Self Portrait - Project 23

Introduction

    To end the class in what has been a great experience in learning Adobe Illustrator, our professor has assigned us a Final. The final is to create a self-portrait in Adobe Illustrator. We have free range to create the portrait however we see fit.

    I can draw portraits of people with led pencil and other mediums, but I have decided to upload a picture of myself instead. I used gradients to make them blend as well. I am still trying to learn how to make it one cohesive piece.

    I started by tracing the outside of my hair, and I added some other parts of the hair to make them lighter and darker.

    I then started working on my black t-shirt, and I did the same thing.

    After I finished the shirt, I began the journey of my face. The face has taken me the longest to do. I outlined it, and then I started on the eyes.

    With the eyes, I used radial repeat to get the lines in the iris, and I used gradients throughout to make the eye look more natural. I also added a spot for the glare/halos in the eyes from the light bouncing off of them.

    I was unsure how to present some features of my face. I have a mild rash, and I presented with a pink-tinted color around the areas where it is visible. I also was unsure how to go about the shaded around the neck area.

    I have never done a portrait in Illustrator so; it was interesting to see how it would come out.

Picture I Replicated

Final Self-Portrait

Conclusion

    Overall, I am impressed with how my portrait came out. I know that there is so much more I will be able to accomplish once I get comfortable. I thoroughly enjoy drawing portraits and detailed objects. It was nice to try something new. I have accomplished many goals in this class. I am becoming much more familiar with the tools in Illustrator such as the pen tool, clipping masks, gradient mesh tool, and the artboard tool, etc. It is also becoming easier to group like objects and keep my layers organized.