Portrait Assignment
The goal of this assignment was to mimic these black and white headshots. I am not a studio artist, so it isn't perfect, but I tried to include all the shadows and intricate lines in these actors' and actresses' faces. I achieved these drawings by coloring the back of the printed images with black crayon and tracing over the images with a pencil on top of a blank sheet of white paper. Though I'm not great at drawing, the tracing technique was especially helpful in creating the basic outlines of the individuals faces. This assignment took quite a bit of time, more than I anticipated, but I hope I've completed it properly and viewers can understand the goal through my 'art'. In addition, I've included small comments under each photo that help explain some of the details I drew.
Jane Fonda (Young, Light, Female)
In this photo, Fonda had a slight mustache, which is the darkness above her top lip in my drawing.
Robert Dinero (Old, Light, Male)
To easily differentiate between skin tones that I was trying to address, I left Dinero's skin pale, as he is a white male.
Unknown Man (Young, Dark, Male)
This image was one of the easier images to mimic because the man's skin is smooth and free of wrinkles, hence my decision to pick him for the 'young' aspect.
Meryl Streep (Old, Light, Female)
Meryl Streep's headshot was one of the tougher images to mimic because of the curvy lines of her hair and her facial wrinkles. However, when finishing this drawing up, I realized Streep's face was identifiable, even with my lack of drawing skills.
Comments
What I learned:
In this assignment, I learned that it is possible to transfer lines by coloring the back of an image with black crayon or chalk, then tracing the lines of the image on a blank sheet of paper.
Successes:
I was able to achieve an overall look on all my portraits. They are all very noticeable faces and they look human. In addition, I think I captured skin tone well.
Downfalls:
It was difficult to draw hair. In particular, it was difficult to draw the women's hair because of its patterns and curves. I also struggled with things like dark marks on the individual faces and skin color changes within each individual image.