New vector of me

[Pleymo]

Well, I'm back.

First of all, thanks to Tavro for his small tutorial that really helped me. I think this one is much better then the previous one. Ofcourse there are a lot thing that can be improved, but i'm practising, you know

What points are much better and what points can still be improved?

btw, i madef it b/w to make it some easier. Maybe I will color this one later.

[Jeff]

Looking better. I think one area that you can improve on is the hair - it still looks somewhat computer-generated, and the shapes look a little unnatural for hair. Take a look at vector portraits on DA to see what I mean. Something like this where the hair flows naturally. Or it doesn't have to be too complicated - even something as simple as this works.

That last example should tell you that more complex isn't always necessarily better. This is an improvement over the last one not because it's more complex, but because it's more... well-defined. That does come as a consequence of being more complex, but that doesn't mean the original couldn't have been more well-defined. Before you start getting more complex than where you're at right now, I'd focus on getting away from the computer-generated look. Using photoshop on a photo to judge where to place shapes isn't a problem, but you should only use them for general placement, and not exact guidelines.

I like your effort though, and I think you'll continue to improve at your current pace. Nice job.

[Pleymo]

Ok thanks mate. That's some really helpful critique!

The hair in your first example is a little bit too well-defined for me, but the second one is fine. I guess I still have to learn how to recognize these hightlight areas. The next point for me is: giving the vectors a good and more natural shape? Especially the hair? Maybe I need to put some more time in it to make the shapes more realistic.

thanks

[Tavro]

The hair around the neck and on the right side of the face looks pretty nice, but the hair on top needs to either have finer, smaller shapes (see the link from Jeff) or the shapes need to encompass a space that stretches to one side of the hair, just so it doesn't look like there are shapes just hanging out in the middle of your hair.

Overall, a very nice improvement, especially in the face.

[Jeff]

About getting the hair to look more natural - it's all about flow. No matter how simple or complex the vector is, you want to capture the flow of the hair. By that, I mean the direction the hair is going in. That rule can be applied elsewhere too, such as for eyebrows and lips. Take a look at this to see what I'm talking about.

You also want to make the strokes pretty narrow, and avoid the blockiness that you sometimes see with posterize. Take a look at the simple vector example I provided earlier. It keeps the highlights on the hair sleek and narrow - no blockiness, even as simple as it is.

[Helix]

is this a vector of a pic?

[Pleymo]

A thanks Jeff. that looks nice. I just need to add more flow to the hair/eyebrows/mouth. and tavro, thanks for the comment. i was able to add all the detail in the face by using your guide. it was quite succesfull i guess

and helix, it's a vector made in illustrator.