Photoshop Self portrait help

[Hyperblade]

Hello all,
I'm very new to using photoshop for painting, and would like some help. I've drawn a bit of a "caricaturish" self portrait here, and would like to gain some assistance on where to go next.

I thought that I would lay down base colors, and shadows, and then paint and blend on top of the bases. The painting part (the main process, ironically) is where I have my problem. Can someone help me via a walkthrough, or a personal direction?

Thanks much.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p68fc54505f053e26dc90cc29641c8e5d/ea04ffff.jpg

To explain what layers I've got:
*A layer for darks, namely the hair, goatee, and eyebrows and, the reddish-brown color of skin.
*A layer for the light shadow
*A layer of a base brown
*A layer for the lineart. (Mulitply)
*A layer for the background color.

I'm using a brush (19) with 100% hardness, 31%spacing on each layer.

Any help is appreciated, and I have no problems starting over from scratch as I am getting lost.

Thanks again.

[FlipMcgee]

Based off the wip you don't have much contrast right now between lights and darks like in your ref.

Not really tips but just things to consider:

- how are you going to blend the tones

- will you use transition colors or just blend the colors that you have on the canvas right now; you have a ref, so observe what's going on with the colors and values in there or just use the color picker if you're stumped with which colors to use. Or if you find that cheap, paint in any color other than black or white and use the hsv and layer opacity sliders to adjust by eye.

- what style are you going after; since if it's cartoonish or anime-ish that you're going for you don't need to blend as much as if you're going for a realistic and ref-exact look

- will you use brushes with pressure sensitivity on or stick with the hard; either way is alright, just depending on the style you're after

Don't be afraid to experiment. Save an original or use the history snapshot before trying out an unfamiliar process. Your drawing looks solid. Switch your modes for the ref and your current wip into grayscale to see what I mean with low contrast values in the wip.

[Hyperblade]

Ok thanks, will do. I'll post what I do have later and show it. One question though: Is it necessary for me to start blending on another layer, or merge what I have and blend those?

Thanks.

[lordofthebling]

You should read Linda Bergkvist's tutorials on facial features and flesh tones. www.furiae.com

[FlipMcgee]

Is it necessary for me to start blending on another layer, or merge what I have and blend those?

Either way. Whatever you're comfortable with. For speed paintings I usually do most of the work (blending, laying colors, etc.) in one layer. Bigger pieces (like for t-dome challenges), I'd blend on another layer sometimes so I have a little bit more control. I use custom brushes or custom smudge tool (you can set this to blend on another layer) for blending. There's also blending via mask(s). Might be an advanced technique at this point, but if you understand how it works it's a cool blending technique.

I keep foreground and background layers separate though til the last stretch (to save room for adjustments).

Also, there's an edge tutorial by Elwell in the tutorial section here (hunt the one by Greg Pro too). I think it's worth checking out as it will give you an idea how to approach blending in more theoretical way.