Akko from Little Witch Academia [critiques requested]

JAXMP

Hi! Time for a new project!
I've never done a stylized female model (or much character work for that matter) so this seems like as good a time as any to start getting some practice and hopefully improving
Stylewise i want this to look like an anime figurine with relatively flat materials and light tone changes.
This is my primary inspiration/target https://www.artstation.com/artwork/KLdzX note that it is disgustingly adorable, which is something that i'd like to achieve
I've just started earlier today and i'm a couple hours in, i've just blocked in the main shapes and have gotten the head to a somewhat satisfactory base, but obv it still needs a bunch of work.
I'll try to post daily progress shots, asking for some critique to see what i could improve on as i go.

JAXMP

alrighty, session the second, another couple hours (yes, i'm slow). worked on the head mostly, trying to get it to look like anime from all angles is hard, but i think progress is going pretty alright. added a few proxies/bases for hair , pants, shoes.
now i'm off to work, i'll try to work on it some more later tonight.

artofmars

I would definitely take a look at how other artists handles translating an anime style into 3D. There is a lot of difficult problem solving especially with the face and I find the best way to learn that is to replicate what other artist have already figured out.

Here are some examples, I hope this helps!

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/QxwlE
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/kk2
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ndkm9

JAXMP

yeah i've downloaded a few renders from other artists that had nice stylized faces. this is probably the closest to what i'm aiming for style-wise http://hazardousarts.deviantart.com/art/Final-Quality-Render-of-Esmy-from-Cryamore-376852491
i've also read through haz's miku tutorial recently, it's given me a fair idea of the process to go through http://hazardousarts.deviantart.com/art/Hatsune-Miku-Tutorial-Cover-Page-330149374 (also somewhat close style-wise)

JAXMP

session the third. haven't worked on this in a couple days because i'm a terrible person, but worked on the face a bit more, i think it looks fairly decent now. the changes are fairly small, but i think they make a fair difference, this "stylized" thing is neat. started shaping the coat, changed proportions on it a bit