My Self Portrait
We learnt how to contour our face and trace the shape of the shadows on our face and our hair. First, we traced the shape of our hair, followed by the shape of our face then the shadows on the face. We learnt that different layers and colours of cardboard to create the shadows.
A piece of carbon paper was placed between the blueprint and photo. I outlined my facial features and shadows onto a carbon paper which allowed the outline to be directly transferred to my blueprint. This blueprint will help me for the rest of the process.
This lesson, we traced out our facial features on a piece of cardboard and cut our face out. For shadows, we traced it out on a lighter piece of cardboard. For highlights, we traced it out on a white cardboard. For all the things we traced out, we had to label it so we do not get confused.
This is the process of sticking the various parts of the face onto the base. It was interesting comparing the blueprint of my face to the actual product.
By this lesson, I had finished adding the highlights and shadows to my face. I also used a black marker and cut out a piece of white paper to make the eyes more realistic. However, one mistake I could have avoided is pasting the base of the spectacles first before doing the eyes.
This lesson, I had the spectacle frames made which made my face look more complete and realistic. I also opted for a turtleneck as the top as I had a paper bag with stripes which resembled a real turtleneck. I was advised to add some thickness to the neck area which I did by adding a piece of cardboard underneath.
This lesson, I tried making the hair. I used a soft cardboard with texture and cut out strips for the hair. However, I realised I should have made the backing longer. I plan to add a ponytail so it doesn't look so incomplete.
I finished up the hair and I also attached a ponytail to make it look less weird. I used velcro to secure the extra hairpiece so I can remove it whenever I want and the hairpiece would stay in place.
I used yellow paper to add highlights to my hair. This made the hair stand out more.
I opted to make a hairpiece with a boycut because I thought I should try something new, I cut short strips of cardboard to make the hair strands. I also attached velcro to the base so I can change the hair whenever I like.
When I was doing the second hairpiece, I realised that it looked quite plain. Then, I added a yellow piece for the fringe. However, it started looking really weird. I consulted Ms Ng who suggested to add strips of hair and use the same cardboard for all the hair.
I heeded the advice of Ms Ng and cut out small strips of cardboard and glued them one by one on the hairpiece. It looked way better than before as the small strips of cardboard gave the hair more volume and texture. I opted to give myself a hairstyle which is quite different from my usual style. This style of a boycut is something I would not normally put on myself and it was fun seeing myself in another hairstyle.
I attached a rectangular piece of cardboard at the back of the base so my portrait can stand. I think that I look better with the first hairstyle as there is a ponytail to complete the look.