sprayer anything before  Does it need to dry? I just spray and keep drawing?


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## 2WheelPhoto (Aug 3, 2012)

2WheelPhoto said:


> Can you do this pic with a slight glamor flare and leave the shirt junk plain??  This little girl would be VERY happy!  She wanted to play with studio lights and we shot a few snapshots, she adores this one





Compaq said:


> Could you repeat what a glamour glare is?



uhmmm I typed glamor "FLare"...meaning more glamor-ish than cartoon-ish... sorry if its getting lost in the translation but would appreciate your magic on this one no matter how you do it  =)


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## MLeeK (Aug 3, 2012)

Compaq said:


> Okay, so you have the gum erase (the stretchy one??), pink gum and brown gum. Which one did you use to pull shading around? The chewed one?
> 
> Never sprayer anything before  Does it need to dry? I just spray and keep drawing?


Yes. The gummy. I pull it to a rounded point and use it to pull and push. 
Spray sparingly. Use it only when you have something you know you don't want to take back up or change and you don't want it to change while you are working more layers. Spray when finished. Let dry when you do spray.


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## Compaq (Aug 3, 2012)

My magic does not extend far, but I'll give it a try  Don't your (or her's for that matter) expectations up, I don't want to disappoint you now


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## 2WheelPhoto (Aug 3, 2012)

Compaq said:


> My magic does not extend far, but I'll give it a try  Don't your (or her's for that matter) expectations up, I don't want to disappoint you now



No worries, and many thanks in advance =)


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## Compaq (Aug 3, 2012)

I'm officially started. Spent a little over an hour on the outlines. Continuing tomorrow.


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## Compaq (Aug 4, 2012)

2WheelPhoto said:
			
		

> Can you do this pic with a slight glamor flare and leave the shirt junk plain??  This little girl would be VERY happy!  She wanted to play with studio lights and we shot a few snapshots, she adores this one



Okay, done. 4-5 hours total this time. I have little knowledge about glamour, so if it has the "glare" you wanted, I cannot tell.


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## JAC526 (Aug 4, 2012)

That is a definite improvement.  Good job man.


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## 2WheelPhoto (Aug 4, 2012)

Compaq said:


> 2WheelPhoto said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Incredible, thank you very much!


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## MLeeK (Aug 4, 2012)

You are rapidly improving here!!! Keep going!

What are you finding is the hardest feature for you?


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## Compaq (Aug 4, 2012)

MLeeK said:
			
		

> You are rapidly improving here!!! Keep going!
> 
> What are you finding is the hardest feature for you?



Thanks. Proportions, hair, finer detail, realism, contrast. 
What do you think I could have done better?


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## MLeeK (Aug 4, 2012)

You are going too fast and trying to just get it on paper. Slow down and pay attention to what you are doing. 
I know these are not going to sell for millions, but the ones down the line just might and if you don't slow down and get your details in you'll never find out.


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## Compaq (Aug 4, 2012)

I spent much longer on this than on my other drawings, though. Done in three sittings. 

I feel that I can't really use my time efficiently. I'm not comfortable in techniques, what should I do first etc etc.


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## MLeeK (Aug 4, 2012)

You get the basic features down on the paper, but then it appears that your patience is gone and your shading and details are scribbled. The details are important, but the shading makes the details. The lines should be very light and guidelines to where your shading is going to go.


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## MLeeK (Aug 4, 2012)

And I don't give a fig for "technique." I have never learned jack for technique. I just draw. I learned the basics in high school and promptly threw that right out the window.


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## snowbear (Aug 4, 2012)

You're getting there - nice job.  I like charcoal as well.


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## Aloicious (Aug 4, 2012)

Compaq said:


> Thanks. Proportions, hair, finer detail, realism, contrast.
> What do you think I could have done better?



You're definitely improving, great job! I used to draw a little years ago and had similar issues with proportions and rushing things. what do you start with when you first put the pencil to the paper? I used to find it helpful to do a really rough mapout in general geometric shapes and wireframe lightly first, get the proportions and features located and oriented accurately, then build up a rough outline, add in some details, then shading, etc....basically going in layers from rough to fine, and just refining it a little bit with each step...I found this guy's page which shows some good preparatory stages to getting proportions accurate, and he goes through similar 'refining' steps...Portrait drawing | Drawing Factory

don't get frustrated, you're doing well, it just takes practice, like photography, or anything else for that matter.


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## jake337 (Nov 7, 2012)

Forgot about this thread.  Here's another one for ya!


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## unpopular (Nov 7, 2012)

Yeah man. In a few more weeks you'll have a prom date for sure!


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## Compaq (Jan 15, 2013)

jake337 said:


> Forgot about this thread.  Here's another one for ya!




I forgot about it myself  I will see if I have time to do this one night. Looks hard  And it seems I've forgotten Bend the light!


I did my older brother the other night. It does not look like him (like, at all, LOL), but he's getting it for his birthday nonetheless!


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## molested_cow (Jan 15, 2013)

Word of advice. When you draw something in person, you are turning 3D into 2D. When you are drawing from photographs, you are turning 2D into... flatter 2D.

anyways, you can draw a random cow and I will look just like it.


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## Compaq (Jan 15, 2013)

Trying to draw an illusion of depth is hard. Shadowing and building up tone is something I rush, probably.


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## Bend The Light (Jan 15, 2013)

I forgot about it myself  I will see if I have time to do this one night. Looks hard  And it seems I've forgotten Bend the light!

[/QUOTE]

:waiting:


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