# Portrait WIP



## dickhutchings

Finally started a portrait. This is my granddaughter making a funny face. It needs a lot of work.


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## just

I don't know how hard I should be so I will hold back. First to catch expression you must get the turn and tilt of the head nearly perfect. Second you must show life in the eyes. I personally think that you should start over until you get those right.


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## dickhutchings

I think your right but I'm going to try to adjust this. It's really about learning and practicing. We'll see, I may take your advice. Thanks and don't worry about being to hard on me. I'm a beginner that want's all the help I can get.


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## just

Try using a ruler and protractor to mark distance and angles between points.


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## dickhutchings

That would take all the fun out of it.


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## just

Or don't. ..


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## dickhutchings

It's not that don't care to get it right, I want to develop my eye. Having said that, I have a smartphone projector in the mail for when it absolutely has to be perfect.


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## just

Iknow what you mean. I used to draw completely by eye. But now that I am older, I find it too much trouble. There are keypoints that makes it work more efficient and I need efficiency. However, I believe that there is a big difference between comparing distance and angles and tracing.


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## dickhutchings

You're right there sure is a big difference between tracing and using rulers and calipers. But I figured if I'm going to use a tool to get the work done, might as well be something easy.


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## just

So easy, where's the art in that?


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## dickhutchings

Color mixing, brush strokes, shading. I wouldn't try to trace everything anyway, just the same things that can be done with other tools. If it's not done completely by eye, what's the difference how it's done?


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## just

The difference is in the talent level. I know that this is a touchy subject for a few people on this site so I will drop it.


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## dickhutchings

just said:


> The difference is in the talent level. I know that this is a touchy subject for a few people on this site so I will drop it.


Yeah, I can see where that ruffle some feathers but these copying techniques seem to be accepted and encouraged in many of the tutorials I've seen or read. 

I did some more work on this portrait and I can see that my eye sucks for this. Time for the dividers and protractor.:biggrin: The beauty of acrylics is that I can fix things without starting over.


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## TerryCurley

I'm going to be interested in seeing how this comes out Dick. I've done a few portraits and none came out really good so take that into consideration. Yours is a WIP so what I'm about to say you probably already plan to do anyway. So here are my observations. The white spot in the eye is what brings the eyes to life. The mouth needs to be more happy - just a tiny up turn and some dimples. That's all I got so far. I do agree with @just (God help me) that there should be a little tilt to the head, but I think it's too late to change that in this painting.


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## just

TerryCurley said:


> I do agree with @just (God help me) that there should be a little tilt to the head, but I think it's too late to change that in this painting.


I am so honored.


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## leighann

Well, I couldn't paint a portrait to save my life, but I stared at both the picture and painting, for what seemed like forever, and came up with pretty much the same as everyone else. 

Definitely need a little head tilt. Eyebrow tilt is a must in this painting. Her eyes are so expressive, and I can see where that would be tough to emulate onto a canvas. Plus, she has the smile lines under her eyes that I think would be key as well. 
@dickhutchings I know you do these paintings for the pure enjoyment of it, so do just that. Enjoy yourself!! :wink::wink:


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## dickhutchings

I didn't get to work on it yesterday but I have enjoyed looking it all weekend. It just cracks me up every time I look at it. I keep it in the living room along with the reference photo. This is definitely the most fun thing I've painted yet.


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## bbbaldie

This may get me banished from the artist's guild, but here it comes anyway.

90% of my photograph-based art begins with an image tracer.

I learned measuring, protractors, etc. Typically, an ink drawing would be 66% measuring, 34% creating. And that was just too much of a bitch for me, especially as I got older and crankier. I'd spend 30-40 hours on an 11 x 14 drawing. Ouch.

So now, I create a lightened-up copy of the photo, print it on my laser printer, load it into my trusty image tracer, get the precise location of the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the ears, the jawline sketched in in ten minutes or less, then proceed to create art.

There, my dark secret is out in the open.

I do the same on buildings, then (of course) use perspective to get it perfect. I'd never draw a building without using perspective lines. I'm not a complete hack, after all. ;-)

Do I get my coat and leave this group of actual artists? I'll understand if I have to.


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## dickhutchings

Thanks for sharing that @bbbaldie. I'm totally with you on this one. Yes we are capable of measuring and getting everything right but that's just drafting after all. I always enjoyed drafting but now I want to paint and I want to get started laying paint down as quick as I can. I will continue to try to do it completely by eye as well, maybe every other one!


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## Susan Mulno

Your secret is safe with me!

Many, many artists, even some of the greats, had tracing tricks. That does not diminish the color use and other talents involved with the finished product.


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## dickhutchings

Oh @*just*, you opened a can of worms and we can't get the lid back on!


just said:


> The difference is in the talent level. I know that this is a touchy subject for a few people on this site so I will drop it.


