Goal: Create a self-portrait that communicates an aspect of your personality or interests within the composition. Strive to use a creative composition through foreshortening or forced perspective.
Process
1. In your sketchbook, create a mind-map of various ideas for your drawing. Suggested areas to explore; investigate what you feel compelled to:
-how you spend your time
-hobbies
-what makes you unique
-heritage or culture
-sports you play
-jobs
-responsibilities
-daily routines.
-fears
-insecurities
-goals
3. Select your three strongest ideas, create thumbnail sketches for how you would lay out your composition. While sketching, be creative with the perspective you use (foreshortening, worm’s eye or bird’s eye view). Play with reflections and using the environment to create leading lines within your work. How can you get your audience to see your idea in a different and interesting perspective? AP auditors love to see you investigate composition in this way! Use this knowledge to your advantage!
4. Conference with a classmate about your thumbnail sketches. Which sketches have the most interesting use of space and depth of field? Which sketches are they most drawn to and why? Are they drawn to the content you are expressing or the composition you are using? How can you strengthen the weaker of the two components (content or composition) discussed in your peer critique?
5. Enlist a classmate or friend to help you take any needed reference photos for your final self-portrait composition. Be sure to include any props that may be needed.
6. On your final piece, you will work with a gray scale or limited color pallet? Your color choices will add to the emotional quality of your work. Try to allow your work to take on a tonal quality seen in many of the example pieces in the slides above. Use the color theory crash course below as a reminder of how to limit your color pallet.
7. Remember the size range you can work within. The minimum is 8"x10" and maximum is 18"x14".
Need some ideas on how to limit your color palette, take some pointers from art history.
Some interesting notes when playing with reflected light.