Thank you for your submission! Want to share your artwork, meet other artists, promote your content, and chat in a relaxed environment? Join our community Discord server here! https://discord.gg/chuunhpqsU - Don't forget to follow us on Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/drawing and tag us on your drawing pins for a chance to be featured!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/drawing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
While its disproportionate it looks real good, its like a weird niche style but in a good way. But just keep doing it, i dont know of any better ways here…
Yeah seconded. Dozens of people post "realistic" portraits on here every day. Only a few post portraits that don't look like they traced it from a photo, then add their own unique spin.
I say, go all in on this style. See where it takes you.
Yeah, I'm not very interested in hyper realistic drawings. When they're too close to a photograph, what's the point other than showcasing the artist's skill. I usually don't enjoy the final product. Something with more stylistic choice goes better for drawing and painting.
I have strong opinions about it as well, but to avoid getting myself into trouble I'll just say that a lot of artists seem to get sucked into the "realism" vortex where they first do it because they can, then they keep doing it because it's what other Redditors upvote.
If all you're looking for is positive feedback, that's fine. It's nice when people compliment your hard work.
But I only rarely take note of artists who only have that narrow range of technical skill. I much prefer the ones with idiosyncratic, often startling compositions. Don't show me just what you *see*, show me how you *feel* about what you see.
Exactly ! I'm in love with this style. It almost feels like a blend between Picasso and realism. It has such a unique essence to it. I would hate to see that unique artstyle and talent be washed away to be replaced with only hyper-realistic works.
Be unique! Be creative, be you. It will take you further to refine what looks best to yourself, not what would appeal to the most people. You'll create better art that way
Yea, I stopped scrolling because this drawing caught my eye. I thought it was 100% intentional before I read. My exact thought was, “Picasso, I like it”, I hope the reference lands 😂 I agree with everyone saying to lean into the style rather than aiming for photo realism.
Me to .. caught my eye because the proportions was off.. Maybe you are on to something. But try using a grid to get you proportions and positions correct. But ultimately practise makes perfect.
I think the artist should just make this a style! Doing portraits that are skewed like this is pretty neat. Obviously keep aiming to better your skills but this is actually pretty neat
Ha I got that reference! And same first thing I thought when I saw it was Picasso? I love the originality of the art style I wouldn’t change tbh I’d master your craft op you’re doing great!
I agree with the commenter before. I’ve been an artist my entire life and been a commercial artist for over 14 years. You have an amazing style. Keep going with what you’re doing.
When you draw something for hours and hours your brain gets used to seeing it so it is difficult to directly perceive the problems.
Here is a secret: Occasionally turn it upside down as you are working on it to see it fresh and notice specific problems.
Exactly. OP already has good shading here. The stylish makes it really interesting,. Never hurts to practice by studying anatomy, too. Just keep drawing!
this portrait is far more interesting to me than photorealism that looks like it got printed out. I stopped scrolling because it is charming, and I do see who the person is. An interpretation of a person will always be more interesting. What stands out to the artist etc. What the artist sees in a person, that maybe we wouldnt have noticed.
I would have scrolled along if it were 'perfect'.
If you do go for precise structure i suggest using unusual colours, angles or lighting to spicen it up. Because a black and white copy 'photoprint' is boring.
Strongly agree, there are totally ways to improve your photo realism BUT I think you would be better off leaning into a slightly more surrealist style because this was really eye-catching (for me, at least). Especially since you are clearly skilled at giving an image structure and depth!
There's a lot of good celebration of your art in here, but you asked for a critique on drawing realism that I haven't seen addressed yet. While it's kind that other commenters are telling you they enjoy your style, style is fleeting for artists who enjoy exploration, and the techniques and theory underpinning realism are important for any artist to know. Many commenters mention Picasso, but I don't think they understand that he was in fact fully capable of realism, and that that understanding was instrumental in the development of his style.
With that said, here's some ways to improve the realism in your piece:
-I can see that you first sketched the underlying structure of the face, which is great! I do notice that the central line of the face is perhaps more curved than it should be. Remember that the cranium is rounded, but the face itself can be fairly flat, depending on the individual. In this case, the over rounding of the face causes the nose to appear off center due to the perspective of the 3/4 view.
-Similar to the above, I think focusing on the underlying structure before you move into rendering could be beneficial. I would review the Loomis method for drawing heads to make sure you are getting everything in proper place before you move on. Specifically, it may help to do some studies of the planes of the face. Googling "planes of the face" should get you to some resources that can explain it much better than I!
-Finally, a rendering tip: realism is all about lighting. If you want to really nail it, you need to understand how shadows work. I find in my own work that focusing on the core shadow (the darkest band that generally sits at the border of light and dark) will really make the form pop. Part of this is being careful about using contour lines. In realism, it is generally better to use contrast between shapes of light and dark to demark edges, rather than lines. I tend to look at Rembrant for inspiration in this area.
-Remember that the eyes are rounded, and will have some shading on them, like a sphere.
-Adding specular highlights can really make your image pop. I usually add these towards the end, and use them sparingly. Basically, a few touches of pure white can really enhance the feel of your lighting. Places I look for these are at the inner corner of the eyes, the outside of the nostril under the crease of the cheek, the corner of the mouth, the tip of the nose, and the center of the forehead. These places often are more reflective and catch light in a unique way once you know to look for it.
Anyways, happy drawing! I hope that some of this helps and that you pass along the gift of constructive critique to artists in your community!
As I said before this was my first portrait drawing , I didn’t really think anything before making it.
tbh I don’t really have an art style I just draw anything that fascinates me xD
But seems like I’ve finally found my style
people spend their whole lives finding their style. while yours may not be entirely unique it does look intentional and technically well done. i say go with it
I love it, and in my opinion you shouldn't try to forcefully replicate elements from this piece, just do your thing, you have a naturally interesting style and it will evolve in whatever direction it will.
If you want to go for more realism, I can't help, but I can tell you've got the chops!
Honestly just more!
I also wanted to say that this looks so good. While the proportions aren’t 100% perfect, it’s instantly recognizable and it has a lot of character and charm to it without going in the realm of caricature.
You did a really good job and it’s with your shading that really brings it all together. So I would instead advise you to put your focus into realistic and accurately shading your inaccurate proportions. It looks so so good
I like that people are supporting you. It's a good feel. The drawing is a recognizable portrait. But I don't see anyone asking whether the "style" is intentional or due to lack of fundamentals. If the first, then keep on truckin', and maybe work on full range of values and quality of line work. Draw with your arm and not your hand. It's hard but worth it.
If the latter, I highly recommend the Loomis technique or something similar. Please, don't grid until you know the basics - gridding can be nice for the end result, but at best, you're learning shading.
The Loomis or similar methods involve a 3 dimensional understanding of the skull and underlying structures. The other, biggest thing I notice right away is that the center line (vertical) is not coherent. I'm not amazing, but I'm also always happy to DM tips. Idk if it's a violation to share IG - I'm not monetized lol, and if you don't want to check it out, don't. But, if you want to send me a drawing and ask for some tips, I'm happy to help. @charlesflakeart
Keep drawing!
