first oil painting. (wip)

[rsoffar]

well here is what i have going for me in my first oil... (actually my second painting ever... first was a b&w with acrylics)

just looking for any tips as i move forward... anything you can notice from a photo that i might be doing wrong or anything else you want to add about it. all comments are appreciated.

i am working with
ivory black
titanium white
yellow ochre
cad red light
and burnt seinna

[journeyman10]

Well Im very glad that you didnt start with portrait pink because that will ruin you. So cheers to you on that. As you continue to work on this, Make sure that the shadow under the chin is buffered by a lighter area on the upper jawline and a darker line below. Your eyes naturally put this line in, but it helps and adds depth when you do it as well. Also, I dont know about your background, but I would suggest getting rid of that little area of white around your head, I dont know what you look like, and I dont know what style your looking for, but if your just getting into oils, then i would suggest that you try to start as realistically as possible. Style is one thing, but a lack of technical skill is something else entirely. Just look at yourself, for as long as you can stand and until it makes you uncomfortable and see all the colors that are there. The last self-portrait I did started with greens and blues and reds and Im terribly fair skinned.

More than anything, keep at it!

[rsoffar]

yeah im not really going for a style of my own or anything.. just trying to get an accurate portrait painted here.
thx for the advice, im just gonna keep at it and see how it moves a long.

[PuppyKitten]

Heyyy... Look what I found! I dunno if it's intentional or not but I really like how areas around the nose and lips have slightly more saturation. It adds a little extra depth to the skin. I like the nose so far and I like the chunky way you' represented the hair.

Keep the same level of rendering for the bottom of the nose as you did with the bridge and I think you will really have a great looking nosey there.

You prolly aren't done with the lips yet, but be sure to let the lower lip reflect more of the light than the top lip. Right now they are the same tone. If I recall then aside from a small cast-shadow, the bottom lip was a lot light that than the top.

Are you going to cool the colors along the jawline to help indicate stubble? Never had the occassion to do it myself but I am told it makes a better base and lets you avoid drawing lots of little hairs (which would be difficult in oils)