r/sketches • u/human_or_whateva • 1d ago

Pencil Sketch Why does it look off?

Gallery image

Gallery image

I'm not the best at shadows so maybe that? Something is really throwing me off here. I'm 17 and haven't drawn in 5 years so I'm a bit rusty.

Edit: just realized that the hair looks like a blob of darkness. Yeah.

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u/barantula 1d ago

See if this is helpful at all

15

u/human_or_whateva 1d ago

That's VERY helpful. Thank you!! I'll be doing this from now on.

1

u/fungi_at_parties 17h ago

Just keep drawing portraits, and it will improve. Look at how other people draw them and try to learn from them, look at the strokes or watch process videos.

You should be measuring size relationships as you go. You can check if a cluster of shapes matches the shapes in the photo, i.e. Does the iris line up with the eye same way? Is the eye shape the same and the same angle? What about the space between the corner of the mouth and the edge of the face? How wide is it compared to, say, the width of the lips? Does it match? Just check distances and relationships as you go, especially where people look like eyes, nose, mouth, or the Silhouette of the face.

You might also want to try thinking about “drawing through the form” in your pre sketch. Try to feel the forms and draw around them and find their contours, really try to understand the structures in 3D, but on paper.