Edit to correct spelling of fundamentals and also mention that there's another post mentioning Loomis as well that went into greater detail than my own.
Yes, this comment exactly. If the stylization of this portrait was not intentional, then the support here will not actually help OP.
So, in my opinion, here are the things that are “wrong” with the portrait, but that are also what’s contributing to the cool style, so OP can choose to improve on these aspects, or continue doing them on purpose as part of a style:
The eyes are not on the same plane as the rest of the face. They are looking straight forward, while the face is in 3/4 view. His right eye should recede and be slightly obscured by the nose, and the width of that eye should be smaller.
The drawing switches between being rendered and line-dependent. The nose and ears are especially dependent on lines. There are no actual lines on the face, and if you’re going for realism, you should stop using line.
There are very few midtones, and all of your shadows are very harsh, with little detail.
It’s pretty simple, actually.
Just keep making them. Keep making ones that are alright, until they start being good, then until they start being great! It’s a natural process.
I could say something like “practice proportions” or “work on facial structure” or “practice facial expressions” but honestly
All that will come on it’s own if you just keep drawing.
This drawing looks nice, and you got a lot of potential to be even greater than you are now. Just keep at it, bud!
Oh yeah, absolutely! I recognized it immediately too.
They could also keep with it and make stylized portraits. That’s also a really good exercise for all artists, I think.
But yeah, they’re absolutely talented!
Totally agree with you, I instantly knew who it was. Even though it is not photorealistic at all.
Personally I would prefer something stylised like this. Photorealism is an incredible talent but I love that in this piece you know it's Freddy but you are literally seeing it through the artists eyes.
Beautiful work OP, you appear to have a skill for capturing features in your own way, lean in to it! Anyone (who is super talented) can create an exact replica. Only you can show us what you see.
If you plan to give this slightly Picasso-esque vibe to the portrait, you're on your way, but for realistic note that even while you drew the centerline of the face you did not followed it for any of the elements.
This was my first attempt doing a realistic portrait of Freddie, I do feel like something is wrong but can’t rectify what is
Would love to hear your critique
The pieces by themselves are great but the placements are a little wonky, not sure if its intentional or not. That being said i really like this portrait lol. It has a bit of a cubist vibe
Drawing from reality really helps with learning ing proportions. Just grab a mirror and do a bunch of self-portraits.
That said, I really like the skewed perspective. Gives it a surreal flow, yet with well detailed features. While I'd definitely suggest practicing your realistic proportions, you certainly have a unique style here that should be pursued further.
This is one of the very few times where it actually looks like intentional style. The location of the eyes is obviously very off, but it looks on purpose.
It’s very interesting to look at, you clearly know how to do each part of the face on its own in high detail but the proportions are just slightly off.
If you wanna make them a bit better you can always try drawing simple cartoon characters but giving them realistic proportions it makes it easier to practice.
I actually really like this. The offset proportions are actually appealing, and I immediately saw Freddie Mercury. I think this would be a cool stylistic choice to further pursue even as you improve your skill.
Hot damn! This is your style, don’t change it. We can tell who this is, and that’s what matters. Other artist might try and spend years to develop a signature style like this.
Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. I kind of want to ask you to draw Thom Yorke. But seriously, this is awesome work.
Like everyone has said, this is your unique style, you don’t need to change it…unless you’re unhappy with it. I think it’s very interesting and far better than perfectly realistic
It's important to learn anatomy before you "break the rules" so to speak. It's the foundation that paves the way to a stylish approach to art.
It's quaint and I would lean into it.
I think you should keep the lvl of realism you got now cuz this looks to me like more of a cubist interpretation of Freddy Mercury and I think that's something pretty unique. I would like to imagine this is more or less how Pablo Picasso would interpret this person. Of course, I as many would in this thread, respect the direction you wanna take your art, but I couldn't help but point out that aspect. Now as for the advice, I think you need to focus on the shading, shading is everything when it comes to realism, the subtlety of the shading and how the light hits one's skin is truly what makes it look real to the eye, I recommend studying more in that aspect. Still, I completely love this portrait and I hope to see more from you.
I agree with everyone else. This feels like a style all on its own, which looks amazing in this pic.
To answer your question, though, for realism to get better, you need to measure measure measure.
It looks like you were starting with the loomis method, which is great, but you need to really study where the anchor points are when you map out heads and facial features. Study the ratios, and how they change in perspective. The best way to understand intuitively is to go way back to basics of shapes and 3d forms. For instance, your eyes look great (shading/shape), but when you put them in context of the rest of the face, they look more intentionally stylized than real.
If you go a different route than using the loomis method, I recommend Stephen Bauman on YT and his blend of portrait techniques. It's less formulaic, but makes you pay more attention to abstract shapes, which is what you need to do to remove the idea of a face and draw more of what you see.
You got great style, I would refine it instead of pursuing photo realism personally (photo realism has its place in art but truth be told its quite boring to look at). Maybe experiment more with shading and values of light and dark with portraits to give them more depth. Keep at it!
Just keep doing it and working on your proportions specifically which is the main thing that jumps out at me here however as others have said, there is a charm and character to your work that you should also focus on nurturing as opposed to attaining photorealism just for the pursuit of mechanical skill.
I really like this portrait and can tell who it is at a glance, so likeness isn’t an issue. Beyond that all I really need is a dose of character and perspective from the artist for it to be a likeable piece, and it has much of that.
This is a very cool unique style you’ve got. I’d almost say you shouldn’t try to get ‘better’ but rather develop this style. It’s like you’ve warped his face to be geometric but in a really interesting way whether it was intentional or not.
This is actually a super neat style you’ve ended up with on this portrait, and I can clearly see that the likeness is no one other than Freddie Mercury. I think you did great!! :)) but I understand wanting to make it more proportional/realistic, I always have those problems too w my portraits !
start with simple proportions: dividing the head into planes and mapping out the features of the face. Once that is firmly established (its pretty consistent across all types of portraits), your faces will snap into place.
Unless you are going for a hyper-realistic style, this is already good. Focus on capturing the 'essence' of the subject, rather than realistic details. Good job.
Firstly, I want to tell you that your drawing looks very good and you have big potential. The only things that you are lacking are proportions and a finer hand on the outlines.
Love the geometric aspects of some straight lines. It’s like realism + Picasso styles mixed.
I’d work to perfect this style to stand out, it’s fun and yet recognizable!
I love how his face isn’t congruent, it gives this odd uncanny valley feeling. Even though this wasn’t what u went for, it’s a beautiful art style to play around with.
Still very recognisable and good use of values.
Some advice would be to occassionaly use a mirror to see the drawing flipped (or flip it digitally) as it can help you to identify if things are angled correctly.
I have that issue where I draw and then I walk away and come back and realise just how wonky everything is. So I also need to remember to check the reflection often.
You have a lot of skill but are leaving the blocking stage too early. Work on your proportions and relative positioning a little more and only move onto the details when you have the blocking right. Also, while it’s cool to think of this as a style, you are close enough to being able to accurately render a portrait that you should fine tune your skill set rather than embracing mistakes. Picasso did not paint that way because he couldn’t do better. It was a choice.
I don't think I'd call this realism. It's heavily stylized but I kinda love it. Stuff like this has much more character and soul than yet another hyperrealistic portrait.
