Realistic Self Portrait

Artist Statement:

In these pieces, my main focus was realism, specifically shading. In my value strip, I practiced shading with graphite pencils. In my self-portrait, I used the techniques I learned to focus on shading. I also focused a lot on proportions and trying to get each feature relatively accurate to my face. 

For both pieces, I used graphite pencils. In my segmented value strip, I used various graphite pencils to create light and dark shading. For my self-portrait, I started by printing a photograph of myself. I then created a grid on that photograph, as well as on the drawing paper I used for the drawing. I then started drawing grid by grid, recreating the values and proportions in the photograph. I used different pencils to create darks and lights and add value to the piece. I also used a blending stump for blending and shading. 

While creating the drawing, I mainly relied on the photograph and the grid I created to make it accurate. As I stated before, a lot of reasoning behind the choices I made was so that the drawing looks accurate and proportionate. I used the grid method for this reason. I also wanted to focus on value, which is why I used various lighter and darker graphite pencils. Overall, my main goal was to create a realistic piece that looks like me.