Purpose

• To use the correct facial proportions to draw yourself as accurately as you can;

• To draw the individual features, eyes, nose, mouth in a convincing 3D way;

• To use charcoal and a stomp to show value changes and dimension.

Reflection

After receiving feedback from peers and teachers, I improved my shading, placement, and contrast. In my initial sketch on white paper, I struggled to get the placement and shapes of the main facial features correct. For the eyes, I was told to make the iris/pupils smaller, leaving some white beneath them. I had to edit my nose a lot. I was drawing the nostrils too high up, as well as making it too large and long. The lips were either too full, too slim, uneven, or too wide, so I made a lot of tweaks. I struggled to get the curves of them right, and was told to tilt the corners down slightly. Once I transitioned to brown paper, I had trouble using the charcoal to get the shading I wanted.  My lines, especially on the lips and nose, were way too thick and dark. It was suggested that I soften my lines around those areas with a blending stump, a kneaded eraser, and even some white charcoal powder, in order to create a 3D look. The contrast aspect was similar. I was making light lines too dark and dark lines too light. After being told to look at the mirror, then my drawing, I made the shadows of my hair, eyebrows, and other darkest features contrast with my eyes, face, and highlights. Because we were drawing on brown paper and in black and white, it was difficult to match the shades. Using different techniques, I was able to figure out the contrast, shading, and technique of my self-portrait. These are three main concepts that I learned when drawing this.