im terrible at drawing people, need help

[PoisonshroomClock]

seriously. any constructive comments apart from "practice more" would be greatly appreciated (as that's a given).

when i draw a face, i don't start with the shape and fill everything in. i usually start at the nose, or eye, and sort of draw outwards as whenever i draw the shape of the head first, the facial features turn out much smaller then intended so i end up re-drawing the head anyway. <-- so any tips if i'm tackling this the wrong way.

the hair is kinda rushed and i think her eyes are kinda fucked up, like looking in different directions. but yeah...



help please

[Klop]

Are you serious?
I don't see anything wrong with your drawing, it looks quite realistic to me.
I guess I would use the finger (or a special smudging tool) to smudge/blur the shadows and make them smoother, unless you want the grain texture.

[Klop]

Are you serious?
I don't see anything wrong with your drawing, it looks quite realistic to me.
I guess I would smudge/blur the shading

[clockradioclock]

I think you're doing really well. There really isn't a proper way to start. Some will argue the hair is the most important point of origin, for others it's the outlines, or the nose/eyes, whatever - it really doesn't matter.

One interesting thing to try is to draw mainly using shadows or light. Define your noses, eyes, mouths with the shapes of the shadows on the face you're trying to draw (assuming there is appropriate lighting).

Take this picture of Ryan Reynolds, for instance:


If I were to draw him using only the shadows on his face, I'd get this:


Mind you, I just traced this in Seashore for the sake of speed. A much better product can be had with more time and patience. Also practice, but you know that already.

e: what i'm getting at is that it's ok not to draw everything. The human mind makes all the connections the artist can't make if needed. I know, for example, that i don't have to finish drawing the outline of ryan's face on the left side because my mind constructs it for me, and yours probably does too.

[Loki Clock]

The problem with your eyes is not that they're pointing in different directions, but that the iris is not concentric with the pupil, like it will be straight on. That's an easy fix, whereas getting a sense of how to draw eyes focusing on a point - what you have succeeded in - is harder to notice being necessary in the first place.

I don't know what this girl looks like, but the eyelids seem prematurely cut off by the sockets. They should continue, but thin, to the edge of the eye.

[LeekClock]

Don't just practice more, but practice more effectively. Don't work towards perfection. Use your instinct more. Work towards a feeling of having captured the essential forms. Don't work towards the goal of accuracy -- work in such a way that you are always looking for a more elegant way to convey each form.

You seem to have a good eye and the motor skills to plot your lines accurately. But I think you're focusing too much on small details instead of seeing the shapes abstractly. Your lines suggest this to me because they are a bit wispy and homogeneous. Work in fewer, more confident lines. Add detail later, but only detail that is interesting. You don't have to capture everything, just what's interesting to you. Your style is created by the things you leave out, as well as the way you render that which you leave in.  

 Try to suggest more detail with fewer lines; force yourself to be efficient and your lines to do more work than just block out light. You can suggest a lot of the detail in the line thickness, darkness and shape. Be less literal and more creative with your lines. Have fun experimenting. You're not developing much of a personal style in this way, and where's the fun in that?

[DigitalLemonClock]

what was the source, a pic, a real person or did you draw it without reference?

[AbsintheClock]

All I can say is that noses are tough. Sketching different kinds of noses from different angles might help you get further away from the nose tip/septum problem that everyone faces. Also like what was said here more focus on light and dark and less "this is the lips, this is the eye, this is the mouth." If you wanna learn how to simplify your lines really fast I suggest you take up some kind of painting. Acrylic or oil is my own personal bias when it comes to doing people. This will help you learn to block out general forms so you start thinking more about shape and color rather than lines. Also don't be afraid to look at your portrait drawing in a mirror, or if you're working from a photograph do some of it upside down so you become less attached mentally to what you're drawing. Also don't quit when things don't go your way.

[clockradioclock]

If you wanna learn how to simplify your lines really fast I suggest you take up some kind of painting.

Pretty much this. I had a painting class this semester and that's where I found out about working with shapes and colour instead of lines and forms.