Realistic Self Portrait

• 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 graphite and a stomp to show value changes and dimension.

When looking at my pre-instructional self portrait and my final self portrait, there are many distinct, impressive differential factors. I noticed that a lot of my features in the preinstructional portrait were not at all accurate, like my lips and my eyes. They were a lot more similar to my own in the final portrait, which I think is due to the immense practice and time I took with it. One similarity is my eyebrows, as I think those look pretty similar. I also noticed that I got a lot better at hair. Over the course of this unit, I have learned how to approach hair and different ways to add dimension to it. Another thing I learned was shading, as it is clear that in the pre-instructional portrait there is none of that. I worked on adding dimension and personality to my portrait through shading, which I think added a lot overall. 

Three main concepts that I have learned in this unit are improved shading, simplifying features, and proportions. Within my self portrait, I was able to work on shading a lot. It became a vital aspect to the realisticness of the portrait and how it compared to the photo itself. I also had to be careful not to make it too dark, which was difficult because I wanted it to compare to the photo while still being light and interesting to look at. Simplifying features was also very useful and was what allowed me to be able to make my final self portrait very detailed. When we did the practice grid drawings of features, I learned and became familiar with using general shapes and progressively making them more complicated until I got to the final result. I used these same skills on my final self portrait, using simple shapes and allowing shading and intricacies to bring in the realism. Lastly, proportions were a very influential part of this unit on my skills as an artist. I especially was able to progress in this with the half portrait, as I was able to see what it was “supposed” to look like, and I had to mirror it. I was really able to put a lot of thought and effort into considering all aspects of it, and I developed a lot more precision when it comes to accurately drawing things. This translated to my self portrait because I had to replicate what was in an image and put it on my paper. I went back and forth many times to ensure the accurate shapes and sizes, and overall produced a product I am quite proud of!