Self-Portrait - Foundation Drawing 1
Introduction
In our drawing class, we were assigned to create a self-portrait using only ink pens. The key purpose was to create a full greyscale work using these pens, creating a lot of value within our pieces.
As an artist who mainly focuses on portraits, I initially felt confident when assigned this project. There was one drawback, however, and that was the fact that other than in this program I had not had any experience with ink. I mainly use graphite and coloured pencils, and therefore I was very nervous going into this project, but I was determined to at least try.
Materials:
- 15" x 20" Hot Press Board
- Staedtler ink pens, sizes:
- 0.5
- 0.1
- 0.05
- Pencil
- Bond Paper
- Photo for Reference
Creative Process
Whether it has helped me or hurt me in the past with my typical creative process, I was never one to plan things out. I always jumped straight into my projects and hoped for the best. I have since learned the helpful benefits of planning everything out beforehand, as I realized I greatly needed this in my journey with this project.
To start, we were tasked with coming up with around 20 different thumbnail sketches on bond paper in which we explored different compositions and different techniques to use with the pen. For my ideas, I knew going into these sketches that I wanted to use stippling for my final piece, so I mainly played around with different compositions.
I tried ideas for more realistic effects, some abstract, even some where I replaced a character or person (ex. me replacing Bob Ross while painting). I drew concepts of faces I could make for certain ideas, as well as taking pictures of myself and working from them.
I decided I wanted to stay true to myself and who I am as an artist and do a simple realistic portrait. If I was using a medium I was more comfortable with I would have loved to try a more abstract idea, but since I was trying ink pens for the first time I felt a normal portrait would be perfect.
We then moved on to create a postcard-sized rough in more detail to get a sense of how it would look overall.
Luckily this was a step because I realized I wouldn't have known what size of pen to use. I ended up using a pen which was too big, and learned to go into the next stage with a better sense of how the pens worked.
Before moving to the final piece, the next task was to create full-size greyscale studies using the technique(s) of our choice. As planned, I decided to work on stippling, and I knew I needed to work on the spacing and the size of the points. I worked on three different studies.
The study in which I worked on the value in the face was by far the easiest. I played around with the size and positions of the pens I used.
The second study, in which I focused on the hair and glasses, made me realize I wouldn't be able to get a realistic effect if I used the same techniques. For the glasses, I filled most of them in with a solid black and played around with very tight stippling. For the hair, I decided stippling would not work and therefore I used lines to create the strands.
By far the third study, where I focused on the shirt, put into perspective that I didn't have everything down pat. I didn't know how to get the texture of the shirt right, so I tried different techniques on different parts of the shirt. To be honest, I didn't fully decide on what technique I wanted to use for the final piece, so I decided to move onto the final production and planned to decide when I got there.
Production Methods/Workflow
After getting everything planned out with the studies, I felt pretty confident about how to proceed, and it was time to move forward.
Because drawing the outline directly on the hot press board could wield problems, it was recommended to draw it on a larger piece of paper, get the outline right, and transfer the image to the board.
After transferring the image, it was time to start stippling the face. I started by going over certain parts of the outline with points so I could get the outline in pen and erase the pencil. I then started layering the stippling effect with a size 0.05 ink pen more and more in different areas until I got the desired values I wanted.
Once I completed most of the desired effect I wanted for the face I filled in most of the glasses with solid black while repeating the tight stippling effect to get the shine in the frames.
Although I liked the effect I achieved with the different lines I used for the strands of hair, I was still nervous, so I took a bit more time than I could have to lightly layer the hair to make it as realistic and natural as I could. I used an ink pen with a 0.5 tip for the darker parts of the hair, and a 0.05 tip for the lighter areas of the hair.
Now it was time for the part I was still unsure of how I was going to proceed: the shirt. I didn't quite know what I was going to do for this part, so instead of trying something different, I decided basic stippling would suffice, and that I would just focus on the values in order to get the realistic drapery effect right. After doing a layer of stippling with a 0.05 point pen, I realized I wanted to try to achieve the texture. For this, I went back into it with a 0.5 tip pen and used it for the darker areas.
This helped with the effect I wanted to achieve, and by adding lines around the collar for the stitching and fabric I finished the desired look to the piece.
After reviewing what I had completed, I went over certain areas with a very 0.05 tip to create slightly more defined shadows and worked on touching up my piece.
Final Product
The final piece, 11" x 14" on 15" x 20" Hot Press Board
Conclusion
This project was a roller coaster. I switched between moments of confidence to the stress of being unsure how this would all turn out. Overall, I am extremely proud of what I have created. I love drawing portraits, but this was something new as I had never used stippling before to create a piece. Do I think I could have done more? Of course I do, as I am one to try too hard when it comes to my work. I could have created a wider greyscale range to create even more depth and realism, but for a first-timer when it comes to ink pens, I can proudly say I love how it turned out.
