Male portrait training begins with Belloc

Some of the reviews of Clockwork Dancer have made a criticism with which I and many female artists, especially those influenced by anime, are quite familiar: that the male characters look a bit feminine.

So! Rather than whine about it, I'm undertaking a little training exercise. I put together a list of twelve real men that I consider handsome in one way or another, mostly military and political leaders, a few literary, a few actors, all undoubtedly masculine. I'll be doing quick black and white portraits, not being too uptight about capturing likenesses, but concentrating on masculine features. It'll be fun, and I am eager to improve.

This is the first, of Hilaire Belloc. In addition to his historical, polemical, journalistic, and fiction writing career, he served in the French army, was an experienced recreational sailor, and walked from France to Rome and from the Midwest to California, the latter to claim the woman he wanted to marry before her mother would make her enter a convent.

This being the first portrait, I expect it to be the least well-executed of the twelve. The features are a bit small.