Hey everyone, here's the last update for February! I'm happy to say today marks the second month I've completed one digital painting a day! Just like last month, I'm gonna start out with a best and worst of the month, let's begin!

The following are presented in ascending order, from not so great (bad), to really awesome. I thought I'd add a few captions to encapsulate my feeling about these portraits, they're meant to amuse and critique! Here we go!

NUMBER 10

"I have a baby face, and look like I'm in the middle of a tantrum."

So yeah, this one was done on day two. I didn't quite get the length of my face right so I kinda ended up looking like a child. Proportions are important! Also, there's no kinda texture here, it's just flat grey with some dark stuff to indicate features. Yet again, first day wasn't first on the list. Let's see if this trend continues!

NUMBER 9

"Turtle mouth, stoner eyes."

This one's a little better, it's got a little more texture to it, there's more detail too. It just reads really poorly when not seen at full resolution. For that reason, it's on the bottom.

NUMBER 8

"First day on the job."

I think this one was a valiant effort! It's not perfect, but I feel like I captured some part of myself in this one. I'm happy a bout that much, but that's about it.

NUMBER 7

"What do you mean Payless ran out of plastic pumps for the after party!?"

It's expressive, but it's a little too washed out. I also barely scraped this one together, middle(ish) of the pack it is!

NUMBER 6

"I am crazy guy! I love party!"

This one's got really great energy, the lines are really exciting, but it doesn't look like me. Also, turkey neck. All I can see is turkey neck. Not a good look.

NUMBER 5

"Never fall asleep in a tanning bed."

This one would have been so awesome were it not for my subconscious attempt to make myself look like the offspring of Tan-Mom and a baked potato. Too dark, way too dark. Nicely executed though.

NUMBER 4

"What do you mean, 'I look constipated?' "

If you read this you know why I've put that quote here.

NUMBER 3

This one is beautiful, I'm so proud of this piece! The skin texture is phenomenal. I love my expression. It's just great, almost perfect, but my jawline's not quite right. This one was also a struggle to finish, so I think of it very fondly for that reason. 

NUMBER 2

This one is fantastic! My beard really shines here. The light's also really great. The tonality helps to showcase the forms that make up my neck, shoulder, and collarbone area. This one isn't number one because it's a profile view, and therefore wasn't all that technically difficult.

So, here it is, the moment a small group of people have been mildly interested to see!

NUMBER 1

Here's the reference photo, rather dramatic, right? Aaaaaand this is how it turned out!

This one's really awesome, I feel like everything really 'clicked' tonight. It didn't even take all that long, about 2 hours. Compared to my 2nd and 3rd picks that's a third of the time! The other thing I'm really proud of is the way the teeth and mouth came out. That was probably the hardest thing for me to grasp since I've started, and I pretty well nailed it here.

Anyway, thanks for sticking with me this month everyone! I hope 28 pictures of my face wasn't too hard to endure. Next month's gonna be filled with some pretty cool stuff! Check back tomorrow to see what that'll be!

See you in March!

Hey everyone, here's tonight's update!

Alright, here's the photo, let's see how I did.

No, it's not perfect. It's barely okay, but I put effort in it. This was finished in about an hour and ten minutes. I didn't have too much time to worry about where everything was supposed to go because I hadn't started this until this evening (I usually work out the foundation if the piece early in the morning, that didn't happen today). At the very least I'm happy with the fact that I tried hard to finish on time. There's no way I'm not meeting my goal. I've done more art in the last 2 months than I did all of last year. This was one of the smartest decisions I've ever made for myself artistically.

I'm not going to disappoint, check back tomorrow for my final self portrait.

Hey everyone, here's tonight's update!

Here's the photo, let's see how I did.

I kinda wanted everything here to be really chunky and thick. The lines aren't as delicate, but I think the expression's communicated pretty well. In case anyone couldn't tell, I'm a little burnt-out on this particular theme. On top of that I didn't have too much time to work on this piece tonight. I promise I won't be closing out the month with a whimper. It shall be with a bang!

