Project 1 : Self Portrait

9/10/20 - 16/10/20/ Week 7 - Week 8
Gan Shin Tung / 0346455
Design Principles / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media 
Project 1

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Lectures

Week 6 : Self Portrait

Self

Your self is your basic personality or nature, especially considered in terms of what you are really like as a person. A person's essential being that distinguishes them from others, especially considered as the object of introspection or reflexive action.

• My thoughts 
• My interests 
• My experiences 
• How others see me (physical traits and personality)
• How I see myself (physical traits and personality)

Self-Portrait

A self representation in a form of a drawing/painting/ sculpture/ design. A visual depiction of the self.

Figure 1.1 Example of Self Portrait
Source: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-history-through-perfect365-app-321640

Figure 1.2 Example of Self Portrait
Source: https://theartling.com/en/artwork/yi-zhou-zoe-self-portrait-13/ 

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Project 1 

Visual Research : Self Portrait

This week we have to work on our project 1 which we have to come out with a self portrait using the design principles we learned in the past few weeks. I was a bit out of idea to start with therefore I went on a research for more drawings.

Figure 1.3 Inspiration of self portrait drawing
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/475974254357876140/

Figure 1.4 Inspiration of self portrait drawing
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/367606388328932070/

As shown on my research, portrait drawings can also be present in different ways. I found some that looks like comic or animation characters which I find interesting. Therefore I wanted to draw myself using caricature styles. So, I decided to do more research base on caricature designs. 

Figure 1.5 Inspiration of Self Portrait
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyTIqb1E8RY&ab_channel=3DArtDrawing

Figure 1.5 Inspiration of Self Portrait
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/344314334002814614/

Figure 1.6 Inspirations of Self Portrait
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/813603488908693316/

Figure 1.7 Inspirations of Self Portrait
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/848647123503887122/

I also found out that they can have different sorts of gestures and facial expressions. This is really interesting for me as initially I thought that self portrait has to be a decent image. I wanted it to be more interesting to present myself therefore I started on my sketching journey. 

First Sketch :

Figure 1.5 Sketches of Self Portrait

These are my first attempt sketches. The one on the left, I drew myself into an anime style. I always love the drawings of anime however I don't watch any anime series, I just admire their drawing styles, I wish I could draw like them. However, my drawings does not reflect my personality or show any part of myself, it is just a visual of me drawn as anime. Therefore, I drawn a second sketch which is also caricature. But this time I make two different facial expression to represent my personality. I decided to add devil horns to add on a Dracula feel as I fancy supernatural stories.  

Costume Research :

Figure 1.6 Example of Dracula Costume 
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/499688521131646270/

Figure 1.7 Example of Dracula Costume
Source: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32965102484.html

Figure 1.8 Example of Dracula Costume
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/421368108867728734/

Figure 1.8 Example of Dracula Costumes
Source: https://www.paganwitches.co.uk/products/halloween-victorian-dress-cosplay-costumes-scary-vampire-witch-clothes-women-medieval-masquerade-costume-black-fancy-maxi-dress

I went on research for my Dracula costumes in order to develop my final sketch for Self Portrait. I found out some designs and I improvise it on my sketch. Dracula costumes were very fancy after all, this makes me love it more!

Second Sketch :

Figure 1.9 Final Self Portrait Sketch

I drew two different designs of costumes as there is so many designs that I admire, thus I chose two of my top favorite designs. One with a cloak and one without. Although, I got the inspirations based on my costume research however I did improvise it so that I'm not committed to plagiarism.

Figure 2.0 Draw out using Adobe Illustrator

I used Ai Illustrator to draw out my self portrait, this is to make sure that the line were perfect and no outlines. Miss told me that that final work must have perfect strokes therefore this is the only way I think can present in the best way.

Applying Color :

Figure 2.1 First Color Combination

Figure 2.2 Second Color Combination

Figure 2.3 Third Color Combination

Figure 2.4 Forth Color Combination

Figure 2.5 Fifth Color Combination

Figure 2.6 Sixth Color Combination

Figure 2.7 Seventh Color Combination

Figure 2.8 Eighth Color Combination

Figure 2.9 Ninth Color Combination

Figure 3.0 Tenth Color Combination

I decided to find the matching color for my first vampire self portrait. I tried multiple colors and I find that the combinations of black, dark red and light purple is the best choice. I've darken the color of the cloak so that the color of the cloak does not tally with the color of the devil horns. Initially, I wanted the dress to have a sweet color so I tried pink but then it turns out that vampires suits black the most. 

