Critique #6: Leyla F.

Annie Irwin, Teaching Assistant

I love the emotion that you have in your face here, you appear thoughtful and kind of pensive, which is all about what portraiture is, kind of getting across an expression and a look within a drawing.

However, I think you could really use some more definition throughout this entire piece. Right now, the shirt feels very under worked.  By bringing in more highlights and shadows, you’ll get more definition in the shape of the body that’s there, and also articulating the difference in material, texture, and color from the sweater or the shirt, to the neck and the face. And the different textures between skin and a textile.

Another thing is, by adding more areas of darkness, you could bring out the chin more, and you could bring out the details in the hair. Also, I feel like you’ve compressed your face a little bit.  Perhaps by extending the forehead a little higher, or moving the eyes, you’ll have more luck in getting a more accurate looking proportions in the face.

In the background, I feel like you’re starting to get some variations in tone, which is starting to create an implied space.  If you articulated that a little further by adding more shadows, more mid-tones, and more highlights, you’ll get an extra sense of space that allows you to see behind the figure.

And then that kind of brings me to the composition, I feel like everything is heavy on the left side, but by articulating that background just a little bit more, and pulling the space, you’ll get a more well rounded image.