Check back for the second to last update of this month!

Hey everyone, here's tonight's update!

I'm upset, which is appropriate because...

...there's a hint of Adam Sandler here and it frightens me. Let us never speak of this again.

Check back for another update tomorrow! Hopefully this next one will be full-assed, instead of half-assed, like the rest of these lately. I definitely want to close out the month on a high note, so let's see if I can pull off another awesome one before all's said and done.

Hey everyone! Here's tonight's update!

This is the photo, let's see how I did!

This one's a bit different, not in a bad way, it's just a lot more loose. I tried to just paint it how I wanted to, instead of exactly how it looked. That made it a little bit more fun for me. It's not perfect, but it's expressive, and I like that. My drawing class has taught me to accept the way that we see, and that the way that we see isn't always exact. This is my interpretation of my interpretation of myself at prior moment rendered now with a completely different emotion. That's kinda cool to think about, right?

Anyway, new post tomorrow. Check back then, later!

Hey everyone, here's today's update!

Here's the photo, let's see how I did!

It's very, "Dude, where's my car?" I feel like that's not a compliment. Nah, it's okay. Better than yesterday's. Still needed a little more time to marinate though.

Check back again tomorrow for a new post!

Hey everyone, here's today's update!

Here's the photo, let's see how it turned out!

I don't really feel like there's much to say about this one other than it was a mostly successful half-assed piece. I couldn't allow myself to not do anything, so this was the result. This is kinda like a souffle that wasn't cooked long enough to get puffed up. I definitely could have worked a little longer on it and been pretty happy with the result, but that's not gonna happen. Tomorrow's another day though, let's see what it brings!

Check back again for a new post, enjoy the rest of your Sunday! 

Hey everyone, here's tonight's update!

Here's me doing my best impression of a stock-photo model laughing for no particular reason. I think it's pretty convincing, right? Anyway, on to the painting!

Not a great success, but not a catastrophic failure either. The shape of my head's good, and the chest and neck look okay, but my jawline's completely off. It's simply too square, and I think my mouth has the same problem. My favorite part's the forehead, I feel like I portrayed the light bouncing off of my skin (this photo was taken with a flash) rather nicely here.

That's all for tonight, check back tomorrow for another portrait!

Hey everyone here's today's (slightly hurried) update!

Here's our photo, let's see how I did!

I actually like this one, it's still really rough, but it was kinda fun to do. I mentioned this was a bit hurried, but that wasn't for lack of time. I kinda wanted to see how quick I could get all of the elements in there and have them match up with the photo reference, this took about an hour. Compared to the pieces I started out he beginning of the month with, which took around the same amount of time, I'd say this one was markedly better. That's pretty neat!

The end of the month's almost here, and a new month means a new theme! Only eight of these self portraits left, I'm pretty excited to start something new! 

Check back tomorrow for another update! Have a good Friday night!

Hey everyone, here's today's update.

This expression is pretty much exactly what my face looked like when I ate my take-out this evening. I picked it up from the usual place, but it was just no good. Clearly I was devastated, let's see how it turned out.

I like how this one turned out, but it's not without it's flaws. Most obviously it is way too dark, I think I'm overcompensating on account of yesterday's piece looking washed out. I went from overexposed to underexposed, maybe tomorrow I'll be able to find a happy medium. I like how the wrinkles in my forehead look along with the ones above my mouth. I also like the look of the scratched out remains of the first grey tones I put on the canvas when I start painting. I gave them a bit of a radial curve, so all the lines emanate from my head outward. The others in past paintings have been kind of haphazard, so this was a neat change. I definitely think I'm gonna work on this one another night and polish it a little further.

That's all for tonight's update, check back tomorrow for another post.

Hey everyone, here's today's update! Have a look.

Please ignore the door frame on the left, anyway, this is today's photo. Let's see how I did.

