some failed rock star attempts

[Jimmy Page]

My fucked up attempts at drawing rock stars,give me some feedback on what you think,and if there is any particular things you see that I could work on

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/387022_3811233724262_1452134038_n.jpg
Freddie Mercury

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/307854_3811234084271_735603127_n.jpg
Alice Cooper

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/271030_3811234364278_632999833_n.jpg
Jim Morrison(I failed completely at the hair I know)

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/419206_3811234564283_1607529466_n.jpg
(I'll just throw this in as well,one of the many people I see that aren't real)

[Breakeven]

wow ian :o i love them
ur lucky u can draw XD

[TigerBoy]

Your people look like actual people! so thats impressive right there.

I am even more impressed by how you have captured a recognisable likeness of celebs

Plus then you've done it with a very minimalistic almost cartoon style ... and they still work, which is something that always impresses me with professional artists. Squiggle+squiggle=holy crap its a ... !!!

The random guy with the angel bites/spider bites has kind eyes I thought.

Nice job buddy :)

[Gandalf]

Ian. I can't draw that well. I'm almost tempted to get a mod to rename this thread, because your drawings are no where near being a failure :D


Don't put yourself down. :D

[darkwoon]

Ok, first, they are not failures - I've seen much worse drawings. Much much worse.

Ok, on to feedback:

Freddie Mercury

The main killer here is how you reproduced the shadows. They are too contrasted (it looks like black paint over clear skin) and don't seem properly placed. Add shadows to delineate the muscles and volumes.

What I'd do: since the outline seems quite correct, I'd erase the current shadows, and do the shading work, using the original photography as reference. Be patient and don't push too much on your pencil. I think you can achieve something great if you are careful and patient enough.
If you don't feel sure enough about how to do it, take a high-res scan (or photo) of the picture as it is, erase the shadows on the digital copy, and print a couple ones. Then practice shading on those duplicates, try techniques, and see how you can get the best effect.

Alice Cooper

What didn't work too well here is the hair. You drew the hair "one by one". Don't do that. Instead, with a very light pencil, draw a rough outline of the hair, then divide it in major tone areas (the darker and lighter areas). Then draw hair as groups. Only at the final stage you'd add a few small lines showing individual hair.

What I'd do: Carefully erase most of the hair, only keeping the outline (very light), and redraw them over.

Jim Morrison

Here, I think the issue is that the face element shapes are too far from those of Morrison to be recognized. It is sometimes difficult to get them right. This is compound by the fact that the original picture you used as a model contains a lot of tricky shadows you couldn't reproduce. And you got it right - the hair didn't work. Pay attention to the shape of the eyes (you'll see the diagonal of those in your picture is not the one of those of Morrison) and the tip of the nose.

One trick you can do: trace the main lines (not all the details!) with translucent paper over the reference picture. Then compare the tracing with your own drawing. This should help you greatly to spot where you got the shapes right (in this case, the lower skull or the mouth) and where you got them wrong (eyes, nose).

I'd also suggest you to attempt it again - this is a challenging picture that's worth trying. Actually, I think I'll try it myself :).

Not-real-guy

Here you have an issue with anatomy. The top of the skull is round and symmetrical. Now, take your picture and remove the hair; clearly, the shape at the top is not correct - it is making a straight diagonal instead.

What to do to properly draw such imaginary characters? The same as with real ones, actually: always start by drawing the base structure. That is, the shape of the skull, then place the symmetry line, then the line of the eyes, nose, mouth. Then - and only then - draw your elements using those reference lines.

What I'd do with the drawing: I'm not afraid of generous use of the eraser, so I'd probably try to improve it by redoing the hair completely. I like the way he's looking at me, so I think it is worth attempting. If erasing is not possible/wished, then I'd redraw a new one using that one as my reference.

For all 4 pictures

Shade. Shade. Shade. Smoothly, evenly. Make no brisky line - your darks should appear as smooth as possible at viewing distance. If shadowing lines are visible (that's common if you cross-hatch), try to make them follow the shape you're shading. Your shading doesn't work very well because it has no intermediate levels of grey and displays pencil strokes.

Overall opinion

Except maybe Morrison, all those pictures are solid starts. I think they all deserve more work. Not 15 minutes. Not 30 minutes. A couple hours. If you're patient enough, they all can be great bases for highly realistic works. Go for it.

Also, get a couple more pencils. Darker, softer ones - 2B, 4B, 6B, Charcoal. They'll greatly enhance your ability to reproduce the complex tones of shades of human faces.

Good job overall!

[Jimmy Page]

thanks for the feedback,I'll try to get out and buy some pencils,all I had was a reeeaaaally short 2B pencil :P
Thanks a lot for the advice,I've had some trouble with getting shading right,I've been lucky a few times and got it right,not on these though :P,and the hair one,always hated doing hair because I can't get it right xD
:hug3:

[Professional Russian]

Ian there arent fails. you are just adding your own personal flare to them...but i do have to say Freddie Mercury is fucking amazing you didnt screw that up at all

[bigfoot]

Those are AMAZING!! dude i wish i was talented like you :)

[dontfiguremeout]

They don't look that bad at all! They actually look really nice! Like the shading on most part, just here and there shading that can be used, or not as much, but other than that, good job!

[Mob Boss]

I lurve the first one. :O They are loverly, dahhhling. :kitty:

[Abyssal Echo]

yay an Ian thread I can honestly answer :P

honestly they're way better then what I can do.

[Mortal Coil]

They're not fails, darling. I wish I could draw like you. I mean, hell, they're recognizable. That's better than most teenagers get. :P

[xXJust Jump ItXx]

I know the first two. ;) Rest I dont know... :P Can you do one of me?

[Silver Assassin]

Saving to mobile phone now!