Figure 3.1 Final Color Combination

I decided to use darker red for the cloak and a brighter red for the devil horns to create a visual difference between them. Why I chose red for the devil horns is because this facial expression give an unfriendly look. The reason why I apply brighter color for the devil horns is to show glowing effect. 

Figure 3.2 Color Combination One

Figure 3.3 Color Combination Two

Figure 3.4 Color Combination Three

Figure 3.5 Color Combination Four

Figure 3.5 Color Combination Five

Figure 3.6 Color Combination Six

Figure 3.7 Color Combination Seven

Figure 3.8 Color Combination Eight 

Figure 3.9 Color Combination Nine

Figure 4.0 Color Combination Ten

Figure 4.1 Color Combination Eleven

Figure 4.2 Color Combination Twelve

Figure 4.3 Color Combination Thirteen 

Figure 4.4 Color Combination Fourteen 

Figure 4.5 Color Combination Fifteen 

Figure 4.6 Color Combination Sixteen

For the second vampire, I had multiple attempts of color combinations as I couldn't find the suitable color for her. After that I try using purple as it matches the color of the devil horns. Why I chose purple for this devil horns is because this portrays a softer image which brings out the mischievousness. 

Figure 4.7 Final Color Combination

Why I chose this combination in the end is because the dark purple shows a matching to the devil horns however it is a darker purple which shows different visual effect. For the buttons I chose gold/yellow color is because vampires are royal families therefore their attire should be noble therefore I chose gold color. As for the strings I chose red color as from my costume research, mostly vampire costumes uses red strings. 

Background : 

Figure 4.8 Background color One

Figure 4.9 Background color Two

Figure 5.0 Background color Four

Figure 5.1 Background color Five

Figure 5.2 Background color Six

Figure 5.3 Background Color Seven

I decided to try light pastel colors for the background to create that subtle feel. Why I chose light color instead of dark or bright color for the background is because I don't want the background color to be too striking. I don't want the background to stand out more than my subject. 

Figure5.4 Final Background

I used clapping mask to make the background of vector crumped line paper. The reason why I chose crumped line paper is because I used to doodle on my exercise book when I was in primary, this background strongly portrays my passion towards doodling back then when I was little. Why crumped paper, because when I was little I always get my exercise book end up in a crumple way although it wasn't my intention. This reminds me of my childhood most significant memory and I want to show that as it is part of myself as well.

Final Self Portrait Design : 

Figure5.5 Final Self Portrait JPEG

Description : I like to daydream and imagine things most of the time, the design on the top left shows my facial expression when I am daydreaming. This can be shown in the drawings on the top left which portrays my daydreaming look. Besides that, I am also a bubbly and mischievous person. Sometimes I am a mood maker among crowds, I tend to make people laugh and play around. This can be shown in the drawings on the bottom right which portrays my mischievous look. Sometimes people describe me as the devil due to my playful personality therefore a pair devil horns were placed on my head for both drawings. Also, my favorite festival is Halloween, I really like the spooky atmosphere and importantly the dress up culture. I always dreamed of dressing up as a vampire as I fancy supernatural stories. This is the reason why I am wearing vampire costumes in my self portrait. It is to show my passion for dressing up during Halloween Parties. I've designed different costumes for my self portrait to show my different mood. In fact, the use of different colors also indicates different personalities of myself.

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Reflection

Week 6 : For this project I was very anxious about it as I don't really know what kind of portrait I want to create as I'm not good at drawing human being. After that I thought of comics, I could draw myself into comic version instead. I love comics since I was little therefore drawing comic character is not that difficult for me. 

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Feedback

Week 6 : Miss Jinchi look through my sketches and commented that the first sketch does not really show any characteristic or features of myself, also I don't watch anime there's nothing much that I portrayed through my sketch. As for the second one, she mentioned using caricature is very interesting, and the way I present through my drawing matches my personality. Also the devil horns were interesting too, this sketch has more ideas and more meaningful. She recommended me to add on vampire clothing or a cloak as I like Halloween dressing, this can bring out the idea too. Miss Jinchi also suggested using pencil drawing is suitable medium for this design however I could work on coloring the costumes.