For this self portrait, I worked from a photo where my face was turned slightly downward and most of the light hit only one side. I liked that because it already had a closed-off feeling before I even started drawing. I did not want the portrait to look like a normal realistic copy. I wanted it to still look like me, but with parts of the face starting to fade, stretch, or break down. The downward angle made the expression feel more detached, so I used that as the main mood of the piece.

I used graphite because it let me build soft shadows while still making sharper, rougher marks where I needed them. The face was kept recognizable, but I let some areas stay blurred or unfinished so it would not feel too polished. I paid the most attention to the contrast between the quiet shading around the face and the darker marks on the cheek and neck. That contrast became the main way I showed the tension in the portrait.

This piece made me think more about how much to leave out. At first, I thought the drawing needed more shading and more detail to feel complete, but the quieter areas ended up helping the stronger marks stand out. I learned that a portrait does not have to be fully rendered everywhere to feel finished. Sometimes the empty or softer parts make the emotion stronger.