Rihanna Portrait

Okay. So this caught my eye. And you've really got some amazing things going on here.

First off, your proportions are perfect. This looks SO MUCH like Rihanna, and I really can't think of much to add, except that her index finger on her right hand (on the left side of the picture) looks a touch narrow. Her facial expression is amazing.

The layout of the picture is amazing. The focal point is good, and it looks really well balanced.

And her hair. I personally find that hair is just about the most finicky thing in the world to draw, but you did a really good job of it here. It looks really natural.

I assume that you used a reference photo for this, which is a brilliant photo, by the way, and a really good choice for reference. You did a really, really good job of not being a slave to the reference. She doesn't look "stiff" here; the pose is extremely natural, and just generally well done.

As far as shading goes, thank you, thank you, for using dark values. It really adds a lot of depth and impact.

However, I find that the shading is a bit rough. you've smudged and smoothed it down really well, for the most part on her face, but there's a few places, like her forehead, where the shading looks a little patchy.

I think you could also been a bit more careful about her arms, hands, throat, and chest area. While it's great that you're exaggerating values, places like her chest should be a bit more uniform than they are here.

Also, On her arms, especially, you left quite a few pencil lines. And while at may have been an effect you were going for, what with the amount of smudging on her face, and how smooth the transitions are there, it's not really something that works too well. It just makes the picture seem rough and unfinished, or as though you got bored and just wanted to get it over with. The scribbled in background doesn't help much either.

The patterns and textures on the hoodie could also have used more work , and you could have done more with the sequins on the hood. It just looks rather flat, and it doesn't work too well with the depth that you got on and around her face. In all fairness, that hoodie in particular looks ridiculously hard to draw.

If you had wanted a rougher, more loose piece, I think I would have suggested cross-hatching to build up values, instead of uniform pencil lines.

However, I must say, a job well done. You should most definitely keep going with portraiture, because you've got a lot of good stuff going on here. I'd just work on shading techniques a little, to get it looking more finished.