I've done a couple of portraits where i simply paint the photo, but this time I've done a tracing and used the photo as a reference, for the first time ever. So please go easy on me but I do want honesty. I'm not happy with all aspects, but some I really like. I ended up using coloured pencils and blending with the knife. Its a very airbrushed look, but I could not get the brushes to work for me in the way I wanted. I won't give up on the brushes though, but need to practice more and use a mix of techniques and tools. I also needed to run it through photoshop as it was oversaturated in my colour choice, so again its all about learning. To my surprise I used my eye and what I've learned about highlights and skin tones more than the photo, so I guess a lot is about feeling whats right for the picture.

Animals are much easier than people! Please give me hints on how to do this better. i won't be offended because I need to learn.

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