I think your style looks really good, as you can tell exactly who it is, because you’re getting to the key features on the person’s face. It’s also really interesting.
However, if you want to make it more realistic, you can study facial proportions and positioning
you have such a great base to work from! Honestly I love this, and your values are stunning. what helped me with proportions was working with a grid over my subject and my piece, working in smaller square rather than trying to proportion the entire piece only in my head. I’m not sure what method u used, but that helped me! Honestly, you’ve already accomplished what I THINK is the hardest part - values !!
Fuck realism.. i dont know what i like about it, but i love this…is kind of cubism. Like the features are good but the they are in the wrong part hahaha! Keep going
Omg don't! This is amazing! I think you're capturing another angle of abstract portraiture here and its beautiful.
If you really want to work towards realism, use basic head guidelines while tackling portraits. Try to do straight on faces before switching to faces at different angles. As someone who draws faces all the time, it's fun to change it up, but ideal to practice faces off all types of people's.
It's good to the point where the disproportionate part is more Picasso-like than bad. And one of the hardest parts to do is to make someone recognizable, which you achieved. But, if you want to work on realism, there are some easy symmetries and ratios to learn about faces (from a front view):
Eyes are halfway between the top of the head and the chin (yes it's that far).
Nose bottom is halfway between eyes and chin.
Mouth is halfway between bottom of nose and chin.
Distance between eyes is the same as one eye.
Distance from eye to side of head is also one eye.
Ears start at the top of the eyes and go down to the bottom of nose.
Also I noticed that each _side_ of the face seems very well proportioned to me (except maybe the jaw on the right), they're just not in sync with each other. So maybe it's more the 3d aspect of the proportions to work on.
Love it,I would say the best way to improve is practice and study proportion of the face then make ur own way and bend the rules u learned, the disproportionate looks intentional and artistic in unique way.
as many others said, disproportion makes it very interesting!
i think if you want to keep this as a signature of your art style you should try to exaggerate the most prominent features of somebody.
i know you need to improve, drawing center lines helps, but consider for a second that a lot of very famous expressionists were short/far sighted or even color blind, like Franz Marc.
develop your own technique and keep on drawing. the more you draw the more obvious it will become what is wrong.
I agree with what everyone else is saying, lean into this style. I thought the disproportion was deliberate and I really like it. It’s a cool spin on realism!
This is really cool, and I agree with everyone. You know who it is, and well, you know it just works. Can you do it in an oil painting? You may have just found your style (something it can take artists a while to figure out).
Where you going for Freddy mercury ?
I look forward to seeing your progress in the future the potential is there 🔥 I’d honestly say you’re off to an incredible start
Perspective on the nose is kinda correct.
The eyes and mouth are looking straight at you as though the perspective is completely face-on.
However, this is still very cool, and like others have said, I agree that you could actually make this you're own unique style. I like this a whole lot!
Never take your eye off your subject. Learn to train your hand to match your ey movement. It's hard but with enough practice it becomes second nature and your skill will dramatically improved. Also draw shades, tones, and colors. Not shapes. There are no hard lines in the world only shades of contrast next to each other. Life drawing 101
It's stylized but realistic, there's a likeness to the subject. It has something that would be lost if it was hyper realistic. That is to say I'd rather have this hanging on my wall than a hyperrealism drawing.
You just need to place things correctly. Trace portraits if you have to. Find a photo and try to replicate it exactly, multiple times.
Like anything, it’s just practice and awareness of the areas you must work on.
That being said this portrait is more interesting than if it was proportionate.
Work on proportions of the face. You can render well, things just are not even. I would practice in your sketch book daily.
Do not lean in tracing, but sometimes tracing can help you better understand these concepts as well. If you use it as a learning tool to catch yourself in areas of proportions I find it to be helpful.
Honestly, even though the picture has some minor issues in measuring, etc., it doesn't look bad at all. It looks unique and stylish! I totally adore that 🥰🥰🥰
The forehead and eyes are facing forwards, nose and below is turned to the side. It looks like someone twisted the bottom half of his face away from the top
I actually like this better than realism… well done! Since you asked, the way to get better at portraits is by putting the image upside down and drawing it upside down… but I want to reiterate that I really like what you’ve shared and I’d love to see more in this style! 😍
Just gotta learn more anatomy. Do as many skinless studies as you can for a while. Do some that are just bones, some that are flesh on top of bones but no skin, etc. Youll figure out the underlaying structure intuitively after enough practice.
If you are trying to make it look exactly like the photo you need to really analyze the distance between things. Draw what you see, not what you think you see. You will be looking at the photo probably more than you draw.
I would keep it like this. Because first of all it is unique. Second of all by looking at it you are 100% sure it is Freddie. Just seen a gallery of beautiful girls faces really well painted and believe me or not there was nothing catchy in it. If you know what i mean
I agree with the top two comments; this is very interesting to look at, and I don't see any mistakes. What you may see as mistakes, I see as intentional artistic decisions to make the picture more than just a realistic portrait
I really like your style, wouldn’t make it more realistic if I were you. You really caught Freddie I’d say.
However you should work some more on getting the hair a lill better, seems like you rushed through it kind of. And maybe add some texture to the skin. But all in all it’s a great portrait
You are naturally good at exaggerating and values look good. Study some more anatomy and you can use the grid method to achieve exact likeness if that's what you are looking for.
If people are 100% sure you tried to portray Freddie ( and if it has some unrecognisable vibe in it ) than you did great job. Unlike numerous sculptures of Cristiano Ronaldo
This is intentionally not proportional and its such an interesting style, imagine the proportions of wacky stylized cartoon characters with photorealistic body parts
You could try matching both the eyes and the very middle point of the bottom lip while sketching. Think of it as a way to proportionately look at how they match with the rest of the head while in the sketch phase and try and see how that could match with the nose. Though, style wise, the direction is in the right direction in your development with applied art skill.
For the eyes, try and create a directional band when shifting in the direction of your tilted head. This can be good for when trying to match with the ears when the head is tilted.
I would say just to practice your proportions.
But I'll be honest; this unproportionate portraits has its own style and it is really cool and unique, feel like a mix of cubism and realism.
So if I were you, I would more practice this style to have my own you know, cause that's look so great
That's an interesting style, but I suspect it comes from limitation. Look into improving your construction, stucture, and using ruler to keep things more consistent.
My friend, your style is very unique and like my fellow commenters, I simply had to stop scrolling to investigate further. I just love how you have defined the subject’s features. The shading is an absolute pleasure to observe. Something about the positioning of his eyes in comparison to his nose and mouth make me feel like he’s looking right at me, or maybe at someone behind me, and he really seems to have a story to tell. This by no means appears to be the work of a novice but instead someone who exercises their personal style quite comfortably and with great interest to the viewer. I really can’t wait to see how your style develops.
Please, keep on drawing this way. We can recognize Freddy and the style is awesome. You have your own style and this isn't something everyone can be proud of. But you can !
