_{Reference used: red 05 by ~un-makeup-stock}

Who here has searched for photos of real people, hoping to find one that resembles what you imagine your OC to look like? I have, but I've never been very successful However, a few days ago, I found this woman's stock account, and immediately thought of Malin. Her face is just what I pictured my little schoolteacher's to be I've never had much interest in realism, but I was gonna try now that I found the right subject

I really hope this doesnt scream "n00b!" I had no idea what I was doing, and those old anime habits are hard to break. But compared to my usual art, this is definately more realistic looking (I drew it three times before I was happy with it. I'm very anal retentive X3) Originally I tried this with the eyes opened, but I didnt like it. I thought the eyes didnt look right, so I closed them completely and changed the rest of the facial expression. Malin is daydreaming, but I'm not sure of what. She oughta be doing real work, like grading papers or something

Again, please tell me if the highlights/shading look warped in any way. I'm still trying to figure out if it's just my browser that makes it look weird when I view it on dA