Assignment 1: Self Portrait

Concept

In this sketch, I wanted to use only basic shapes such as circles, ellipses, and rectangles. I found it intriguing to see if I could capture the essence of a person’s face and features with these simple forms.

While the resulting portrait may not exactly resemble me, I made an effort to incorporate some of my distinctive characteristics, like the curly hair, into the design. The curly hair is represented using a series of circles, creating a unique and visually interesting hairline.

Code highlight:

// Check if the mouse is over the left eye
let d = dist(mouseX, mouseY, 170, 180);
if (d < 15) {
  leftEyeWink = true;
} else {
  leftEyeWink = false;
}

// Check if the mouse is over the right eye
let distance = dist(mouseX, mouseY, 230, 180);
if (distance < 15) {
  rightEyeWink = true;
} else {
  rightEyeWink = false;
}

My favorite part of the code is the section where I check if the mouse is over the eyes and make the portrait wink accordingly. It adds an interactive and dynamic element to the artwork, giving the portrait a sense of life and engagement.

In this code snippet, I calculate the distance between the mouse pointer and the position of each eye using the dist function. If the mouse is within a certain range (less than 15 pixels) of either eye, it triggers a “wink” effect by setting a boolean variable (leftEyeWink or rightEyeWink) to true.

Sketch

Reflection and Ideas

In reflecting on my project, I find myself generally satisfied with the final product. However, there are a couple of aspects that I believe could have been improved. One area where I feel I could have done better is in making the portrait resemble me more closely. While the artwork captures some of my distinct features, such as the curly hair, there is room for improvement in achieving a stronger likeness.

Additionally, I recognize that incorporating shadows and shading could have significantly enhanced the depth and realism of the portrait. By strategically adding shadows to various parts of the face and body, I could have created a more three-dimensional and lifelike appearance.

I am content with the final product though and working on this assignment was super fun!