That is really great! I couldn't draw that til the end of the end! Thats forever!

• words from a song on spongebob

The face is amazing. It shows me a slightly dreamy woman with artistic ability--I'm not sure how, but even if I didn't know this was a self-portrait, i would feel this woman was an artist. The cloak is very, very well done, and the folds of the shirt and the hair are also nicely done, I feel it's the arms and how the things all interact that's the problem--

You see, everything here seems divided into seperate parts--hair, clock, skin, etc. And it doesn't blend that well--don't be afraid to blur the distinctions between the things, don't worry so much about every little detail--the most important thing in art, I think, is getting the IMPRESSION across, not the acuracy. that's what photos are for, I feel. You've done a great job in getting the emotion and expression in the face without relying too much on how things are, exactly... Am I making sense? o.O I've studied realism but to be honest I'm not very good at it, so maybe I'm not even qualified to give advice--but as an observer, this is what I feel is mising. This is a really lovely piece, and I hope someday you have it finished to your own tastes and desires!

Really well done! rate 10 on 10....the glass is very believable

Very nice picture! I would like to point out that I detail you have on the top/dress is very nice, the creases are very evident and the lighting is where it should be~

Liliwagn is right with the distinct-ness, I would probably suggest you add s slightly darker skin shadow to help blend the colour? It is only a suggestion, but that's what I usually do, because technically, it's from under the cloak, so shadows should be present~ More/darker shadows can probably give it a more 3D effect too!

Overall though, this is amazing and very realistic! XD Very nice portrait!

Lovely self-portrait - definitely wonder what she's (you're?) thinking! Love the way the fingers are gently wrapped around that glass, especially. Very delicate.

As for suggestions, I third the vote on the separateness of the elements - they're all quite marvellous by themselves, but right now there are three distinct objects - cloak, dress, you.

I think that's mostly due to the values you used for each - very dark for the dress, midtones for the cloak, almost all very light for the skin and hair.

There are bits that could be darkened - hair behind neck, deepest shadows on skin - those might benefit from being made a bit stronger...and the highlights on the dress could be a wee smidgen lighter...to bring the whole more 'together'...though I agree keeping the face fairly light could help keep it the focus of the drawing...

In the end, though, it's your portrait after all, and I'd never presume to know anything about (a) graphite, and (b) portraits, so feel free to anything I say with a pinch of salt! :)