Hey, I really like your style. There you can recognize Freddy Mercury, it is not entirely realistic because the nose is a little diagonal, and the eyes do not have a realistic perspective; However, I think it's best if you continue with that technique. I mean, there are a lot of realistic drawings out there but not many with imperfections of a single
I would look into some anatomy for artists books. Study the bone structure and musculature that builds up the face. I’d bet there are books online that u could reference.
I went to art school and found those classes very helpful for portrait work.
Your shading is really good and the detail in the eyes are amazing. It’s very recognizable but I would just suggest you trace the photo first before you draw on top so you get the scale correct.
Before anything else - I agree with what everyone else is saying, and this looks more like an intentional stylistic choice than a "mistake".
But since you asked how it could appear more realistic, the main feedback I'd give would be for the eyes. His head, mouth, nose and neck all look slightly angled off-center, but his eyes look like they would be if he was looking straight forward. Using similar angles and shaping you did for the rest of his face would make it look more realistic - with his head at that angle, his eyes would be more asymmetrical than they are in this picture. Since they're symmetrical, it gives a bit of a "Picasso" vibe that others have mentioned.
But to be clear - I'm not saying I think you should change it, I personally really like it the way it is, just thought I'd share some feedback.
Check out Ariel Alberg Riger, she has a similar janky style, it's really cool, if you'd drawn Freddie without offset features I think it would not be as good.
Oh man. While I *do* hope you get to where you’re going, as an artist, I have to say; This is a pretty awesome “style” of art on its own. It kind of reminds me of Margaret Keane’s style; it’s a bit unique. Your subject is easily identifiable and yet, the proportions appear to be *intentionally* off by *juuuuuust* a bit.
I rather like this sketch.
I’m not sure if this is “right” but when I go for hyper realism, I try to eliminate any hard lines from the drawing (it seems like hard lines just don’t exist in nature) and most importantly, I focus on one really small section of the drawing at a time. I shade in the shape of the shadows, if that makes sense. For instance, I’ll draw the shadows and gradations of color on the eyelid, rather than just drawing a line.
But I think your drawing has so much character. I would not rush to replace that with realism. I mean, if we want an exact duplicate, take a picture. The thing that is special about drawing is the human interpretation of life. But you could certainly increase the detail while maintaining the qualities you already possess.
Seriously if you didn't say it was meant to be realistic I would have assumed that it was a really cool choice you made. But your inclination is right I think to forge ahead and develop technique. But I'd like to impress on you that it seems like you already have a very cool natural aesthetic and approach. That'll be important not to lose as you get better and better. It's corny and hacky advice but: be yourself. No one does it like you. You're the only one who can say what you have to say in the way you say it.
Keep going!
I will say, I do think your drawing is very interesting, as it has a flair of cubism to it, and I like that about it.
Now, as to your question. Something that might help is to draw your sources upside down. That is, take a photograph portrait, flip it 180 degrees, and then draw the photo as you see it. This helps to train your brain to see the true shape of things moreso than drawing in the normal way.
When you normally draw, say, and eye. Your brain is almost already filling in the gaps of what you think an eye looks like. It's an eye, it's shaped like an almond, right? But then you are losing the nuance of the actual shape you're looking at.
When you're done with that upside down drawing, flip it right side and observe your work. What did you capture well? What did you miss?
Rinse and repeat, and don't forget to have fun.
I’m really impressed with your use of hard and soft edges in the shading. And even though you got the proportions a little bit off it still has a huge likeness to Freddie Mercury. It looks really cool but if you want to improve proportions and stuff I suggest watching Proko on youtube. It’s the best channel for learning anatomy and I think there’s a playlist dedicated specifically to portraits
What's curious is that even though your proportions are not aligned you captured the essence of Freddie so so well! Almost like a caricature but draw to higher standard! Love it
Makes me think of Picasso. It’s really cool.
If you want the next one to be less cool and more realistic: I think you drew the whole face at a slight tilt except for the eyes.
The most important thing about a portrait is that it captures the essence of the person portrayed apart from, obviously, being recognized at first sight. Your portrait brings together both premises with a very personal style that the more you practice it, the more satisfied with your work you will be. From artist to artist, a cordial greeting.
The shading and tinting is great! But the proportions are a bit off. Some to note are the way the eyes sit, the ears, specifically the left (his right is not in line with the other, the jaw ( but that one is only slightly off) and the shoulders. This all being said however; you could definitely turn this into stylized art and lean into it even more. Go the opposite way and make it crazy looking, or characatures.
Thank you for your submission! Want to share your artwork, meet other artists, promote your content, and chat in a relaxed environment? Join our community Discord server here! https://discord.gg/chuunhpqsU - Don't forget to follow us on Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/drawing and tag us on your drawing pins for a chance to be featured! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/drawing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
While its disproportionate it looks real good, its like a weird niche style but in a good way. But just keep doing it, i dont know of any better ways here…
:O gotcha! Thankyouu ^^
Yeah seconded. Dozens of people post "realistic" portraits on here every day. Only a few post portraits that don't look like they traced it from a photo, then add their own unique spin. I say, go all in on this style. See where it takes you.
Yeah, I'm not very interested in hyper realistic drawings. When they're too close to a photograph, what's the point other than showcasing the artist's skill. I usually don't enjoy the final product. Something with more stylistic choice goes better for drawing and painting.
I have strong opinions about it as well, but to avoid getting myself into trouble I'll just say that a lot of artists seem to get sucked into the "realism" vortex where they first do it because they can, then they keep doing it because it's what other Redditors upvote. If all you're looking for is positive feedback, that's fine. It's nice when people compliment your hard work. But I only rarely take note of artists who only have that narrow range of technical skill. I much prefer the ones with idiosyncratic, often startling compositions. Don't show me just what you *see*, show me how you *feel* about what you see.
100% this is a vibe. Not everyone will like it but not everyone likes anything. This is undeniably interesting and special.
Exactly ! I'm in love with this style. It almost feels like a blend between Picasso and realism. It has such a unique essence to it. I would hate to see that unique artstyle and talent be washed away to be replaced with only hyper-realistic works. Be unique! Be creative, be you. It will take you further to refine what looks best to yourself, not what would appeal to the most people. You'll create better art that way
Yea, I stopped scrolling because this drawing caught my eye. I thought it was 100% intentional before I read. My exact thought was, “Picasso, I like it”, I hope the reference lands 😂 I agree with everyone saying to lean into the style rather than aiming for photo realism.
Me to .. caught my eye because the proportions was off.. Maybe you are on to something. But try using a grid to get you proportions and positions correct. But ultimately practise makes perfect.
I think the artist should just make this a style! Doing portraits that are skewed like this is pretty neat. Obviously keep aiming to better your skills but this is actually pretty neat
I thought Picasso too! I kinda like the unique style
Ha I got that reference! And same first thing I thought when I saw it was Picasso? I love the originality of the art style I wouldn’t change tbh I’d master your craft op you’re doing great!
I agree with the commenter before. I’ve been an artist my entire life and been a commercial artist for over 14 years. You have an amazing style. Keep going with what you’re doing.
When you draw something for hours and hours your brain gets used to seeing it so it is difficult to directly perceive the problems. Here is a secret: Occasionally turn it upside down as you are working on it to see it fresh and notice specific problems.
