[A] Rye's Self Portrait

[Rye]

Thanks a ton guys! I really appreciate all these comments.

Oooh, I love the fact that this piece doesn't believe in same-direction strokes. It makes it more sketchy. :3 Amazing job!!

Thanks! I don't like same direction strokes either. They make the skin look less smooth. Some people in my art class did this project in same-direction strokes and it made it look rather flat.

Wow, so this is Jess Art?

Thats pretty awesome

Nope, Jess Art is very different. xDD And thanks~

Great stuff, Rye The texture of the shading is interesting, but in my opinion, it gives the false feeling that you have leathery skin, which is something you probably don't want to hear. But then again, maybe it is.

Anyway, I love how you're contrasting the skin. Though, I would suggest whitening the bottom arm and darkening the upper arm. As the way it is, it seems that the upper arm is up front and "in your face". You may want to darken that so it won't compete with your face for the viewer's attention. You want to make the focus point your face, not your arms. It will also help if you can add more light streaks around the hair, maybe as a contour to help define the shape and bring it forward from the black background. In my opinion, it would help if you stretch it out so we can see more of your hair.

I guess that's all I can offer. Keep up the excellent work.

Thanks! While I agree with the bottom arm thing and I'm so tempted to make it whiter, this is going to be a major grade in my Art class, so I have to follow the source photo very closely. Same with the hair. It'd look nicer with more light streaks, but it's very dark and blends with the black background mostly.

Anyways, here is the completed thing. I may fix the jeans a bit to make it have a more linear texture because my Art teacher asked me to really try hard with that, but basically, it's finished. Enjoy guys!