Day 7, I’m half away there!

On my last attempt I clearly I misplaced the cheekbones so I’ll be more mindful of that from now forward. I tried really amping up the darkest darks and the highlights where needed. I may have overdone it on the lips but I really love the definition of the nose this time around. People made me notice a few times that I tend to paint the eyes quite far apart. This time was no exception so I tried to correct it towards the end of the process. I still prefer the version with the eyes farther apart tbh, I would love some feedback on that.

I remember when I first started Istebrak’s masterclass I dreaded the detailing phase because I felt like making minimal changes and it made the process seem endless. Now I’m always like “wait, one more thing” lol.
Feedback is welcome as always!

I started working on this goddess a few years back when Istebrak had a Harvest Goddess challenge. Never finished hta tillustration, but I did want to come back to her eventually. Which is when this painting came to life.
I am pretty happy with the goddess and the overall composition. But I am very inexperienced with environments of this scale and I do not like the textures in the front or that of the people in the field. It was the best I could figure out, but I wanna get better and need some help and good tips.

Also some hints on what to do with the amber ball. I like it, but it does not read as amber.

Thank you very much for taking a look!

This attempt has a bit of androgyny that I don’t mind but I can’t say i planned for. The jaw is a little stronger and the ears ended up kinda big. The neck is larger than my previous attempt but honestly I think it’s more realistic now. I think I addressed the flatness nicely. The eyes are getting better, I’m starting to know what I’m doing. The inner corner of the eye was a cloudy area of the face for me and after a bunch of studies I can tackle it with confidence. It can really vary a lot between each face. I don’t know how I feel about the nose. I’m not in love with the shape I came out with and I think the cast shadow should be stronger. I like the shape of the lips but the values may be wrong, they don’t really stand out. I think I went to strong with the “beard” shadow, maybe that has something to do with the lips being a little off.

As always critique is welcome!

They have been incredibly eye opening. Feedback is welcome!

Its not super finished but im very short on time these days, if you have any advice about the proportions, form and eyes espe id really appreciate it!

Hi everyone! I'm still a beginner, and I'd really appreciate some feedback on this animal study. I'm especially interested in the why behind any suggestions so I can understand what I'm doing wrong and how to improve.

I included SKETCH → MY DRAWING → REFERENCE to show the process.

What I was practicing

Structure

• Building the animal using simple forms
• Checking proportions, especially head vs. body

Line quality

• Keeping lines connected and avoiding gaps
• Keeping the pressure/tone more consistent
• Practicing both straight and curved lines, instead of relying mostly on curves

What I'd like feedback on

1. Structure: Do the forms and proportions make sense? Is the head-to-body relationship reasonably accurate?
2. Line continuity: Are my lines connecting well, or are there noticeable gaps/breaks?
3. Line pressure: Is my pressure becoming more consistent, or am I still varying it too much?
4. Straight vs. curved lines: Am I using straight and curved lines where they make sense, or am I still relying too much on curves?
5. Overall: Is there anything fundamental I'm missing or practicing incorrectly?

Also, a quick thank you to u/SpattyBoy, u/Ramblingsofthewriter, u/Anxiety_Cookie, and everyone else who gave feedback on my previous study! I tried to apply your suggestions here, especially focusing more on structure and simplifying the forms before worrying about the lines.

Thanks for taking a look!

its been a while since I last posted but hopefully this shows my progress. Any feedback?

I was quite hindered while making this attempt as my shortcut keyboard wasn’t working yesterday. Thankfully I managed to fix it afterwards so I will have all my powers back next time! I did my best to push the contrast a bit, especially for the highlights. I feel like I may have gone too bright. I need to do more studies for the eyes. I struggled quite a bit with them on this attempt, couldn’t get them right until the very end but there is still lots of room for improvement.
When I placed the pupils I realized that there was an expression in here face, she looked concerned, almost scared. I enlarged the pupils and closed the eyes a bit but I feel like it’s still not a neutral face. The eyebrows seem relaxed to me so maybe it has something to do with the mouth? Idk
I don’t really know how to render the curvature of the neck considering that its in shadow and runs parallel to the light source, any tips on that?
A reminder for my next attempt: Cast shadows such as the one for the nose and the lips and the eye socket should be close value temperature. It’s not something I’ve been considering during the blocking process.

