This self-portrait is made with Prismacolor pencils and emphasizes the effects of lights; particularly, the way light shines through the leaves of a tree and reflects onto my face. I tend to bring unconventional colours into my portraits by exploring how light and colour reflect off surfaces; for example, the pink of my hijab reflects onto my chin and nose. Prismacolor pencils allow me to represent these reflections and colours effectively, in addition to providing a blended and realistic appeal.
I enjoyed trying different techniques to manipulate the effects of space. For the leaves in the distance, I applied hard pressure on a white pencil crayon and pushed the green wax away to imitate the bokeh effects of light captured by a photo taken with a low f-stop. Furthermore, I believe this is a successful self-portrait as it captures me smiling and happy, which emulates my personality.
• • •
A contour–one continuous line drawing–captures an emotion and emphasizes the highlights and shadows that suggest form.