This is my first portrait practice from the class.

I used a reference photo of my wife from a special moment when she was pregnant. I wanted to capture a soft and slightly dramatic mood, especially through the hair and overall feeling.

I don’t practice portrait drawing often, so this was a new experience for me. At first, I tried to focus on the eyes, but I wasn’t fully satisfied with how they turned out. Instead of forcing it, I followed the idea from the class to let go of perfection. Since the reference had bangs, I used them to naturally cover part of the eyes and shifted my focus to the flow and movement of the hair.

This helped me enjoy the process more and feel less pressure to get everything perfect. I focused more on shapes, softness, and overall mood rather than details.

I’m also including a couple of earlier versions I made while practicing. These helped me understand what wasn’t working and guided me toward a better final result.

This project was very relaxing for me, especially after a busy week. I’m really glad I finished it.

Thank you, Jerney, for the encouragement and for reminding us to enjoy the process.