I've been lurking a lot and learning things here and there. I'd really like to know what I can do to improve. There are some incredible artists here.

Photo by me:


I could also use some new friends on here. Thanks for looking!

Nice attempt!! :-)

For me it looks a bit overdone tho.. I will be a bit more careful with D&B as I think you have got rid of some facial expressions and it looks a bit retouched/flat!

The hair tones look a bit burnt and I prefer the originals without that hint of green they have at the moment.

I think overall if you calm down the skin retouching and mainly the eyes area, it should look more natural!!

Best

Javi

Thanks for replying!

I will watch the D&B especially on the naturally brighter parts of the face (chin, forehead). I am also trying to get used to using a tablet instead of my finger on the laptop.

Thanks for the comments, I will keep working at it.

I did this one in a different thread yesterday, I think it turned out better:

https://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thre … st18366998

Definitely look into more of the subtle details as well; e.g. individual hairs that go against the flow.

I've been immersing myself in Natalia Tafarrel's videos among other artists. I highly recommend Natalia's volume 2 beauty retouching DVD as it includes her Photoshop files so you can see in great detail how the image transformed over time. For me, that has been a great way to learn.

Also, don't have the link handy, but in one of the recent 'retouch skin' threads, there was a good video where at the end, the artist did a complete summary of all his steps. Not only did he show the mechanics of the steps, but explained the 'why' behind them.

You can do it, put your back into it