This one's not too bad. I don't think there's quite enough contrast on my face and around my shoulders and arms. Because of that it makes the image look kinda flat. The expression's okay, but I don't think it's too accurate. I don't know what it is about a dead-on portrait that's hard for me to grasp, but I'm apparently having a problem with that. I think my next couple of pieces will be photos from the front, so we'll see in the coming days how well I'll be doing with these.

Anyway, that's all for today. Check back tomorrow for another update!

Hey everyone, here's tonight's update. This one's pretty special, have a look!

This was today's photo reference, as I mentioned yesterday I felt like I had a tough time capturing the essence of 'goatee me', so I was gonna give it another try today. Let's see how I did.

I think I outdid myself again. I'm elated about the way this piece turned out. I didn't think I'd be able to top this, but I really feel like I did. I will completely own hating this piece initially, I thought it was simply going to be terrible, and I'd just have to give up on it. I almost felt like this was going to defeat me today. I felt like my streak would be ruined, I should just give up and accept this beat me. That's exactly what I didn't do, and I'm so proud I made that choice. Today I learned that if there's something there, even if it's dislike or outright hate for what you're working on, that can be enough to keep you motivated. Today I had a breakthrough, and I'm so happy I didn't give up on myself. If I had this wouldn't have happened.

As a quick side note, I really want to thank everyone that has been viewing my blog. I don't post links on Facebook to have others inflate my ego, I genuinely like sharing what I do and getting feedback. Even if you just take the time to hit the "like" button, it's quantifiable support for me, and sometimes that's really important. Something like someone believing in you can be a pretty abstract concept so to see it translated into something visible really helps me to remember why I do this. My end goal in art isn't making money, or becoming famous (if that even happens), it's inspiring people. Whether it be inspiration for other artists, or for anyone that wants to do something but doesn't think they can.

You absolutely can do anything, anything you want, so long as you simply do it. It's no harder than that.

Thanks for reading, and for your support, I couldn't have done this without you all.

Today's piece probably took a total of about six and a half hours to finish (and I've been playing hooky from work), so I can't promise I'll be upstaging this one tomorrow. However, I'm going to do my best to be happy with what I complete. 

Check back again tomorrow for another update. Have a great night everyone!

Hey everyone, here's today's update!

Here's today's reference photo, now with a goatee, let's see how I did.

I felt like I struggled with this one a little bit, it's not bad but I just couldn't quite capture my expression. To be quite honest I think it was the facial hair, the longest I've ever kept a beard style like that was for the duration of this shoot. It was probably for all of five minutes, but suddenly it felt like I was painting a different person. I think that was why this was so difficult. The end result is finished, but I don't really think it looks too much like me. Maybe I'll try another goatee'd picture tomorrow to see how I do.

That's all for today, check back for another update tomorrow!

Hey everyone, here's tonight's update!

Alright, here's our photo reference, let's see how I did.

It's not too bad. Certainly not as good as yesterday's, but it's okay. It seems a little darker than the reference photo, and there's not quite enough contrast around the mouth to show the contours of the lips well. This one was actually finished rather quickly, but it wasn't rushed. I just knocked it out efficiently and the result was adequate. That's the great thing about doing digital paintings like this. This can always serve as the bones for a more developed piece. 

That's all for today, check back tomorrow for another update! Have a good night!

Hey everyone, it's time for a special Valentine's Day update! I think I outdid myself today, let's see what you think.

Here's our photo reference, what I came up with is down below!

I'm pretty impressed with this one, I honestly surprised myself. It might seem sort of random, but I did a quick study of some eggs I made for breakfast today, and I think it helped me with creating this image. Here, have a look.

This is the original photo up top, and here's the is painting below.

It's pretty funny how painting eggs in a skillet could contribute to insight in painting a portrait, but I guess that's how this sort of thing works. Before I finished the eggs I thought they just looked a bit too soft, there wasn't any clear delineation between the eggs and the pan. They all sort of blended together. The only thing that separated them was a difference in value, and that wasn't enough to define them. I took a small brush and started etching in the blacks and whites and that did the trick! I feel like it really helped me nail the beard and also the tone of my skin. I don't really know what else to say about this one, other than I'm pretty proud.

