Is this a good drawing of jimi hendrix?

Question

today was my first day with charcoal and just wanted feedback.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h254/ramosmark/jimihendrix.jpg

Answer 1

To tell the truth i don't know what Jimi hendrix looks like so to me its sorta abstract...but still its really awesome :)

Answer 2

Well, it depends on how you want it to look.  If you're trying for realism, you could get a book on drawing portraits to help improve: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Portrait-Drawi...

You could improve  on values and structure, but it ultimately depends on what you think.  

Answer 3

work on proportion and placement... are the angles in your drawing the same as the ones in your photo reference? take your pencil and measure.

also, try not to smudge with your fingers! the oils act as a binding agent and makes it difficult to erase. use a paper towel instead.

keep it up

Answer 4

Charcoal is such an amazing medium.  The best way to learn charcoal is to not treat it like pencil and draw with lots of lines like you have.  You just end up with outlines and some smudgy shading.  

Instead try "reductive" drawing. . . . where you tone the paper with charcoal dust first (rub it in with a cloth or paper towel) and then lift out highlights with a kneaded rubber eraser and add darks with charcoal.  

Here is a beautiful example of a reductive charcoal:  http://joebrancaleone.com/reduct_dwg2.jp...

Here is a charcoal of Jimi Hendrix that I believe was possibly done in the reductive method with charcoal . . . http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=h...