Self Portrait Process

I did not take a lot of photos of my self portrait, but I do have the sketch, the first day that I started inking and the final artwork before a background retouch and signature.

Here is the reference picture:

I was very proud of the sketch; in the final I ended up shifting the facial proportions ever so slightly.

I was very scared to jump in and ink the sketch, so when I went in with a brush and ink, I smoothly painted kindly, then I went back in and added sketch-like and hatch marked shadows.

When I was finishing up the piece, I added more light brush strokes to add to the looseness of Rembrandt's sketch style.

I found it very difficult to get started, and the hardest parts about the work was the face and its proportions and the hands. The facial proportions still could be improved, though it would have had to be a separate art work as it was done in ink. I also think I could have added more ink around where my hair wraps around my face to give my head more shape. Other than that, I am very proud of this artwork, and the thing I took away from doing it was that I enjoyed working with ink and I hope to work with it in the future.

The final piece is in my gallery! It has information on the artwork itself.