Lady Gaga- Graphite

Wow Angelina! This is amazing, especially as your style really shines through on this one.

I can tell immediately that your vision for this image was to create the great atmosphere of live performance, and to capture the majestic leader that Lady GaGa becomes while on stage to her fans. You chose a reference with a great 'Monster Paw' pose and angle, making this drawing extremely eye catching. Therefore, I have given you 4.5 for vision.

Due to the fact that this was drawn from a reference, I would mark it considerably low in originality if taking the critique system into account. However, ignoring that I think that your brave choice of photo, with it's angle, pose and lighting, has made for a very different drawing, documenting GaGa in a way that I have not seen previously on DA. Therefore, I will give you 4 for originality.

As I mentioned previously, your unique and recognisable style really adds character and a new dimension to this, instantly making the Technique mark considerably high. I love how, unlike many that vigorously blend the shading (especially on the skin) you use a range of pencils lines and cross hatching to suggest the form and structure of the body. This quirky yet interesting technique works extremely well for the hair, which is very realistic and adds a 'bounce' to the curls, which gives reams and reams of character.

Your varied tonal range compliment your pencil marks well, describing the form of the face well in particular, and the contrast between the black background to the mid tones found on the face makes this drawing 'pop' and appear three dimensional. It also draws the eye to focus on the subject, which is very striking and something which I find a pleasure to see. The small spotlights behind her also allow for the eyes to travel across the background, allowing the audience to imagine the massive crowd of excited monsters, which adds even more energy to the drawing.

Going back to basics, the proportions are spot on and accurate to that of GaGa's, making it instantly recognisable and allows for that sudden connection, especially amongst her avid fans. Overall, the amount of detail, and focus and application of tones and pencil marks makes this such a joy to view; I give you 4.5 for technique.

The impact from this drawing is huge. Being quite a big of fan of GaGa and having been to her Monster Ball Tour, this drawing took me back to that night, and the electric atmosphere from within the stadium; I've never had quite an attachment to a picture in that way before. That, and the realistic 3D look, I again rated 4.5 for impact.

Overall, I am again astounded by this, it is definitely one of my favourites from your gallery. Your expressive, almost illustrative style has been what has hooked me to your work for so long, and was great to see it in such a magnificent piece as this! To please those that stick firmly to the critique system, changing a few things from the reference, (perhaps styling your own costume for her?) would get top marks for originality. As with the other criteria, your future natural progression will soon get you 5 in everything. Altogether, it's really well done! Congratulations Angelina! <img src="e.deviantart.net/emoticons/b/b…" width="15" height="15" alt="" title=" (Big Grin)"/>