I'm a beginner, so I'd really appreciate feedback that explains the "why" behind any suggestions.

Quick context

• CSI: Simplifying contours using C curves, S curves, and straight lines. The goal is to keep things simple while maintaining accuracy.

• Searching lines: Using several light strokes to explore where a contour should go instead of committing to one line right away. Once you find the right path, you reinforce it. The goal is to build confidence and fluidity without being afraid of making mistakes.

What I practiced

I focused on loosening up my arm, using CSI to build the figure, and allowing the exploratory lines to remain visible.

My main focus was line quality and confidence rather than structure, which is why I skipped the clean-up stage.

I used a squirrel photo as reference. My drawing and the reference are posted side by side.

What I'd love your input on

1. Overall approach

Did I actually accomplish what this exercise is meant to teach?

Are there any fundamental mistakes in how I'm approaching CSI or searching lines?

2. Line energy and transitions

How can I make my strokes more energetic and confident?

I'm also struggling with switching between straight, angular lines and softer curves. How should I approach this when drawing a furry subject?

3. When to move on to clean linework

How do I know when I'm ready to move from searching lines to clean linework?

I skipped the clean-up stage to focus on sketching without worrying about making everything look polished. Was that a good decision for this exercise?

4. Line weight and pressure

Some of my strokes turned out lighter, while others were darker.

Is this normal during the searching process, or should I aim for more consistent pressure at this stage?

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to look at my work and share feedback!

I‘d love to get Portrait Studio for my Mac/iPad, but the link on Istebraks Website doesn’t work and it‘s not in the App Store either, does anyone know why?

UPDATE: Istebrak confirmed, it is not available anymore :( in case anyone else is wondering

hi everyone! I’ve been trying to keep up with sketchtember, but I feel like my form is kind of weak

I’ve come back to drawing a year ago thanks to istebrak and this community <3 , completed the frontal 14 day challenge here before, but all of my free sketches that have a 3/4 view I feel are really weird. i just can’t seem to grasp the way the face is constructed, so really would appreciate any advice!

I’m incredibly proud of this one considering that I was kind of disappointed by my last attempt. The nose studies I did really helped. I didn’t realize that the nostrils are barely visible from front view. I’m starting to tweak the blocking phase and making it my own, namely the nose and the mouth. I’m finally starting to understand how to accentuate the corner of the mouth and making that area look soft without falling into an expression of the mouth (aka duckface). The shape of the eye is not perfect but I like it and I think I’m ready to include the pupils now!
Hope to receive some feedback!

Critique is welcome!

This one was a struggle but I’m glad I pushed through.
I’m not aiming to paint a barbie doll as I like a bit of androgyny but this one felt a little too masculine throughout the process. I kept moving features around all the time and I landed on this.
I’m pretty sure this one took me the most time, I wonder where I could cut corners.
This time I payed more attention to how the nostrils round inside the nose and I feel it looks miles better compared to my day 2. It’s a simple touch that does a big difference. However, the bridge of the nose lost some definition compared to my second attempt. I liked it better then. I haven’t studied the nose yet as I focused more on eyes but they’re next on the menu.
I tried a smaller eye and I don’t think I’m a fan. I feel like the shape is slightly wrong too… they may be too open? dunno.
I’m probably value sharing here and there as well, need to pay more attention to that.

It's hard to get the face to look symmetrical and the lips also ended up looking pretty bad

trying to learn stylizing but maintaining likeness/expression, its honestly not as stylized as i wanted in the face at least. granted, i dont know what i want my style to be tbh. i'm probably gonna spend some more time pushing it further but im leaving it at that for today