Hermione Granger- Harry Potter

So as a gift I received a pack of 24 Faber Castell pencils; It was really nice to use them and reach colours I wouldn't have dreamed of using. What advice would you give on the hair and clothing; I want to be a tad more realistic, but A3 printer paper doesn't allow for many layers.

Hey, yolo! This is a very lovely piece!

Those pencils really made a difference, and the layered hair looks great. Definitely going to print this out and put this in a frame (yes, I do frame posters' work from here)!

I need more HP dude. This is probably the best you've done IMO

@knotty: Oh wow thanks. But I'm still not sure about the hair. It looks very different from the referene

Well done!!! I love how the character of Hermione could be seen and felt in your drawing

Hey, Yolo:

Ice Prince said it best: what's important is that the character is seen and felt in the work; the realism comes with time.

What might be happening is that you're trying to work with the hair AND the face at once and trying to balance them out. Instead, try just just working with just hair for a little bit, too. My favorite "hair practice" is to draw the back of a woman's head rather than the front. Another old-school tip: Grab a fashion mag (Vogue, Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, etc.) and just practice drawing the model's long hair (without the face). This will improve your portraits over time.

@knotty: Thanks for the advice; I will take this on board.