Vectortuts+ Workshop #10
tuts workshop

Vectortuts+ Workshop #10

on Mar 23rd 2012 with 5 comments

Vectortuts+ is all about helping people turbo charge their skills, and today we have another special community post that will help our readers take their images to the next level. The best thing is, you can be part of it too! Find out more at the jump.

How to Participate:

  • This workshop contributor has offered a piece of work that they would like help with, please keep this in mind when you share your thoughts. The images are not perfect, but they can be with the right advice and some friendly encouragement. (Vectortuts+ reserves the right to delete any rude comments)
  • If you’re better with pictures (let’s face it, most of us are) feel free to take a screenshot of the image using Little Snapper, Skitch or a similar program and paste a link to the annotated image in the comments section with an explanation of the tweaks.

If you want to take part in the next Vectortuts+ Workshop:

Add your work to our facebook photo gallery with a description about the piece and the help/advice you’re looking for. We will chose one to be published on our site as part of the next Vectortuts+ Workshop, if you’re not chosen straight away – don’t worry – your work will be chosen for a future session.

Image Category: Realistic Portrait

Details:

Designer: Mike Kirk

Details: "I created this in Adobe Illustrator, I would really appreciate opinions and advice to help me to improve and create better work in the future. This took roughly 6 hrs to complete. Thank you! :)"

Feedback

What are your thoughts on the work above? Critiquing work helps the artist see new possibilities, and it also helps you learn to evaluate art, which will help you take that same analysis and apply it to your own work. Participate in the comments below with your opinions on how to improve the work above.

 
Enjoyed this Post?

Subscribe to our RSS Feed, Follow us on Twitter or simply recommend us to friends and colleagues!

By

Rollover to read this author's bio or click through to see a full list of posts by this author.

Kate McInnes specializes in Communication Design and Digital Illustration. Based in Melbourne Australia, she is the Associate Editor of Vectortuts+ and one half of the creative duo McKelly. Find her on Twitter as @bittenbypixels and Blood Sweat Vector.  

Plus Premium
 
 
  • http://mattbruning.com Matty

    You’ve got a lot of nice detail in the facial features. The one thing I will comment on is the that the face is a little flat. What I mean by that is that there are very little variation in the shadows and highlights, and the facial features end up looking flat.

    When I first started tackling portrait art, I was so scared to push the lights and darks too far, that I never pushed them far enough to give the subject convincing depth. And sometimes, just by virtue of being the one working on the piece, you stare at it so long you get tunnel vision and don’t notice things like that.

    Here’s a good test that helps be determine if I’m in danger of a portrait being too flat. I take the project out of Illustrator and into Photoshop. I put a decent blur on it and make it black and white. What this does is take color and detail out of the equation. Your eye can just focus on the values of your lights and dark. If after applying this effect you can’t make any definition in facial features, you know you have to take the lights and darks farther.

  • http://www.nwidesigns.com Kevin Morrison

    Matty hit it on the head, play around with shadows more to get some subtle separations. Looking at the chin where it intersects the neck line there is no definition and if you step back and look at it the chin looks like it rolls around the cheek and drops straight down.

    The hair on her left side has a similar problem where it hits the cheek and makes the cheek look like a wrestlers. Really all around the face the hair has a Barbie doll look where it is pasted on rather than laying over the face and forehead. Apply shadows to both these areas will go a long way in smoothing out the face and making your work look fantastic! Otherwise it looks terrific and I think back on my first portrait and it does not come close to looking as good as this!!

  • Adrianne

    The only thing I see that would need improvement is the sides of the cheeck bones could be rounded off some.

    Right underneath the hair toward the right side.

    What you did with the hair is fantastic and everything else is superb

  • http://creativeduck.blogspot.com Mikey

    If this were just line art it would be awesome!

    I think the coloring of the skin is a bit patchy and too orange, reminds me of these guys :) http://www.heahea.org/thumb/163-spray_tan_fuck_yeah.jpg and as people above had said, more contrast.

    Try using the Gradient Mesh tool for gradual colours, it’s tricky to start with but once you know what you are doing the results are fantastic.

    The eyebrows kind of look like hairy worms, if you work with a Wacom tablet, just draw a few hairs (using the Width Tool to taper) and duplicate as you feel necessary.

    The eyes are getting there, I’d add a bit more depth to them as they seem a bit flat.

    I like what you’ve done with the hair, maybe add a bit of shading on the skin to show the hair isn’t smoothed onto the face with gel :)

    That pretty much sums it up, good luck!

  • lucy

    Hi!! I would love to do this same vector of the face of catherine Zeta jones. can anyone help me please? this creation looks wonderful.