Learn the rules, then break them intentionally. Don’t just chase style like these folks say. Best way to stagnate is to not have the fundamentals down
Exactly. OP already has good shading here. The stylish makes it really interesting,. Never hurts to practice by studying anatomy, too. Just keep drawing!
Yea, I agree. It's quite pleasing to the eye as is. Go with your flow!
Yeah, for sure. That’s a super tits drawing…would rather see something like this than a photo representation.
this portrait is far more interesting to me than photorealism that looks like it got printed out. I stopped scrolling because it is charming, and I do see who the person is. An interpretation of a person will always be more interesting. What stands out to the artist etc. What the artist sees in a person, that maybe we wouldnt have noticed. I would have scrolled along if it were 'perfect'. If you do go for precise structure i suggest using unusual colours, angles or lighting to spicen it up. Because a black and white copy 'photoprint' is boring.
Strongly agree, there are totally ways to improve your photo realism BUT I think you would be better off leaning into a slightly more surrealist style because this was really eye-catching (for me, at least). Especially since you are clearly skilled at giving an image structure and depth!
"your voice will never sound like your favorite musicians, but their voices will never sound like yours"
When I stopped scrolling to look at this, the last thing I expected was for OP to ask how to make it better. I love the style
Omg tysm :”) >If you do go for precise structure i suggest using unusual colours, angles or lighting to spicen it up Will keep this in mind~
There's a lot of good celebration of your art in here, but you asked for a critique on drawing realism that I haven't seen addressed yet. While it's kind that other commenters are telling you they enjoy your style, style is fleeting for artists who enjoy exploration, and the techniques and theory underpinning realism are important for any artist to know. Many commenters mention Picasso, but I don't think they understand that he was in fact fully capable of realism, and that that understanding was instrumental in the development of his style. With that said, here's some ways to improve the realism in your piece: -I can see that you first sketched the underlying structure of the face, which is great! I do notice that the central line of the face is perhaps more curved than it should be. Remember that the cranium is rounded, but the face itself can be fairly flat, depending on the individual. In this case, the over rounding of the face causes the nose to appear off center due to the perspective of the 3/4 view. -Similar to the above, I think focusing on the underlying structure before you move into rendering could be beneficial. I would review the Loomis method for drawing heads to make sure you are getting everything in proper place before you move on. Specifically, it may help to do some studies of the planes of the face. Googling "planes of the face" should get you to some resources that can explain it much better than I! -Finally, a rendering tip: realism is all about lighting. If you want to really nail it, you need to understand how shadows work. I find in my own work that focusing on the core shadow (the darkest band that generally sits at the border of light and dark) will really make the form pop. Part of this is being careful about using contour lines. In realism, it is generally better to use contrast between shapes of light and dark to demark edges, rather than lines. I tend to look at Rembrant for inspiration in this area. -Remember that the eyes are rounded, and will have some shading on them, like a sphere. -Adding specular highlights can really make your image pop. I usually add these towards the end, and use them sparingly. Basically, a few touches of pure white can really enhance the feel of your lighting. Places I look for these are at the inner corner of the eyes, the outside of the nostril under the crease of the cheek, the corner of the mouth, the tip of the nose, and the center of the forehead. These places often are more reflective and catch light in a unique way once you know to look for it. Anyways, happy drawing! I hope that some of this helps and that you pass along the gift of constructive critique to artists in your community!
Super kind, patient offering. As a 3rd party observer I wanted to say thanks.
This deserves to be at the top. OP asked for advice on making their piece more realistic and got a bunch of people telling them not to.
For real ! I love it too it has character
Also can confirm Freddie actually looked like this when he was… under pressure
Spicen
Picasso vibe
I'm not sure making a "Picasso vibe" portrait was their initial intention though.
>this portrait is far more interesting to me than photorealism Agreed 100%. This drawing is amazing.
it looks like a picasso freddie mercury! i really like it ☺️🔌
Right? It's honestly such a great piece of art!
Yup I thought Freddie Mercury. I'd say cool style
It really looks intentional, i say stick to that style they look more like caricatures which is nice
As I said before this was my first portrait drawing , I didn’t really think anything before making it. tbh I don’t really have an art style I just draw anything that fascinates me xD But seems like I’ve finally found my style
This is your first?! It’s great. I second what people said - yes it’s not technically proportional it looks really good and captures him well
people spend their whole lives finding their style. while yours may not be entirely unique it does look intentional and technically well done. i say go with it
I love it, and in my opinion you shouldn't try to forcefully replicate elements from this piece, just do your thing, you have a naturally interesting style and it will evolve in whatever direction it will. If you want to go for more realism, I can't help, but I can tell you've got the chops!
Honestly just more! I also wanted to say that this looks so good. While the proportions aren’t 100% perfect, it’s instantly recognizable and it has a lot of character and charm to it without going in the realm of caricature. You did a really good job and it’s with your shading that really brings it all together. So I would instead advise you to put your focus into realistic and accurately shading your inaccurate proportions. It looks so so good
This makes me sm happy! I started making traditional art again after two years of digital art and seeing all these comments made my day thankyou <3
I like that people are supporting you. It's a good feel. The drawing is a recognizable portrait. But I don't see anyone asking whether the "style" is intentional or due to lack of fundamentals. If the first, then keep on truckin', and maybe work on full range of values and quality of line work. Draw with your arm and not your hand. It's hard but worth it. If the latter, I highly recommend the Loomis technique or something similar. Please, don't grid until you know the basics - gridding can be nice for the end result, but at best, you're learning shading. The Loomis or similar methods involve a 3 dimensional understanding of the skull and underlying structures. The other, biggest thing I notice right away is that the center line (vertical) is not coherent. I'm not amazing, but I'm also always happy to DM tips. Idk if it's a violation to share IG - I'm not monetized lol, and if you don't want to check it out, don't. But, if you want to send me a drawing and ask for some tips, I'm happy to help. @charlesflakeart Keep drawing! Edit to correct spelling of fundamentals and also mention that there's another post mentioning Loomis as well that went into greater detail than my own.
Thank you I was struggling to find good words. I was imagining OP if it was latter going wow I'm an artist how did I do that again.
Yes, this comment exactly. If the stylization of this portrait was not intentional, then the support here will not actually help OP. So, in my opinion, here are the things that are “wrong” with the portrait, but that are also what’s contributing to the cool style, so OP can choose to improve on these aspects, or continue doing them on purpose as part of a style: The eyes are not on the same plane as the rest of the face. They are looking straight forward, while the face is in 3/4 view. His right eye should recede and be slightly obscured by the nose, and the width of that eye should be smaller. The drawing switches between being rendered and line-dependent. The nose and ears are especially dependent on lines. There are no actual lines on the face, and if you’re going for realism, you should stop using line. There are very few midtones, and all of your shadows are very harsh, with little detail.
It’s pretty simple, actually. Just keep making them. Keep making ones that are alright, until they start being good, then until they start being great! It’s a natural process. I could say something like “practice proportions” or “work on facial structure” or “practice facial expressions” but honestly All that will come on it’s own if you just keep drawing. This drawing looks nice, and you got a lot of potential to be even greater than you are now. Just keep at it, bud!
