Still Life Drawing Analysis

 By: Angelina Nguyen

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Analysis

The drawing that I created for the past weeks has been focused on imitating a real image that contained fine designs and shadows. When it came to creating a realistic drawing, such as this flower pot, I needed to follow steps that had to be accurate and presentable as a whole. In the beginning, I started to brainstorm and sketch my compositions that I wanted to do, for example, other than this diagonal composition I had an L composition that was formed by a bunny and flowers. Then, I decided on my composition and went to my good copy. First, I lightly outlined the object that was my idea, like the leaves and stems. Furthermore, I made sure that I careful drew the flowers and pot perfectly, which was followed by adding my shadows that were on the objects. I started off with my light shadows by using an HB pencil since it was the lightness graphite, I did not go to hardness to lightness shades since it would be too bold and if I made a mistake it would be difficult to erase. After, I slowly drew in darker shadows and when I was done that level of shading I would increase the pressure of the pencil I was using or even changed my pencil to a 6B and 2B. Throughout this process I made sure to blend in the light and dark shadows to make sure it did not look unnatural, regularly I would shade the dark or light colours inside the object or even with the background. 

 This still-life drawing is mainly on creating a diagonal composition, one can say there might be an L composition because of the fact the objects create an L, however I think that it is a diagonal since the balance of flowers, leaves, and stems form a triangular shape and has negative space that counteracts the dark shades and items. I think this is a diagonal composition because the object takes up roughly around half of the image and the other opposite side barely have anything, but wrinkles. Also, the image has a detailed stem that divides the negative and positive space while using a vertical line. As a result, since the drawing was a vertical line that divides the image into triangular shapes, I think this picture has a diagonal composition.         

Self Portrait Analysis

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1. The art styles that I decided to incorporate in my self-portrait was Pop Art and Fauvism. Pop Art is basically focused on popular subjects and uses bold outlines and colours that end up creating a striking effect, also it does not have visible brushstrokes. Fauvism is an art style that expresses how the artist thinks about the topic when the art style began it was considered eye- catching and wild because of the fact it had bright and bold brushstrokes and symbolised that were unusual during the early 1900's. Pop art is seen in my portrait by the background since it does not have visible brushstrokes and was no fine designs. Fauvism is also seen in the object's hair since it has noticeable brushstrokes. Both of the art styles have some of the same aspects, such as bright colours and an unreal appearance that the individual does not have in reality, such was usual colours and light shadows.  
2. In the beginning of the assignment, I was brainstorming what kind of art style I wanted to do for my self-portrait and I first decided to use colourful and bright colours, such as yellow and red, to imitate my happy and positive thinking. As a result, I decided to combine different styles, like Pop Art, in order to create the perfect design I wanted. Also, I decided to colour in my photo that I took by hand because I wanted to feel comfortable as if as I was drawing or painting a picture of myself. Throughout, that project I was so stressed out by the fact that I had to draw my face, but I ended up doing as I wanted to and so I used to colour my eyes the same colour as my real eyes, which is brown, in order to symbolism my strength and originality. Also, I wanted to use bold and noticeable brushstrokes since I wanted to display how fearless I am when I talk about my opinions with others. Furthermore, I decided to replace my jacket for a sweater because I wanted to show others how intelligent and formal I am when it comes to school and my future goals. Additionally, I decided to add some clips to my hair since it reminded me of when I was little when I used to wear accessories and also it symbolized how childish I am. During, my past years I use to be a quiet and neutral person, however, I realised with my friends I've made I discovered how much I changed. I have become more decisive, confident, and percipient and so I create this self-portrait to commemorate the journey I have faced and become presently.
3. The first thing I did when I was creating my self-portrait was to brainstorming and research some ideas and designs online. I searched up abstract and cool artworks that I wanted to combine in my artwork and I soon ended up with sketches of my self-portrait. Next, I took photos of myself. I asked a peer of mine to take the photos and I decided to shot while sitting down because I felt comfortable and cool looking, which made me happy, which was what I wanted. I also made my photos loop with broad lightning since it looked pretty. I took a photo that was Rembrandt and Split and it ended up decreasing the happy mood and instead created a mature or gloomy look that I did not approve. Then, I went straight to the computer and imported my photos that my peer took. Next, I put the photos on my desktop, so that I could look at it whenever I needed to, and I went to photoshop so that I could go straight to designing my self-portrait. I started off by cropping out the unnecessary background that was in of photo and started to colour in the clothing that I was wearing in the photo. At first, I created a several backgrounds, however, I did not like them, so I did not do the background yet. Then, I started to colour my hair blue that was dark and light, so that I did not have to create a reflection on my hair. Next, I started to make the background, I used an orange background that was online and I basically used a filter that I discovered during this process from the teacher and made the oranges look painted, which also made the oranges like Pop Art since it did not contain fine details. Lastly, I worked on the face, which ended up taking a few hours. I made the skin pale and outlined my facial features, like my eyes and lips. Additionally, I touched up the colours and used light colours on the face to create shadows that were in the original photo. At the end, I felt that the self-portrait felt that it was missing something, so I added two accessories that were clipped.
4. If I could give my finished product a level of satisfaction I would honestly give it an 8.5/10. For the first time, I felt that I was able to express myself by using my experiences and creativity. I liked how the fact that it is very bright and different it is compared to other peers. However, I think that I lacked experience with photoshopping and I could have used different tools and settings that would have made my procedures shorter and easier, as a result, I think I wasted a large amount of time on a piece that I could have done in a week instead of two weeks or more. Overall, I think my artwork is presentable, but I could have used the tools that were in photoshop more efficiently and effectively.