Value Drawing

For this assignment, we were instructed to choose a photo of ourselves, print it out in black and white, and grid the paper inch by inch. We also gridded a blank piece of paper so that they would match up to the inch. We were asked to copy the photo onto the blank paper and make it as realistic as possible. We were told to look at values instead of shapes. The subject of this piece is the values in the photo of myself. In order to make this drawing, I used a number 2 pencil, an eraser, and a tortillion to darken some areas that needed darkening. But the material that I relied on the most during the project was my eyes because they helped me detect the difference between the values. This was critical because the values are what formed the entire photo. Elements I used included shape, value texture and space. I did not use color because the photo is black and white. I also used the principle of contrast to create a difference of values. After looking at it from afar, I revised the level of darkness of my hair because it blended in with my neck and my dress. I needed to lighten the highlights in my hair so that they would pop off the page more. Charlotte Soule took this image of me. I needed an image of myself to base this project on. This project relates to my life because it's a photo of me. Also, the back round is a newspaper article on a recent golf tournament. Obviously, a topic that I have a great interest in. The area in this piece that I am most proud of is the hair on top of my head. I think I did a very good job copying the value from the photo onto the blank paper. I think the highlights are also very accurate. I struggled with the details in my dress because they were so tiny. If i could revise something in the project, I would revise the back eye. In the photo, that eye is downwards more. However, in the drawing, I made it more straight, which isn't accurate. But overall, I really enjoyed this project and think that I did a good job with it!