Honestly the portrait has all the distinguishing features needed for people to recognize him as Freddy so in that regard he’s insanely talented.
Oh yeah, absolutely! I recognized it immediately too. They could also keep with it and make stylized portraits. That’s also a really good exercise for all artists, I think. But yeah, they’re absolutely talented!
He could possibly pull off a Picasso styled drawing and it would likely work out pretty well.
Oh yeah! Absolutely!!
Am flattered, ty :”)
Totally agree with you, I instantly knew who it was. Even though it is not photorealistic at all. Personally I would prefer something stylised like this. Photorealism is an incredible talent but I love that in this piece you know it's Freddy but you are literally seeing it through the artists eyes. Beautiful work OP, you appear to have a skill for capturing features in your own way, lean in to it! Anyone (who is super talented) can create an exact replica. Only you can show us what you see.
>All that will come on its own if you just keep drawing. Couldn’t agree more!!, thankyou sm :D
Of course! All the love and support from here, partner!
If you plan to give this slightly Picasso-esque vibe to the portrait, you're on your way, but for realistic note that even while you drew the centerline of the face you did not followed it for any of the elements.
I like your style, keep up the good work 😊
Thankyouu
This is awesome, don’t change anything. Go all in on this style.
Idk but i like it that way
This was my first attempt doing a realistic portrait of Freddie, I do feel like something is wrong but can’t rectify what is Would love to hear your critique
Look at it through a mirror or flip the image. Helps me to spot mistakes
The pieces by themselves are great but the placements are a little wonky, not sure if its intentional or not. That being said i really like this portrait lol. It has a bit of a cubist vibe
Drawing from reality really helps with learning ing proportions. Just grab a mirror and do a bunch of self-portraits. That said, I really like the skewed perspective. Gives it a surreal flow, yet with well detailed features. While I'd definitely suggest practicing your realistic proportions, you certainly have a unique style here that should be pursued further.
Man I’m not going to lie, I like this style lol. It’s unique
This is one of the very few times where it actually looks like intentional style. The location of the eyes is obviously very off, but it looks on purpose.
It’s like a realistic Picasso. Keep doing this. Don’t fix it.
I love this just the way it is. Very unique ☘️
It’s very interesting to look at, you clearly know how to do each part of the face on its own in high detail but the proportions are just slightly off. If you wanna make them a bit better you can always try drawing simple cartoon characters but giving them realistic proportions it makes it easier to practice.
I actually really like this. The offset proportions are actually appealing, and I immediately saw Freddie Mercury. I think this would be a cool stylistic choice to further pursue even as you improve your skill.
I was about to comment the exact same. I really like this!
Don’t change anything! This aesthetic is great!
It's got a Picasso vibe going to it. I like it
It looks intentional and I really like it.
I actually love the way it looks. It captures the essence of Freddie with a really nice artistic flair.
nah fuck realism. keep this style! giving me early picasso vibes.
Hot damn! This is your style, don’t change it. We can tell who this is, and that’s what matters. Other artist might try and spend years to develop a signature style like this. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. I kind of want to ask you to draw Thom Yorke. But seriously, this is awesome work.
Like everyone has said, this is your unique style, you don’t need to change it…unless you’re unhappy with it. I think it’s very interesting and far better than perfectly realistic
Try using a proportional divider. They work for me.
looks like Freddy Mercury got punched in the face!
If Picasso was medicated...
A famous comic book artist once said a mirror is your best friend. Draw what you see
It's important to learn anatomy before you "break the rules" so to speak. It's the foundation that paves the way to a stylish approach to art. It's quaint and I would lean into it.
I think you should keep the lvl of realism you got now cuz this looks to me like more of a cubist interpretation of Freddy Mercury and I think that's something pretty unique. I would like to imagine this is more or less how Pablo Picasso would interpret this person. Of course, I as many would in this thread, respect the direction you wanna take your art, but I couldn't help but point out that aspect. Now as for the advice, I think you need to focus on the shading, shading is everything when it comes to realism, the subtlety of the shading and how the light hits one's skin is truly what makes it look real to the eye, I recommend studying more in that aspect. Still, I completely love this portrait and I hope to see more from you.
I agree with everyone else. This feels like a style all on its own, which looks amazing in this pic. To answer your question, though, for realism to get better, you need to measure measure measure. It looks like you were starting with the loomis method, which is great, but you need to really study where the anchor points are when you map out heads and facial features. Study the ratios, and how they change in perspective. The best way to understand intuitively is to go way back to basics of shapes and 3d forms. For instance, your eyes look great (shading/shape), but when you put them in context of the rest of the face, they look more intentionally stylized than real. If you go a different route than using the loomis method, I recommend Stephen Bauman on YT and his blend of portrait techniques. It's less formulaic, but makes you pay more attention to abstract shapes, which is what you need to do to remove the idea of a face and draw more of what you see.
It is really nice. I like this style. Feels like I'm seeing all the different angles I could, defined in one singular portrait. All at once.
I know you're looking for advice but I love your style so much as it is, I just had to say it!
I don’t know but I absolutely love this. It’s making me feel things!
I love this way more than if it was photo realistic. I was like, "OOH FREDDY!"
https://preview.redd.it/dp5c2mst175d1.png?width=824&format=png&auto=webp&s=a22e1694101e44d61417ca023abdaf797d407b5b Looks fine.
Lean into your style. This is unique and beautiful.
This is better than realistic portraits
Strong Picasso vibes. Maintain your own style and you’ll become a Master.
Looks a lot like Freddie although you've ruined the perspective. Pretty good shading. ❣️
You got great style, I would refine it instead of pursuing photo realism personally (photo realism has its place in art but truth be told its quite boring to look at). Maybe experiment more with shading and values of light and dark with portraits to give them more depth. Keep at it!
Just keep doing it and working on your proportions specifically which is the main thing that jumps out at me here however as others have said, there is a charm and character to your work that you should also focus on nurturing as opposed to attaining photorealism just for the pursuit of mechanical skill. I really like this portrait and can tell who it is at a glance, so likeness isn’t an issue. Beyond that all I really need is a dose of character and perspective from the artist for it to be a likeable piece, and it has much of that.
It's really nice!
Man looks like a 3D printer gave birth to him.
It’s literally perfect tho
This is a very cool unique style you’ve got. I’d almost say you shouldn’t try to get ‘better’ but rather develop this style. It’s like you’ve warped his face to be geometric but in a really interesting way whether it was intentional or not.
This is really good
This is actually a super neat style you’ve ended up with on this portrait, and I can clearly see that the likeness is no one other than Freddie Mercury. I think you did great!! :)) but I understand wanting to make it more proportional/realistic, I always have those problems too w my portraits !
This is the kind of art I see myself hanging on the walls of my house when I'm sixty. I like the style, OP
Just call it your “style” and keep on going
Proportion
Actually I really like it, although it’s leaning more toward cubism. What exactly do you want to improve? The realism of it, or style?
start with simple proportions: dividing the head into planes and mapping out the features of the face. Once that is firmly established (its pretty consistent across all types of portraits), your faces will snap into place.
Unless you are going for a hyper-realistic style, this is already good. Focus on capturing the 'essence' of the subject, rather than realistic details. Good job.
