Hi pchef
Thank you very much, really appreciate it.
Shaun
Hi, I looked at your portrait, and I think you are very close to what you want to be able to do, its just some small details that are stopping you from doing so, so I made this small over-paint to illustrate what I think could be improved, first I changed the mode to gray scale as sometimes color can deceive the perception of contrast and dept, next, I go a reference of a some what similar like photo as the render of your portrait, next I increased the overall contrast of the image, then I painted thicker upper eye lids, and added some more prominent ambient occlusion on the top area of the eyes, I also panted more visible ambient occlusion for the lips and the sides of the mouth and increased the shadow power below the nose, this are things you would do to paint a portrait that would look more realistic, and that I think this makes the face look more natural, to apply this changes on a 3d model some thing you will need to do lighting wise, like the shadow below the nose all you need to do is lit the model a bit less directly from the front, while there nothing inertly wrong with your lighting setup, what you have now its not conductive to making the face look as believable as possible, a more top down less harsh lighting would make the model shape look more credible, remember you are already fighting to get the viewer to believe your illusion, and every bit counts, the AO for the eyes are material related, and the thicker upper eyebrows those are also modeling related, the mouth sides are texture and modeling related, you might need to do a bit of remodeling on the side of the mouth to catch those small pockets of shadow. All in all you are %90 there, just push a bit more and you will have what you want, I’m also on this same boat trying to get photo realism in 3d, so I know ho hard and frustrating it can be, best of luck and I hope my ideas help you in your endeavors, Cheers!
Great work, very nice texturing and everything… pity you had to add so much CA at the end, looks like it was photographed through a dime-store magnifying glass. Otherwise A++
@ maxetormer, thanks for your detailed crit, really appreciate it and I will definitely take your advice under consideration. Look forward to seeing some of your posts in the future. Got your PM, so thanks I will have a look at the vid over the weekend.
@ Kemmler, thank you very much. Looking back on this I think I did overcook the post work a bit, I think that when you think you are finished with a project you actually need to take a week or two to have a look at it to see if it is really finished. Looking at it again and after the last two comments I am tempted to have another go, especially at the eye area, even though I promised that I wouldn’t. :evilgrin:
Shaun
dope. thats all.
It was facinating to follow you on the WIP thread. Thank you for educating others. She’s so real, i’d only wish she’d smile 
@ edward. thanks man, liked your Iron Man you did. :eek:
@ cgstrive, thanks so much, having another hack at her so we will see if she gets better or worse. 
No the easiest topic I picked.
Shaun
Perhaps some veins in the eyes? The whites of the eyes seem flat, otherwise good progress.
@ JustWandering, thanks, you are a tough critic, 
so great to know I am going forward.
Did one last one, not sure if it is progress or regress, but its time this one is laid to rest.
Shaun
Y’know, that’s my only crit of this image, the lack of expression. I see the last post of the work is an improvement, but that’s more angle. She needs to now look human.
But that’s just pedantry, I’m in awe of the model and the texturing.
Hi Roken
Thanks a mil, next one I am working on will be given a large grin.
Shaun
And here I thought you were done with Anna Just a personal choice of course, but I prefer the original finished render… latest one might be a little heavy on the blue tinting.
Hey harley
If Ana ever pops up again report the post to moderators and have me banned from the forum.
I am a bit undecided as to which looks better harley, just glad you like one of them.
Shaun