The moment a friend joked that I’m “basically a flower,” while I was brainstorming ideas for this task, I knew exactly what I wanted to draw! A happy, cartoon daisy standing in for my portrait. Instead of wrestling with a realistic self-portrait, I leaned into something more playful and honest, something that resembled me in being bright, a little goofy, and imperfect in the best way. That choice took the pressure off and made the assignment fun, I wasn’t proving I could render a realistic portrait, but rather show a bit of personality.
Color was deliberate in this portrait. I picked a soft pink background (`#fae`) because it feels light and friendly, like a page from a sketchbook. The petals are white with a clean black outline because daisies are my favorite and that crisp edge gives a bold, sticker-like cartoon look. The center is a warm yellow (classic daisy!), and the stem is a saturated green so it reads immediately even at a glance. Together, the palette stays simple, cheerful, and high-contrast, perfect for for clarity on screen.
There were two small decisions that made a big difference. First, was the draw order: I coded the petals before the center so the yellow circle sits neatly on top. p5.js applies fill and stroke at the exact moment you draw, so layering matters, getting that step right eliminated messy overlaps without extra code. Second, the smiley face: two tiny circle calls for eyes and a single arc for the smile gave the flower a personality however this was probably the hardest part. I watched a few YouTube videos about coordinates which is how I learned to use “cx” and “cy” so I wasn’t typing magic numbers everywhere (much easier to tweak).
The smiley face was the specific piece of code that I was proud of. I know it looks very simple but it definitely took me the longest time to get right without looking completely wonky!
// Smiley const cx = 300, cy = 200; fill(0); noStroke(); circle(cx - 20, cy - 15, 12); // left eye circle(cx + 20, cy - 15, 12); // right eye noFill(); stroke(0); strokeWeight(4); arc(cx, cy + 15, 60, 40, 0,PI);
What went well: I kept the geometry minimal (lines, ellipses, and circles). The result feels cohesive: the color palette, the outlines, and the proportions all read “cartoon daisy” immediately. What I could have done better: the petals aren’t perfectly placed since I originally wanted to do 5, and they look kind of odd, some spacing could be cleaner. I wish I had more time to work on this so I could adjust the shapes to my liking.
Looking ahead, I’d also like to add motion, a subtle stem sway maybe or a smile that reacts on hover/click. Or perhaps, adding clouds or a sun in the background. For now, I’m happy that it isn’t perfect, neither am I, and that’s kind of the point. I’m still getting into the rhythm of JavaScript, and this little daisy felt like the right way to bloom.