finishing up.

I know that I haven't posted any progress for the second portrait, but I'll do that pretty soon.

The end of the first semester is approaching, and that also means the end of my passion project work for now. We also have to do a presentation on our projects to conclude them... and that involves a bit of reflection. So this post is more about what and how I've learned throughout this project.

I started with a lot of reading and looking at other people's drawings, and tried some of it on my own sometimes. It worked better {i think} than just deciding to try draw portraits on my own. There is a lot more to drawing faces than simply copying lines... you have to consider lighting, angles, and face shape and structure. Plus, everybody has a differently structured face, so it's not like you can just draw the same outline every time.

While I was drawing child portraits, I realized that it was important to make sure that you only start drawing the features about halfway down on the face, and you can't make too many lines or smudges, 'cause that seems to add age. Their jawlines and cheekbones aren't as defined either, so the shading is a bit softer. When I was working on my first project, I realized that it is also pretty important to measure out the features and where they are on the face. When I just tried to guess approximately what the proportions were, the sketch turned out a bit far from the actual image.

I also had to start scheduling specific days to work on my project {like Tuesdays and sometimes Thursdays} so that I'd actually get it done. :) Otherwise, other things would take priority. Hopefully, I'll still have time to work on this "hobby" {for lack of a better word} even though the semester is ending.