Thanks for stopping by and checking this out, hope you had a great day! Check back tomorrow for another update, I can't guarantee it'll be as good as this one, but I'm gonna try like hell! 

Hey everyone, it's time for today's update! I'm kinda kicking myself I didn't post this sooner, it was done at 11 am, I just didn't have time to upload it. Anyway, here we go!

Alrighty, here's the photo. Let's see how I did.

Not too bad considering I did this one in less than half the time it took me to finish yesterday's piece. I think I was a little fed up with working on Wednesday's self portrait, and that's why it turned out so poorly. My drawing professor opened a small show of her work in a gallery on campus last evening and I attended to show my support and to see her stuff. I spoke with her a bit about her process and the pieces she had up, and it kinda helped me to look at this 'drawing a day'task in a different way. I think the lesson I learned here was to make sure I have fun with these. Yes they are studies, and yes I'm trying to learn, but I want them to be enjoyable too.

Make sure to check back tomorrow for another post, see you then!

Hey everyone, here's today's update!

Here's today's photo. Alright, let's see if I was able to redeem myself after yesterday.

I'm gonna go ahead and say that's a 'yes' on the redemption thing. Super happy with the way this one turned out, there was certainly a lot of effort put in here (as opposed to yesterday's piece). My struggle today was the nose, at first I made it way to big - but just on one side. I couldn't get the further nostril to be where it was supposed to, but I ended up coaxing it into position. I think the lesson here is not to rush, and that's what I was doing throughout the week.

Anyway, that's all for today. Check back tomorrow for another update!

Hey everyone! It's time for today's update.

Here's the photo, let's see how it came out!

I feel like this one's not so good, and not too bad, it's just sort of there. Oh well, let's review. I definitely didn't spend too much time on this piece today so that's not helping matters. The most glaringly obvious issues are the darkness of my hair and beard in relation to the photo. Darkening them here didn't really work like it did yesterday because it doesn't serve to enhance the expression. The other issue is the overall head shape, I think the tops a bit too round, and my jaw doesn't seem quite right. My ears are okay looking though! The mouth's a little too nondescript there's really no dark or light to give a lot of depth to the curvature of the lips. Also teeth are a bit problematic, they kinda look like dentures (which I definitely do not have). To finish this critique off, the eyes are okay. Boy, that was overwhelmingly positive, right? Better luck tomorrow.

Check back again soon for another post!

Hey everyone, here's today's self portrait!

I think this is my best, "yeah, right," face. Let's see how I did.

It's not awesome, it wasn't something I took particularly too much time on (#rushjob), but I like it. I think the good in this is that my expression, even if it isn't 100% accurate based on the photo, is almost immediately readable. I think this one really succeeds as a caricature, not so much a portrait painting from a photo. Again I kinda bumped up the contrast to give a little more depth to the piece, and I left some scratchy lines around the edges from where I whittled down the silhouette (it almost always starts out as a tonal blob that I shape into something recognizable).

Check back tomorrow for another update, have a good night!

Hey everyone, here's today's self portrait!

I think this one can be best described as my, "Are you there God? It's me, Margaret.," face. Let's see how I did. 

Not too bad. I think my expression reads pretty clearly. I darkened up my beard and hair a bit unintentionally, but I'm not really bothered by it. My clavicle closest to the camera isn't quite in the right spot, it's angled too far up, so that's a bit of a problem. I had less trouble today with the eyes than yesterday. I made sure to really focus on their position and the angle of the lines that compose the eye too. I think my problem yesterday was that I was drawing with my brain, and not with my eyes, luckily I (mostly) avoided this today. I'm really happy with the overall shape of my figure in the image, I think it's pretty accurate. Let's see if I can keep improving!

That's all for today. Have a look again tomorrow for a new post!