During my time of creating the self-portrait, I had to use the code practice from last class for reference; the reason being that the code would allow me to remember certain commands that I ended up using to make my portrait. For example, the commands from the practice code, “// Body fill(‘orange’) rect (etc.)” allowed me to get an idea of how I can create a body for my portrait which is then followed by creating said-rectangular body. This proved to be very helpful for me because what I was aiming for within my portrait was a kind of modern look; by modern look, I mean by how in most social media platforms, some people choose to have a blank profile picture that only depicts an almost rectangular body and circular head. It may sound boring, but I personally like to think of it as a reminder of how times around the world are so drastically different than how one can imagine. Speaking of circular head, i was originally going to use the “circle()” command to create my head, until I found out that the command best suitable for the requirement is the “ellipse” command since it had proven to me that it can create a far more accurate shape of the head for me. This wasn’t the only time I replaced a shape during the whole process, because when I was creating the nose, I almost went with an oval circular shaped nose. However, some part of me felt as if it were “too clownish” to say the least; hence why i decided to go with the triangle since it just felt more respectful with the nonchalant tone that i have been trying to keep up rather than a tone similar to that of an off-brand circus. As for eyes, my original goal was to create 2 big white circles and then create 2 smaller black circles that would be placed on top of the white ones in the middle; yet I remembered the “ellipse” command and how it would prove to be a more beneficial tool if it slipped horizontally, shrinked by eye-size, and then be placed in their respective spots all while the idea of 2 smaller black circles being centralized within the 2 white sclera of the eyes remained. Lastly, with the hair, this the most difficult for me, since I could not figure out which series of commands to use in order to replicate my hair as need be. Since I am not the most experienced artist in the room, I had no choice but to go forward with the decision to create those lines of hair that perhaps would at least resemble my short bangs.
Despite the headache from all the creation of shapes after shapes, a code series that I can’t help but feel happy about is the creation of the smiling mouth that you may see in the portrait. Before the mouth was even formed, I nearly went with the idea of using the “line()” command to form my mouth and perhaps stretch upwards. But of course, I would come to realize that the lines are meant to be nothing more than straight, thus enabling as incapable of being bent/altered further. When hope seemed lost, that is when I stumbled upon the command of “arc()” from the coding’s list of references. There, I would discover how certain arcs of line in this different command can be altered just in the way I desired! Thus, that is how I was able to get the smiling mouth as you would see here in the portrait!
Despite the work being done, I do want to mention that not only did I use the code practice and the coding site’s references as my guide, but I also had ai (one that I paid for), check my work to see if I must either change a coordinate or correct a common usually wrongly. This is because I saw that through my time working, my weakness has been second-guessing certain coordinates for certain shapes for too many unnecessary times. I just could not tell which coordinate was the right way to write in order to set the shape and/or color as I wanted. Therefore, that is why for each coordinate of each part of the portrait that I write, I would share it with the AI and simply hear its advice of what I can keep and what I must modify. Even though it has helped me recognize my mistakes, it still serve as a signal for me that what I should be working on for this class is a better understanding of how shapes must be correctly positioned/modified as for each project I work on. After all, this idea of improvement should help prepare me for possibly more complex projects that require more shapes somewhere in the future.
function setup() {
createCanvas(640, 580);
}
function draw() {
// background set-up
background(135, 206, 235);
// sun at the top right corner
noStroke();
fill("yellow")
circle(40,40,180);
// Head
fill("tan");
ellipse(300, 300, 250, 300);
// Body
noStroke();
fill("green");
rect(210, 430, 180, 220);
// Hair
stroke("Black");
strokeWeight(5);
line(260, 190, 250, 150);
line(280, 180, 275, 140);
line(300, 175, 300, 135);
line(320, 175, 320, 135);
line(340, 180, 345, 140);
line(360, 190, 370, 150);
// Sclera of eyes
fill("white");
ellipse(250, 300, 65, 38);
ellipse(350, 300, 65, 38);
// Pupils of the eyes
fill("black");
circle(250, 300, 14);
circle(350, 300, 14);
// Nose
fill("brown");
triangle(300, 320, 285, 335, 315, 355);
// Smiling mouth
noFill();
stroke("black");
strokeWeight(5);
arc(300, 370, 90, 60, 0, PI);
}