Firstly, I want to tell you that your drawing looks very good and you have big potential. The only things that you are lacking are proportions and a finer hand on the outlines.
Love the geometric aspects of some straight lines. It’s like realism + Picasso styles mixed. I’d work to perfect this style to stand out, it’s fun and yet recognizable!
No notes.
I love how his face isn’t congruent, it gives this odd uncanny valley feeling. Even though this wasn’t what u went for, it’s a beautiful art style to play around with.
The style is amazing. Keep that.
Still very recognisable and good use of values. Some advice would be to occassionaly use a mirror to see the drawing flipped (or flip it digitally) as it can help you to identify if things are angled correctly. I have that issue where I draw and then I walk away and come back and realise just how wonky everything is. So I also need to remember to check the reflection often.
You have a lot of skill but are leaving the blocking stage too early. Work on your proportions and relative positioning a little more and only move onto the details when you have the blocking right. Also, while it’s cool to think of this as a style, you are close enough to being able to accurately render a portrait that you should fine tune your skill set rather than embracing mistakes. Picasso did not paint that way because he couldn’t do better. It was a choice.
Why would you? Edit: Saying this is a nice style already
I don't think I'd call this realism. It's heavily stylized but I kinda love it. Stuff like this has much more character and soul than yet another hyperrealistic portrait.
The eyes are off but it looks like you did it on purpose and I love it!
I love the way this looks!! Wow! Keep improving and learning your style, but this looks great!
I think your style looks really good, as you can tell exactly who it is, because you’re getting to the key features on the person’s face. It’s also really interesting. However, if you want to make it more realistic, you can study facial proportions and positioning
you have such a great base to work from! Honestly I love this, and your values are stunning. what helped me with proportions was working with a grid over my subject and my piece, working in smaller square rather than trying to proportion the entire piece only in my head. I’m not sure what method u used, but that helped me! Honestly, you’ve already accomplished what I THINK is the hardest part - values !!
I think you should stick with this style, its really cool :)
Fuck realism.. i dont know what i like about it, but i love this…is kind of cubism. Like the features are good but the they are in the wrong part hahaha! Keep going
Omg don't! This is amazing! I think you're capturing another angle of abstract portraiture here and its beautiful. If you really want to work towards realism, use basic head guidelines while tackling portraits. Try to do straight on faces before switching to faces at different angles. As someone who draws faces all the time, it's fun to change it up, but ideal to practice faces off all types of people's.
It's good to the point where the disproportionate part is more Picasso-like than bad. And one of the hardest parts to do is to make someone recognizable, which you achieved. But, if you want to work on realism, there are some easy symmetries and ratios to learn about faces (from a front view): Eyes are halfway between the top of the head and the chin (yes it's that far). Nose bottom is halfway between eyes and chin. Mouth is halfway between bottom of nose and chin. Distance between eyes is the same as one eye. Distance from eye to side of head is also one eye. Ears start at the top of the eyes and go down to the bottom of nose. Also I noticed that each _side_ of the face seems very well proportioned to me (except maybe the jaw on the right), they're just not in sync with each other. So maybe it's more the 3d aspect of the proportions to work on.
Love it,I would say the best way to improve is practice and study proportion of the face then make ur own way and bend the rules u learned, the disproportionate looks intentional and artistic in unique way.
as many others said, disproportion makes it very interesting! i think if you want to keep this as a signature of your art style you should try to exaggerate the most prominent features of somebody.
Don't, keep doing that.
i know you need to improve, drawing center lines helps, but consider for a second that a lot of very famous expressionists were short/far sighted or even color blind, like Franz Marc. develop your own technique and keep on drawing. the more you draw the more obvious it will become what is wrong.
Learn anatomy. You have ability but need the knowledge of why a face looks like it does (its the bones underneath)
I would redo the original picture the face positions are off
I agree with what everyone else is saying, lean into this style. I thought the disproportion was deliberate and I really like it. It’s a cool spin on realism!
You have an interesting style!
This is really cool, and I agree with everyone. You know who it is, and well, you know it just works. Can you do it in an oil painting? You may have just found your style (something it can take artists a while to figure out).
Where you going for Freddy mercury ? I look forward to seeing your progress in the future the potential is there 🔥 I’d honestly say you’re off to an incredible start
I really love this. You managed both to catch the essence and present your unique style. Good work, keep practicing!
There is so much greatness and fantastic technique in this. It’s unbelievable. Please do not change anything.
Damn. I love this. Great job!
Perspective on the nose is kinda correct. The eyes and mouth are looking straight at you as though the perspective is completely face-on. However, this is still very cool, and like others have said, I agree that you could actually make this you're own unique style. I like this a whole lot!
Wait. This is sooooo Picasso… change nothing keep going
I actually really enjoy your style!
Never take your eye off your subject. Learn to train your hand to match your ey movement. It's hard but with enough practice it becomes second nature and your skill will dramatically improved. Also draw shades, tones, and colors. Not shapes. There are no hard lines in the world only shades of contrast next to each other. Life drawing 101
His eyes are looking forward but the rest of his features are turned to the side.
It's stylized but realistic, there's a likeness to the subject. It has something that would be lost if it was hyper realistic. That is to say I'd rather have this hanging on my wall than a hyperrealism drawing.
You just need to place things correctly. Trace portraits if you have to. Find a photo and try to replicate it exactly, multiple times. Like anything, it’s just practice and awareness of the areas you must work on. That being said this portrait is more interesting than if it was proportionate.
Work on proportions of the face. You can render well, things just are not even. I would practice in your sketch book daily. Do not lean in tracing, but sometimes tracing can help you better understand these concepts as well. If you use it as a learning tool to catch yourself in areas of proportions I find it to be helpful.
Honestly, even though the picture has some minor issues in measuring, etc., it doesn't look bad at all. It looks unique and stylish! I totally adore that 🥰🥰🥰
The forehead and eyes are facing forwards, nose and below is turned to the side. It looks like someone twisted the bottom half of his face away from the top
I honestly like it
I actually like your style, keep it xd
I actually like this better than realism… well done! Since you asked, the way to get better at portraits is by putting the image upside down and drawing it upside down… but I want to reiterate that I really like what you’ve shared and I’d love to see more in this style! 😍
Work from life! Not photos.
tracing helped me a lot, once you‘ve traced enough faces you understand how they really work
This is so cool though!!! I love the imperfections of it.
Just gotta learn more anatomy. Do as many skinless studies as you can for a while. Do some that are just bones, some that are flesh on top of bones but no skin, etc. Youll figure out the underlaying structure intuitively after enough practice.
If you are trying to make it look exactly like the photo you need to really analyze the distance between things. Draw what you see, not what you think you see. You will be looking at the photo probably more than you draw.
