I've just started working on this painting and run into a problem. The character I am painting is meant to be somebody with a very strong physique, meaning a lean face. The issue is that no matter how I paint the face, or what I change, his face always comes out feeling too round if not fat. I'm not sure if it is because of the angle, the shape, size, etc so I could really use some assistance here. Incase you can't tell, he's supposed to be leaning forward with his head tilted down. Typical tough guy pose, I know.
Heya! well since no one else have posted a reply I figured I would at least give it try. You know it's the same old advice, do more studies and you will surely be able get what you want out on the canvas in due time. I think we all struggle with the head now and then, things like studying the skull and its form will help you a lot. I tried to slim it down a little, make it more square. I also toned down the saturation, I personally prefer to work with lower saturation. I'm not sure but i felt the strong yellow in the corner distracted from the main subject so i removed those. I think expanding the picture to the right and down a little to include the entire weapon could work in the compositions favor, you could also possible flip the picture horizontaly so that our eyes follow the weapon from right to left up to his face. I also think working from dark to light will help you a lot, try starting with solid, uhm, dark stuff, then gratually add light.
I'm still trying to learn myself but hopefully this helps a little. I apologize, I am not sure I'm great at explaining things, especially since english is not my first language. But keep at it, keep the studies going and it will come to you.
Thanks a lot for the advice. That does look much better. As for the yellow in the corner, this is about a 50% crop from a larger picture I'm working on, but I'll definitely tone down the yellow. Most of the painting is still in a rough or even thumbnail stage. Anyway, I really appreciate the help. I'm going to try what you did and if I'm still having trouble, I'll probably just re-paint the head entirely.
