23 haoshun

a. artistic process

contour outline of my photograph

it took a lot of patience for me to actually sit there and trace out the image of my head onto the photograph. i messed up many times but i never gave up and eventually finished it

2. blueprint of my contour drawing

it took a lot of patience yet again, although it was a lot easier than doing the outline. having the outline already on the photograph over the paper will allow for the improvement of speed over the usage of the pencil, thus having the outline made it significantly easier to trace the the outline onto the blank a4 paper

3. traced portrait features

the cardboard relatively harder to cut when in comparison with the much easier counterpart: paper. it took a long time for me to figure out the way to get the scissors to cut the cardboard easily, which was bending the cardboard, thus providing space for my hand such that i have the ability to exert more force on the scissor which resulted in a better cut piece of cardboard

4. complete face assembly

took a long time to assemble all the different parts of the face, and i managed to lose track of the location of some of the minuscule parts, which meant that i had to recut those specific parts, which was frustrating. i was able to control my temper and finished cutting the parts, then proceeded to painstakingly paste all the parts onto the face. the pupil also needed highlights which were really difficult to cut.

5. hair and hair frame

6. hair and hair frame

7. making the hairstyle

the hair took a long time to make and the design didnt turn out how i expected the first time, so i changed the design a little and it looked slightly better so i kept it. i did not leave a lot of space for the hair so i thought it would not fit very well when pasted on the head, but it actually did so i just put everything together and added the velcro for pasting the hair onto the head frame.

8. overall look of hair over face

9. completed shirt design

i found a colgate toothpaste box and thought it was colourful and would fit well as a shirt for the body. i saw at the side of the box that there was two pieces of cardboard that was already in the shape of a collar so i just used those pieces to make my collar. then i used a part of a marigold milk carton to make a pocket to add more detail for the shirt such that it isnt as plain as just a normal shirt.

10.. completed final look

i finished piecing together all the different parts of the design and it turned out somewhat decently. i did not have high expectations since i know my limits and it didnt turn out too far from what i thought it would be. i thought it would be slightly worse so when i saw that it was half decent i was taken aback.

b. reflections - praise and polish

PRAISE: despite not having much experience, i was able to cut the cardboard somewhat smoothly and follow the outline. i thought that in order to make some turns while cutting the cardboard i would have to bend the cardboard such that it would be easier to cut but made it look worse due to the bends on the cardboard and it potentially causing the whole thing to fold once i paste on the head, but it turned out fine, and the cardboard was safely in one piece and not crooked. i faced many set backs like not knowing what im doing or whether it will turn out well, but i presevered and pulled through, and eventually completed the entire project without having too many major issues. i enjoyed the process of making and designing the entire portrait, and also learned from my own mistakes. despite being in possession of very little artistic talent, i was able to design something that i was proud of. the process is also enjoyable since i am more motivated with friends around. ms ng occasionally walks around the class and gives comments, which helped me improve my portrait and encourages me to continue working. she was patient and did not get angry when we produced unsatisfactory work and patiently explains ways to improve our work.

POLISH: if given the choice, i would make the shirt desgin less complicated. the shirt right now is quite complicated and has too many colours clashing with one another, making it less appealing. i could also make a more orderly hairstyle since the one i went with is kind of random, with a lot of triangles. i could maybe add it more different shapes and make the hair less boring like making some part of the hair go above the head like a string or two to make it more interesting instead of all the hair just flatly falling on my face with nothing going on. i could have also made my head face a little bit more down since i was looking up in the photo reference which caused making the hair to be a bit more complicated than it otherwise would have been. i realised that i sometimes overthink very simple things, when i was making the pocket i took a way more difficult route which was not necessary, where i cut out a part for the pocket and a different part for the flap. this made the pocket slightly weird and not able to open properly, but i realised i could just cut one whole piece and fold the top for the flap which i did eventually by just pasting the parts that i had already cut onto the larger piece such that the marigold logo was still on the flap

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