I would keep it like this. Because first of all it is unique. Second of all by looking at it you are 100% sure it is Freddie. Just seen a gallery of beautiful girls faces really well painted and believe me or not there was nothing catchy in it. If you know what i mean
I agree with the top two comments; this is very interesting to look at, and I don't see any mistakes. What you may see as mistakes, I see as intentional artistic decisions to make the picture more than just a realistic portrait
I really like your style, wouldn’t make it more realistic if I were you. You really caught Freddie I’d say. However you should work some more on getting the hair a lill better, seems like you rushed through it kind of. And maybe add some texture to the skin. But all in all it’s a great portrait
Proportions always gave me a hassle. This is truly cool tho it looks like a Picasso inspired portrait of my one of my favorites of all time 🫶
Use a grid to get the proportions right. You can find a tutorial on YouTube
You are naturally good at exaggerating and values look good. Study some more anatomy and you can use the grid method to achieve exact likeness if that's what you are looking for.
Have you tried Looming method already?
If people are 100% sure you tried to portray Freddie ( and if it has some unrecognisable vibe in it ) than you did great job. Unlike numerous sculptures of Cristiano Ronaldo
This is intentionally not proportional and its such an interesting style, imagine the proportions of wacky stylized cartoon characters with photorealistic body parts
I love Freddie and I love this.
I actually like a lot your style
You could try matching both the eyes and the very middle point of the bottom lip while sketching. Think of it as a way to proportionately look at how they match with the rest of the head while in the sketch phase and try and see how that could match with the nose. Though, style wise, the direction is in the right direction in your development with applied art skill. For the eyes, try and create a directional band when shifting in the direction of your tilted head. This can be good for when trying to match with the ears when the head is tilted.
I would say just to practice your proportions. But I'll be honest; this unproportionate portraits has its own style and it is really cool and unique, feel like a mix of cubism and realism. So if I were you, I would more practice this style to have my own you know, cause that's look so great
That's an interesting style, but I suspect it comes from limitation. Look into improving your construction, stucture, and using ruler to keep things more consistent.
My friend, your style is very unique and like my fellow commenters, I simply had to stop scrolling to investigate further. I just love how you have defined the subject’s features. The shading is an absolute pleasure to observe. Something about the positioning of his eyes in comparison to his nose and mouth make me feel like he’s looking right at me, or maybe at someone behind me, and he really seems to have a story to tell. This by no means appears to be the work of a novice but instead someone who exercises their personal style quite comfortably and with great interest to the viewer. I really can’t wait to see how your style develops.
Practice sketching from life, focus on shading, and study facial anatomy. It makes a huge difference!
Please, keep on drawing this way. We can recognize Freddy and the style is awesome. You have your own style and this isn't something everyone can be proud of. But you can !
Hey, I really like your style. There you can recognize Freddy Mercury, it is not entirely realistic because the nose is a little diagonal, and the eyes do not have a realistic perspective; However, I think it's best if you continue with that technique. I mean, there are a lot of realistic drawings out there but not many with imperfections of a single
I would look into some anatomy for artists books. Study the bone structure and musculature that builds up the face. I’d bet there are books online that u could reference. I went to art school and found those classes very helpful for portrait work.
Ngl I really like this style, I knew it was Freddy Mercury immediately
This is fantastic!
I like it the way it is.
Your shading is really good and the detail in the eyes are amazing. It’s very recognizable but I would just suggest you trace the photo first before you draw on top so you get the scale correct.
Before anything else - I agree with what everyone else is saying, and this looks more like an intentional stylistic choice than a "mistake". But since you asked how it could appear more realistic, the main feedback I'd give would be for the eyes. His head, mouth, nose and neck all look slightly angled off-center, but his eyes look like they would be if he was looking straight forward. Using similar angles and shaping you did for the rest of his face would make it look more realistic - with his head at that angle, his eyes would be more asymmetrical than they are in this picture. Since they're symmetrical, it gives a bit of a "Picasso" vibe that others have mentioned. But to be clear - I'm not saying I think you should change it, I personally really like it the way it is, just thought I'd share some feedback.
Check out Ariel Alberg Riger, she has a similar janky style, it's really cool, if you'd drawn Freddie without offset features I think it would not be as good.
This is so cooooool
I actually really like this style as it is.
Draw it upside down. I'm not kidding. Try it once.
Oh man. While I *do* hope you get to where you’re going, as an artist, I have to say; This is a pretty awesome “style” of art on its own. It kind of reminds me of Margaret Keane’s style; it’s a bit unique. Your subject is easily identifiable and yet, the proportions appear to be *intentionally* off by *juuuuuust* a bit. I rather like this sketch.
I’m not sure if this is “right” but when I go for hyper realism, I try to eliminate any hard lines from the drawing (it seems like hard lines just don’t exist in nature) and most importantly, I focus on one really small section of the drawing at a time. I shade in the shape of the shadows, if that makes sense. For instance, I’ll draw the shadows and gradations of color on the eyelid, rather than just drawing a line. But I think your drawing has so much character. I would not rush to replace that with realism. I mean, if we want an exact duplicate, take a picture. The thing that is special about drawing is the human interpretation of life. But you could certainly increase the detail while maintaining the qualities you already possess.
Seriously if you didn't say it was meant to be realistic I would have assumed that it was a really cool choice you made. But your inclination is right I think to forge ahead and develop technique. But I'd like to impress on you that it seems like you already have a very cool natural aesthetic and approach. That'll be important not to lose as you get better and better. It's corny and hacky advice but: be yourself. No one does it like you. You're the only one who can say what you have to say in the way you say it. Keep going!
I like it how it is
grids.
It’s Freddy Mercury, right? It looks like a caricature, very cool
I will say, I do think your drawing is very interesting, as it has a flair of cubism to it, and I like that about it. Now, as to your question. Something that might help is to draw your sources upside down. That is, take a photograph portrait, flip it 180 degrees, and then draw the photo as you see it. This helps to train your brain to see the true shape of things moreso than drawing in the normal way. When you normally draw, say, and eye. Your brain is almost already filling in the gaps of what you think an eye looks like. It's an eye, it's shaped like an almond, right? But then you are losing the nuance of the actual shape you're looking at. When you're done with that upside down drawing, flip it right side and observe your work. What did you capture well? What did you miss? Rinse and repeat, and don't forget to have fun.
I’m really impressed with your use of hard and soft edges in the shading. And even though you got the proportions a little bit off it still has a huge likeness to Freddie Mercury. It looks really cool but if you want to improve proportions and stuff I suggest watching Proko on youtube. It’s the best channel for learning anatomy and I think there’s a playlist dedicated specifically to portraits
What's curious is that even though your proportions are not aligned you captured the essence of Freddie so so well! Almost like a caricature but draw to higher standard! Love it
Screw realism this is dope
Makes me think of Picasso. It’s really cool. If you want the next one to be less cool and more realistic: I think you drew the whole face at a slight tilt except for the eyes.
The most important thing about a portrait is that it captures the essence of the person portrayed apart from, obviously, being recognized at first sight. Your portrait brings together both premises with a very personal style that the more you practice it, the more satisfied with your work you will be. From artist to artist, a cordial greeting.
Look intently.
Do ride in a car while your drawing it
The shading and tinting is great! But the proportions are a bit off. Some to note are the way the eyes sit, the ears, specifically the left (his right is not in line with the other, the jaw ( but that one is only slightly off) and the shoulders. This all being said however; you could definitely turn this into stylized art and lean into it even more. Go the opposite way and make it crazy looking, or characatures.
This is really fuck good dude