beginning my portfolio for a college scholarship

[Geophillyx]

well its good to be back on the saddle after a long absence. originally i wanted to post these at the Finally Finished Section and HELLO! my eyeballs fell out when i saw the stuff thats over there. so im not gonna post there, mine aint that good. anyways, im starting my portfolio for college, and i really hope i can get a scholarship for it, so people, be honest, be brutal, do whatever you need, just gimme some help
here goes, my latest 2 pieces
the portrait was done with color pencils, and the other one is in oil pastel
i hope i got the attachments right, and sorry for the crappy picture quality
thanks for stopping by :)

[armando]

First crit has to do with the use of line on the portrait. For example you used a line to show an undercut(sculpture term) on the profile of the nose, this is good as part of the surface of the nose is hidden. This can also be used on the nostrils, which you did, but this is more difficult to pull off simce it can make the nostrils look flared, I thnk you did okay with it. You used a line to show the nasolabial folds, this is bad, as they are a meeting of planes rather than a groove in someone so young. Also bad is the sharp line around the lips, especially the bottom, as that one's form subtly blends into the rest of the face. Basically you want to use line on undercuts and hard corners, refrain from using it on soft curves.
Another crit is the inconsistent use of value. On her nose you used a dark value on it's side to seperate it from the front, this is good. Then on the jaw and the mouth, there is no value change so this appears flat, especially after you've given me the light source with the nose.
Overall I like your technical application of the pencil, it's clean and consistent. However I think there should be more a textural difference between skin and hair.

[Geophillyx]

thank you, thank you very very much. im going to correct that right away.
about the hair, it does have more lines in it, but i guess they dont show very well, ill try taking a better picture

[Seedling]

Colleges love to see life drawings - quick ones, not refined into finished pieces - of humans and animals. If your portfolio does not yet include any such drawings, then grab some paper and chase a friend's dog around for a few hours. Then pick the best one or two sketches to put in your portfolio.