For my chiaroscuro project, I used charcoal pencils, which I had barely any experience with. Usually, I use graphite, colored pencils, ink, paints, or a mix of these mediums, but this was done completely with charcoal and I definitely struggled with it, because charcoal is very messy and it’s hard to keep the light parts of the drawing white, without the charcoal smudging too much and turning the whole piece muddy. It was also difficult to get light shades out of the charcoal because it’s so dark, but I learned to smudge it instead of only adding more charcoal to the area. The process was different too, because instead of drawing an outline first and then shading and adding details, I started by finding the shapes of the light spots and the dark spots and then finding the outline of the face. I chose to leave it without a complete background because I like the look of the unfinished edge, but I might go back and add more to the background. As for reference, I used a picture I took of myself, so the work was completely original. I also amplified the darks and lights from what they were in the picture for more contrast, and because I also like the look and the simplicity of very starkly contrasted light and dark areas.