So I'm trying to draw in Illustrator
 

And being a lefty...doing right-hand mouse drawing is extremely hard (I can't afford a tablet)
Photoshop is easier as I'm not going over each tiny piece with a pencil tool-if I wanted to change a part, I lassoed, made my changes.
My arm is tired, but here's the first of a couple of my tries. Don't be TOO harsh, but if you see something really odd, point it out, please!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...g/josieweb.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ntmumsillu.jpg

Wow! It looks like you've got the right idea. It took me a long time to get used to Illustrator. As far as a tablet goes, I've got one, but honestly find it easier in Illustrator to use the mouse (I use the tablet for Photoshop all the time, though).

I think you're making a great start, and with a bit more time you'll be a true pro. :)

I'd say you are coming along nicely....

For the portrait, I see quite a few "loops" in the lines, especially in the hair. This is where the stroke crosses itself forming a single point, then expanding again. For me, it's an immediate sign that you have lost control of your handles. Perhaps you did this on purpose? If so, I think it would look better without. Here is what I mean by a "loop" in the stroke...
http://img173.imageshack.us/img173/4948/loop3qi.th.jpg

As for the flowers, they are looking pretty good. Your shading, however, definately looks spotty. I'm seeing some linear gradients, some radial gradients and a few solid color fills as well. Also, I'm seeing some heavy stroke lines that don't really belong. To give a more realistic look, I would suggest the learning of the mesh gradient tool. It's a real bear to learn (i'm not that great with it just yet) but the results can look near photo-realistic. Also, I'm not sure what all those white spots are doing.

Please see the above comments as constructive criticism, and not an outright slam. So far I see a lot of potential, but there is ALWAYS more to learn in Illustrator.

I second the recommendation to learn the Gradient Mesh. I'm going to try to teach myself the mesh tool this winter, since I've seen how incredible the results can be. I hadn't initially noticed the "looping" in the portrait, but now I see it. It's something that you can overcome with practice, though it's frustrating at first for sure!

If you need inspiration, you can check out www.lifeinvector.com

I go to that site frequently just to remind myself what CAN be done with illustrator and try to glean what information I can from looking at the illustration portfolio.

Oh damn, I forgot to fill that white in! :lol:
No, the hair 'loops' wasn't intentional, just didn't know how to make them solid curls, and then when feathering, of course the loops thinned more.
The mums lines, yea I know some are too thick-is there a way to blend a stroke so there's no definitive line? The centers in them were darker, but gradient didn't do what I wanted.
I'm more for simplicity of the real rather than having someone say, 'photo or drawing?' when looking at it. The center flower in the mums came closest to that, I think, but the one on the right has more depth.

I'm not sure what you mean by "no definitive line", but there is the option to turn off stroke color, so that there's only a fill color. You can also make it so that the stroke is the same color as the fill or even turn down the stroke weight to make a thinner line.

Yes, knew that....just didn't see anything that allows one to blend a stroke line(feather, etc). Probably comes down to better color matching and/or being more precise-drawing each shade, even the tiniest, seperately...still experimenting! :)

Silly me, Gaussian Blur!
 

This took me about 2-3 hours:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/ngdawg/jolie.jpg

Ooooo shiny!

The eyes and lips turned out rather delicious. I wan't to see more!

I'm not much of a critic, so I don't have a lot to say, But the eyes look really great on the last one.

I think I got faces down ok:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...g/blondeba.jpg

anyone wanting practice in illustrator and wanting to contribute to a good project, feel free to contribute to the open clipart project at www.openclipart.org

theres usually a request or two to provide inspiration as well.

your work is lookin good to me!!!