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## bbbaldie

Susan Mulno said:


> Many, many artists, even some of the greats, had tracing tricks.


Like Dick said, it's drafting. Drafting isn't art. Purchasing my Art-O-Graph allowed me to start cranking out art, which an artist who hopes to make a retirement living out of it must do. Thanks for the vote of confidence, you two.


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## TerryCurley

@bbbaldie I am so in agreement with you! There is no way I could do a portrait without tracing it first and I'm not afraid to admit it. Problem is I don't have room to put a projector in the area I do my work :unhappy:, so all my portraits are only big enough to be able to print on my printer and use graphite paper to trace. I have toyed with the idea of taking over part of the living room which is very large. But I'm afraid to even approach my husband on that subject. It couldn't be until my grandkids get old enough to be trusted not to get into my painting stuff anyway, and that's at least 5 years down the road.


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## leighann

Trying to just use my eyes is why I can't draw faces. I can never get the eyes symmetrical...the first eye will be perfect, then I will spend an hour trying to get the second one to match up. I finally gave up. :vs_sob:
@bbbaldie ..I'm on Instagram a lot, and there are plenty of artists on there who make a living with their craft, and I can guarantee most of them use some drafting tools or computer programs to help them out. 

There are a bunch of artists on there who have published the adult coloring books, and they use computer programs to edit their art. 

I'm not too shy to grab a ruler or protractor when needed. :biggrin:


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## dickhutchings

Terry, if you have a smart phone, this is all you need. At least I think. I'm still waiting for mine, it's on a slow boat from China. Should be here by the end of the month.


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## leighann

What is that???? :y0:


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## bbbaldie

TerryCurley said:


> Problem is I don't have room to put a projector in the area I do my work



I have this: http://www.amazon.com/Artograph-225...UTF8&qid=1457964237&sr=8-9&keywords=artograph

And this: http://www.amazon.com/Artograph-Pri...TF8&qid=1457964237&sr=8-13&keywords=artograph

I have a home office with a desk big enough to hold an 18 x 24 pad. I have the Art-o-Graph mounted on the arm, it swings out of the way against the wall when I'm not using it. It will project large enough to nearly fill the 18 x 24 pad.

It was a life changer. It turned me into a portrait artist. I realize that there are those who can look at a face and put it on paper. There's another talent there, a talent that many (probably most) artists doesn't possess. I certainly don't. My talent lies in being able to add the light, shadow, and more recently, color, to the sketch and bring it to life.


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## dickhutchings

leighann said:


> What is that???? :y0:


Check it out here.


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## leighann

@bbbaldie ...you got fancy stuff!!! :biggrin: Right now the surface I draw on is my lap. :laugh:


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## bbbaldie

Man, that thing's a steal. I have almost 500 bucks invested in my Art-o-Graph. 

An excellent tool for artists unable to make as big an investment as I did.


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## leighann

@dickhutchings if that thing works...it's pretty cool! Good price too!!


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## bbbaldie

leighann said:


> @*bbbaldie* ...you got fancy stuff!!! :biggrin: Right now the surface I draw on is my lap. :laugh:


For 30 years, I had to clear the kitchen table and get out my quills and bottle of ink, while two kids were running around. We have the house to ourselves now, and a home office has changed from a luxury to an absolute necessity. 

Someday soon, I hope you have a permanent facility in your home where your art is priority #1. I created maybe eight works in 30 years. I've created at least a hundred in the last two.


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## TerryCurley

dickhutchings said:


> Terry, if you have a smart phone, this is all you need. At least I think. I'm still waiting for mine, it's on a slow boat from China. Should be here by the end of the month.


My phone is a Samson Galaxy Note 4 that uses Android. I absolutely love it! I'm going to be really interested to hear how that projector works!


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## dickhutchings

I payed 25 for mine. I should have shopped more!


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## TerryCurley

Looks like it only uses iphones, not androids.


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## bbbaldie

TerryCurley said:


> Looks like it only uses iphones, not androids.


There's no actual connection, the device just projects what's on the phone screen, I believe. iPhone, Android, even Windows phone should work. One gotcha is your phone's screen saver, though. You need to tell it to stay on while you're sketching.


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## dickhutchings

This box can easily be constructed by anyone that wants to take the time to do it. Like bbbaldie said, you just drop your phone into it and your screen gets projected the a magnifying glass in the front. Any phone will work and there are instructions for building your own on YouTube. I didn't feel like going that route so I payed the extra and now I wait.


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## dickhutchings

Finally got to work on this a little more. Tomorrow I'll work on getting the mouth to match the eye line and then start trying make some decent eyes. This is going to take a while.


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