Free art critique from Roger, send in a drawing or painting by email and receive a free and honest critique......See an example critique of the picture below.

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Bad points Most of the elements in this drawing which is done in charcoal are fine but great improvements can be made. I haven't seen the photo or live model from which this drawing was made but I can see straight away that her nose looks very flat. Underneath her nose should be darker because the light is coming from the right and slightly above and also a dark line should be added underneath the nose to bring it out and make it more three dimensional.

The right hand looks very contrite and more observation of what is happening here would help you, also can you see how complicated this area looks. If you cover up the hand with your thumb you will see how much better and simpler the composition would be, it looks like a lions claw! A face should have a centre of interest, it could be beautiful eyes or an unhappy smile, something that is characteristic of a person's face but here the centre of interest it seems is the food in her mouth which turns me off somewhat. Apart from the technical side of portraiture (Light & shade, texture, line etc) a portrait has to be appealing to the viewer but here it feels a little distasteful. Sorry to be so blunt but it is the only way to learn.

Good points
The portrait has good reflective light on the left side of the face and also the lights and darks work well with a dark background illuminating the light face. The structure of her head is well constructed apart from as said earlier her nose.

Conclusion
You need to observe what is happening in a portrait, how things are constructed like for instance the right hand and think more about the content of the work that you are doing.

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