My First Digital Art | Portrait Drawing Practice #16

 Before I go any further I would like to assure you I'm well aware that the portrait piece posted here isn't very well drawn with the facial proportions being not quite right to put it kindly. (It's suppose to be a portrait of Morfydd Clark who plays Galadriel in Rings of Power, in case you were wondering.) But I'm still posting my portrait practice piece anyway as a means to mark my progress as well as to motivate me to draw better. In my defense, this is my first portrait drawing attempt in more than six years, and my 16th portrait drawing attempt overall. It is also my first ever attempt at digital art.

 What surprised me most in my transition from traditional to digital art is how much my art style remains the same. While I'm still getting used to the Apple Pencil, which I used to draw this portrait using the Procreate app on the iPad Pro, I found it comforting that the digital brushes can mimic a traditional graphite pencil almost perfectly. One thing I don't like is the smooth feeling of the Apple Pencil on the iPad screen. For now I'm not willing to use a paper-like matte screen cover that imitates the feel of graphite pencil on paper because I prefer the screen to maintain its glossy shine.

 Below is an accelerated time-lapse video of my first ever digital art.

 To improve my portrait drawing skills, I have enrolled myself in a few online courses on Udemy. What I hope most to gain is the ability to better gauge a subject matter's facial proportions and transfer them accurately onto the paper/digital screen. One weakness I have is trying to invent details I don't see on a photograph hence making the drawing look unrealistic. For example the reference photo of Morfydd Clark sees her staring off at an angle while I tried to draw her looking straight ahead, resulting in the portrait having wrong facial proportions. Anyway, I'm glad to be drawing again. The important thing is it makes me happy in spite of the latest cringe-worthy portrait drawing results. On that note, may you be well and happy too. And thanks too for taking the time to read my blog!