Clearly I can, but can I get his expression right? I think this is the closest to the expression in the reference yet. Not quite right but I'm not sure what isn't right about it. I think it's in his lips but I've redone them a few times and am no closer. Feedback?
Also I love love love how his beard turned out. I saw a YouTube saying don't try to paint each individual hair and paint shapes that feel like hair, it was mind blowing to me.
And clearly you can tell which image got the most votes in the other post.
Edit: Also my workflow is getting much better. I spent less time on this than the first several I did with way better results. I'm able to see shapes and pick out colors I just couldn't even see before.
I haven’t commented in a while. Having skipped a few I can see a lot of difference between them and now. The color choices and blending looks so much smoother and more nuanced. Your lights and darks are looking more dynamic, but could use a bit more work, it’s ok to get really dark and to hide detail if the artwork calls for it (the bottom of the photo has the jacket and shirt almost too dark to see detail while the painting just a smidge too light in tonal value(dark vs light)). Keep up the fantastic work.
That's the biggest thing I saw when I painted it but decided not to try to change it with a filter or repaint it. But yeah it's for sure a big difference.
Agreed, finish a work and move forward. Don’t linger on something to get to “perfection”. Strive towards that in the next painting. These are always a delight to see, a bright spot in my day when things have gone sideways.
I'm glad to hear that and I hope for better days for you!
And agreed iteration is a big part of improvement. Trying to do as many as I can before I'm able to do my next live session. With luck the next model I paint will actually look like them.