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- One of the most empowering aspects of self-portraits
is that you can dress yourself up in any imaginary clothing.
I definitely believe in power outfits
and the way they can really change your mood
and make you really confident.
I really like to use fashion and accessories
in my self-portraits
and it's quite an important way of self-expression for me.
I like to draw portraits from memory,
just because sometimes
I think they're actually way more expressive,
but if you don't how to do it,
you could get inspired by a photograph
or by just looking into the mirror.
I'm going to show you a trick on how to create
a more expressive and loose sketch using a lightbox.
Why I really like to work with the lightbox
is because I don't like to have a pencil sketch
on my painting,
and also with the lightbox,
you can do as many sketches as you want,
and you don't have to worry about getting it right.
So this could be a photograph or a realistic sketch
that you did looking in the mirror.
And now I'm going to show you how to create
a more loose and expressive sketch on top of it.
So what I like to do is I use a different color
for another layer,
so it's easier for me to see where I'm going
Sometimes it's good to just work faster
to create a loose sketch,
or sometimes you just want to change things around,
like I think the original sketch looks a little bit grumpy,
so I'm going to try to work on that expression.
While you're sketching,
you don't have to worry about it looking super realistic,
like you can just see what works for the illustration.
Yeah, so I'm going to start sketching the tartan pattern.
With the sketch,
we just want to create a very rough guide
for our final illustration,
just to know where the colors are going to go.
I'm quite happy about this expression,
but I'm going to try to draw the garment once more,
'cause the shape looks a bit odd.
So we can just use a different color of pencil
to create another layer,
and we can see exactly what we're doing
with this other color.
That's the beauty of working with the lightbox,
that you can just work on different layers
and combine them together.
Okay, I think this looks good,
and now I'm going to try to create another layer,
combining the red and blue together.
Great, so this is a sketch I'm happy with,
and this is why it's really good to use the lightbox,
because even if I was not happy with this one,
I could just do another one on top.
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- Sitting down in front
of the camera is an act of vulnerability itself.
Secondly, it's allowing yourself
to tell your own story, right?
I truly believe that we should be allowing our experiences
to drive our art,
and there is vulnerability in telling your story,
and self-portraiture is just one aspect
of how you can essentially do that.
Before you start shooting,
there are a few things that I want you all to keep in mind.
The first thing is to make sure
that you have enough space to shoot with.
If you're shooting outside, that might not be an issue,
but if you're shooting inside your house,
just make sure you have enough space for your backdrop,
your backdrop stand,
as well as wherever your camera is placed.
Once you figure it out that you have enough space,
you want to make sure that your backdrop is in order.
So make sure that it is sitting securely
on your backdrop stand,
or if you don't have a stand,
just make sure that you hang up your backdrop on a wall
or whatever it might work best for your portrait.
And then you also want to make sure
that your camera is secure as well.
If you're using a tripod,
make sure that it's saying properly.
If you're using a stack of books as well,
just make sure that your camera is secured.
We do not want any broken equipment, okay?
And lastly, make sure that you have your remote handy
and ready to go.
We are shooting with a large open window,
so this is really great,
because, well, the window isn't open, but a large window.
I'm going to open these panels up in a bit
to get some more light,
but you want to have a large window if you're shooting inside,
just to have some natural light for your photos.
I don't use any kind of studio lighting,
just because I just don't have any,
so this is what I usually go to and do for my photo shoots.
And then I have my ISO, you can see there at 500.
So that is what that looks like.
That's kind of the angle. I also want to shoot at.
I really like this downward angle.
So I'll go over there in that kind of open spot there.
So here I am shooting my self-portrait.
Now, the key to this
is just to shoot as many poses as you can.
It can tend to feel a bit silly,
so I definitely try to take some breaks in between
and really just encourage myself throughout the process.
And I also do look at the images
as I'm going through as well,
but really the key
is just to get as many different poses as I can
to have some variety in my images.
And as you all can see here,
there are a number of different poses I have.
I have some where I looked away.
I have some where I kind of have more of the flowers
as the focal point of the image,
and I do like the blurriness in the shot.
One when I was looking directly into the camera,
and again, just really trying to have a variety
of different poses and looks
that I can then refer back to
when I'm picking my favorite photo.
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- All right, so we have the photo selected,
and now it's time to jump into Illustrator.
Once you have your photo in,
let's just make this a little bit bigger.
So one of my biggest things
that I would say to pay attention to,
or even to do as you start tracing,
is to create the foundation of the photo first.
So I'm thinking more of big shape.
So my big head, that would be one shape.
So for this exercise,
I'm going to be using the pen tool and the pencil tool
to sort of go and create these outlines
of the different shapes,
which with the pen tool,
I'm basically creating one anchor point,
tying it to another,
and then manipulating the shape
to curves or maybe to straight lines.
With the pencil tool,
I'm literally just going through and tracing.
So very, very simple process,
using the pencil, using the pen,
just to create those anchor points
and to create a solid outline.
So one thing to remember,
it does not have to be exactly like the photo.
As you see me drawing,
I'm not hitting every area of my face directly.
I might, you know, cut off a couple of corners
or curve things that are really like more angular.
It's really your interpretation,
and it does not have to be exact.
I cannot stress that enough.
It does not have to be exact.
You would drive yourself up the wall
trying to make it exactly like your photo.
So for more longer curves, I believe I use the pen tool
more often versus the pencil tool,
and if you notice, this is a very smooth element right here,
but it kind of looks like it's a dip
that is more cut in versus smooth,
so you can click on this anchor point,
and you see this little circle guy?
Pull him out, and it just smooths it out,
so it's not so much of that dip.
So at this point, we have the basic face shape done,
connected to those two anchor points.
We kind of bring this one out a little bit.
All right, so now you want to go in
and sort of do those main areas,
so we're going to jump into the hair.
I'm going to use the pencil tool
just so I have that sort of free hand.
All right.
So then I send to back.
So using the arrange tool is very crucial in this project,
so going to object arrange
and then bring to back or bring to front,
depending on what you're doing.
For this case, with the hair,
you didn't want like a slab of hair just right there.
You wanted to bring it to back,
which is why we locked the background
so you're able to do that.
So send to back.
Boom.
Now we want to do this part,
which again, using the pencil tool,
sometimes I nail it on the first try
with bigger, wavier things.
Sometimes I don't,
snd then that's when I sort of do the bottom part first.
So let's just try it.
All right.
So you got your pony,
and of course, your neck will end up
hiding this little piece that's hanging off.
Now let's jump into the facial features.
I'm going to go in with the eyes.
Now, eyes,
eyes and hands are super hard, in my opinion.
I found that it's easier to create the impression of an eye
if you add as many elements as possible in a simplistic way,
if that makes sense.
I went ahead and created the general outline of each shape,
which includes the main pieces
like the head, your neck, whatever outerwear you have.
The detail part is one of the funnest parts,
because that's where you really add in your personality
and that those levels of detail.
So whether it's a nose ring, some type of hair tie, a hat,
different things that make you you.
So we're at a good place when it comes
to sort of body, facial, and just outfit details.
Feel free to take it to the next level
and even add more shadows, more details,
whatever you want to do,
just different things that you can do
to sort of find your style, because that's the whole point.
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