Realistic Self-Portrait

For this unit we focussed on shading and using different shades to create both a zen tangle and a realistic self portrait. We had to really pay attention to the details and the different shades to try and best match the image we were coping. I tried my best to make the image I was drawing match the reference picture as best I could. You can see that i used a viewfinder on the hair because it doesn't match up completely. These projects relate to my life because sometimes you need to take the extra time and put the extra effort into what you are doing in order to succeed. That's what I did with these projects. Each took a lot of time and effort but the final results turned out better than I had hoped. I chose to make what I made because it was required but also because it can teach you patience in order to appreciate the little things in life.

My work was made using a piece of paper for the zen-tangle and bristol board for the realistic self portrait. I used a variety of graphite pencils including a HB, F, 2B, 4B, 6B, and an 8B. I used a tortillion to blend some of my shading together to make it lighter because we were not allowed to use H pencils (advised not to). I also used a viewfinder to focus on 1x1 in sections of the picture we were using as a reference. This helped me to pay closer attention to details and focus on the shade and shape of the image. I also used a ruler, some white paint, a tooth pick, and crayola colored pencils to complete these projects.

For my zentangle, I started by looking at the example zen-tangle on the rubric that we had to turn in. I tried to best match those shades throughout my leaf. I then sketched the outline of the leaf and created the stem. It took many tries to get the shading right until everything evolved into the final product. I tried to shade the leaves in the scale as well as the stem. i tried to do them opposites so that you could see the shading and they didn't blend together (Light dark, dark light). I then colored in the background with other leaves to make it feastive and fill in some of the negative space. For the realisitc self portrait, we started by taking pictures of ourselves in the light room experimenting with the placement of the lights to create shadows. We then picked the image we wanted to draw and printed it in black and white making sure that it had a range in values. I did my best to then create a 11x9 in grid across my face to so that the symmetry will be more accurate when I start using it as a reference. We then made the bristol board have the same size grid on it as the printed picture so that when using the view finder the portrait would be symmetrical. Afterwards, with the viewfinder I went square by square using my tortillion if necessary and repeated those steps until my shading was finished. I then went in with a toothpick and some white paint to created the white dot that was on both of my eyes in the reference image. If I were to do these projects again, I would focus on making sure that my shading is correct and pay closer attention to the shapes. After I had finished, I had to go back in and make a lot of areas darker.