Adobe Illustrator Self Portrait -1
This was my first try at illustrating, and I drew inspiration from an image of myself. Although I’m not very good at illustration, I still try my best to create designs using Adobe Illustrator software and Custom Brush rather than pen tools. I always prefer to use brushes for portrait illustration because, as I admit, it can be challenging to trace the reference image with a pen tool. First, I transfer the reference image to an A4 page, then I make layers and decrease the opacity of the image to improve visibility. Finally, I begin drawing every part of my body using my custom brush.
In terms of colour, I went with more muted hues that express a minimalist style and a creatively rendered portrait; for my skin, I used variety of brown for my complexion and dark black for my hair.
Additionally, I employed shading to create the ideal nose. The shadows make my voice more noticeable from my face. I utilised the blur effect, and because the tones are actually rather muted, they don’t appear to be fighting for the viewer’s attention or to be overly sharp and upsetting to one another.
The most challenging aspect of the illustration was creating my hair because it is curly and hard to depict realistically. To make things easier, I utilised a simple style.
In order to showcase my artwork, I employed two background colours: medium turquoise and yellow, which serve as the ideal chromatic combination for the image I have created. additionally, I created a white backdrop so that you could see the difference between the background and not
This is my second conceptual illustration; it was inspired by the art of the ancient Ethiopian people. Thousands of years ago, my ancestors painted themselves when they did self-illustration in stones or old books. Even in modern times, Ethiopians conceptually depict themselves in these ways due to the colours of their skin, noses, and faces. I decided to illustrate myself in this manner, so I begin by drawing an oval shape to represent my face. Next, I draw my noise; I want to draw my noise in different ways, so I use a simple shape to make my noise.
I really like how I created it. I even used lines to create my mouth. For my eye, I used the same approaches as for the other, but I used the zigzag and ellipse shapes to portray my curly hair in a different way.
I chose to use brown for both my background and skin colour because I am originally from Ethiopia, where we are known as Habesha, which means “burned face” or “brown face.” I also used some effects to create an old-fashioned illusion because I was influenced by old Ethiopian art, so I chose to use charcoal and other effects.