#1 - KISS

A good ice breaker. This series of quick selfies made me realize that, although assigned to be "quick," I wanted to go almost too quickly. It was easy for my eye to get ahead of my hand rather than slowing down and really letting my eyes have a chance to see first. I started each one from a different part of my face to try to force myself to see different things. They're pretty quirky...and look nothing like me, but I actually kind of like them. :)

10 days of selfies - image 1 - student project

#2 - Mirror, Mirror

I'm just starting on my journey to learn to draw well, so this is actually my first real attempt at a self portrait. I see plenty of things wrong with it, but I have to admit I'm happy with how parts of it turned out. I'm also excited to see what my self-portrait might look like a few months or even a year from now...

Today was very different from yesterday. It definitely took longer. The basics of "seeing well" were still important. And for some reason I look somewhat angry... What I have posted here is actually a second attempt. The first attempt I started with a contour of my face, but I could tell it was really off, so I started over. On this one, I drew my glasses first. It wasn't where I would have gone first, but it seemed to make sense to start in the middle and build outward... The width of my face is still off...somehow I drew one lens longer than the other, which still threw things off. Also tricky that I started with my face at a bit of an angle, but was looking more straight on by the end. This was a "nap time drawing" and my son woke up toward the end, so it was a rushed finish.

10 days of selfies - image 2 - student project

#3 - TBT

This photo feels very much me. I think it was one that was framed in my home because it is more familiar than some of the other ones I came across. It was intimidating when I started...not sure why. The features are more soft and round than the portrait from yesterday and I wasn't sure how to accomplish that. The hair was also tricky - so wispy and thin. I started with a contour of the head and worked my way in. I'm not sure if I got the head/face too wide again or if I made the features too small (though I can see the right side of my head above the ear could have been brought in). Either way, I'm happy with how it came out. :) It was also fun drawing this because this was my 8 month photo and my son is currently 9 months old.

10 days of selfies - image 3 - student project

#4 - I (HEART) ME

I did this portrait from a photo of my wedding day. It's my face as I'm walking down the aisle looking at my soon-to-be husband. :)

This one was more difficult to do. I tried to start on a couple other pages but just couldn't get the initial proportions right. I flipped my sketchpad from portrait to landscape and it all started to come together better. The mouth is off and the eyes are uneven, but, meh, that's okay. In the photo, my face is far more bright and expressive, whereas the drawing came out a more dull expression. I'm not sure how to convey that part better. I guess it will come with practice.

In hindsight. day 1 was nice because it was quick, more freeing, and I didn't get caught up in the details.

10 days of selfies - image 4 - student project

#5 - MIX IT UP

In an effort to be more loose, I chose to draw this portrait with a brush pen. It did help - and I did finish it more quickly than the last few days, but I still found it difficult to set aside the details. I like the dark lines of the brush pen, but it's certainly less forgiving. It was nice working with this pen - I haven't used it much before. Things I learned for next time: use lighter lines with tip of the pen in places, play with different directions of hatching, keep trying to get the eyes more accurate, try "less is more"...I don't need to try to replicate every detail, feature, and shadow.

10 days of selfies - image 5 - student project

#6 - I AM

I think the eyes are what start to pull the selfie together for me. The accuracy either makes it or breaks it. I did two other "mix it up" selfies and they looked way off; it seemed to be mostly in the eyes. So for this day, I actually just slowed down and took time to try just the eyes.

10 days of selfies - image 6 - student project

#7 - Avatar

This was difficult to do. Making features unique is still hard to nail down.

10 days of selfies - image 7 - student project

#8 - INSIDE OUT

This one looks nothing like me. I wasn't sure what to do. I sat down to do this right after putting my son down for a nap that he was not wanting to take. So this is my "ah! this boy needs to sleep!" face that was very much of the moment.

10 days of selfies - image 8 - student project

Amy McGowan

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