MY SELF POTRAIT
CONTOUR OUTLINE OF MY PHOTOTGRAPH
We contoured the outline of our face over the photograph and i took some time to identify the shadows and the areas that the light hit.
BLUEPRINT OF MY CONTOUR DRAWING
We transferred the outline to a piece of blank paper with carbon print paper. I had to take some time as I would often lose track of the areas I had transferred over and would have to refer to the paper underneath.
TRACED PORTRAIT FEATURES
We transferred our facial features onto cardboard to cut out from. I noticed that at some parts, the cardboard was quite lumpy and some of the lines were uneven. also, it was easy to loose track of the outline on the cardboard and at times, the tracing would even overlap.
COMPLETED FACE ASSEMBLING
We started to cut out the facial features and pasting them on the cardboard. For highlights, i added a layer of light paper and for the more shadowed areas i used the other side of the cardboard so that it is more evident that certain areas are a different colour.
HAIR BACKING
I added a hair backing to support my hair frame. I had to estimate how high my hair would go as i wanted the hair backing to be able to support the full length of the hair but not too long that it can been seen when the hair is placed on top.
SHIRT DESIGN
As i struggled to think of a way to incorporate the hair design i had in mind, i started on the clothes first. I used a blue paper bag which had some flowers on it for the fabric as i thought it looked nice. I also added a trutle neck as i thought the neck area seemed bare. to make it more interesting, i also added some ruffles.
MAKING HAIRSTYLE
I started on the hairstyle and struggled to make a shape that looked good with the face. This was the first design, where it had a neater look.
MAKING HAIRSTYLE
The next lesson, i was unsatisfied with the way the hair looked. Therefore i redid it so that there were more details. First i added some blues from the same blue paper bag that was used for the clothes. Then i made use of stripped cardboard that had different hues to add contrast. Lastly, on some parts pf the front piece, i curled them slightly.
I also made more improvements on the ponytail and made a small cut at the neck so that the ponytail can drape over the shoulder.
ADD ONS AND TOUCH UPS TO THE OUTFIT
As i felt that the outfit was too plain, i added a sleeveless jacket to make the it more interesting and diverse, as it can be removed too.
I had wanted to make the outfit less plain but had completely no idea in the beginining. after a while, i had settled on the sleveless jacket.
PRAISE: One thing i would like to praise is my usage of different parts of the cardboard to show of contrast in the facial features. Early on, i had noticed that each side of the cardboard piece had different shades. Therefore i decided to use the varying shades, in addition to the cream coloured paper, to cast shadows and show areas that the light hit. Through the art module, i also learnt how to be more creative and think out of the box. Originally, i was unsure of how i should place the ponytail as i had wanted it to have an effect where it comes from the back and is swept over the shoulders. After much thinking, i realised that i could place a cut on the neck and one on the ponytail. this will secure the pony and let it achieve my vision.
POLISH: I think that what i would like to polish is the planning of the art piece. i had not properly planned out how i wanted to make use of cardboard and recycled materials to form hair and clothes. This resulted in me having to redo the hair and making add ons to the clothes. i found myself wasting time during lessons to think of ways to use the cardboard. This also resulted in much time wasted. If i had another go at making this project, i would plan out how i wanted it to be presented before making it. I think that i would have also made an even better quality art piece as i had reused cardboard pieces that had glue stuck to them and thus they were not of the best quality.
overall, i think that this was a valuable and fun learning experience.