Portraits - a learning curve

[zaphodeist]

Harry [HayTay] kindly suggested I make a thread of these images. I hope they might give hope to those, like me, who are not naturals with paper & pencil. Like everyone here, I've done lots of doodling with XXP but I wanted to attempt something a tad more creative. The images are not traced, they're made with lines and shapes via the shape editor tool [& sometimes the Freehand tool], feathering & transparency. I usually use a pic as a model - to one side of the page - and occasionally draw a rough grid of guidelines over salient points which I then clone and shift over to where I'm drawing. I don't claim any great skill or talent of course and I don't think more highly of these images than I should [Ye Gods, look around TG!] but nearly anything is possible in XXP with concentration - which is very therapeutic in itself I find. The images are in chronological order so any progression - or regression - on the learning curve will perhaps be noticeable.

I will - hopefully - be adding to this thread as and when. Any comments, suggestions, helpful criticisms gratefully received Thanks to those of you who've made confidence boosting comments already in the Stop & Post threads - much appreciated