Have you tried using a grid system? The proportions and tilt are off a fair amount in that sketch. I agree that you are improving, however I think that you do have much more potential.
Try finding a picture, if you really want to do portraits that is, with individual straight on instead of an an angle like that. I would highly recommend using a grid to help guide you with at least the basic structures. From there, you can continue following the picture for a replica (at this stage I'd recommend doing so) or add in specific artistic details if you feel moved to do so. After you have some experience with the grid system, then try free-handing like that. You'll probably notice a big improvement

Also, have you had much experience with anatomy?

Yeah, my quicker sketches were alot easier when the face was straight mostly because I could separate the eyes better with a grid and draw the mouth and nose even. So I chose the angled face to try and learn the angles a little better. Ive only been studying proportions for a day or 2 and Im just freehand guessing the measurements(should I be measuring them out?). BTW that other portrait is another ref, not my second attempt at it.. Basically I was trying to get used to the curved grid instead of the straight face.

bitch with puppies sketch. x)

No, it wasn't in a "Picasso style", you didn't mean to paint it in this "style", you mearly got the anatomy completely wrong. We can't help you in this thread if you have this attitude, you need to see what you are doing is wrong. The difference between you and Picasso is, at age 15, Picasso could paint magnificent oil paintings anatomically correct. You can't change things around until you know how to do them the right way. The famous paintings you see by Picasso may look distorted and weird, but before he painted these, he had the ability and background to paint what he really saw.




=/=




This post was edited by CHurley on Apr 14 2012 03:37am

one of those things that so many people don't know.
When people look at his paintings and say "so what, I can do that" they don't understand what makes them so great.
It wasn't his ability that made him so famous.. but rather his innovation.

Coloring is a bit harder, did I get it right?

looks like a whopper

nope you are wrong my friend.
there is no resemblance.

update,

good so far, fix her eyes though. they are slanted