redraw of this piece from 2016! this was both an exercise in art improvement and in seeing how my perception of myself has changed over the years.

some commentary below, comparing the two pieces + reflection

i feel like my style has both gotten more cartoonish yet more realistic? like the way i draw facial features is more realistic instead of just, that *vague blob* stuff, but also just my general line style and the rounded nature of the features make it feel more cartoony as well. i also tried to shy away from smoothing over the things i don’t like about myself. my nose shape... still isn’t quite how it is irl, but i didn’t round it off as much as i did in the 2016 piece. i also tried to include my acne marks this time, although it was actually harder than i thought to draw acne scars? so i actually struggled with getting them to look natural and not just, weird dots. also i still have no idea how to draw clothes but i think this time it actually looks like a hoodie at least lmao

some other differences that can be chalked up to just, how my life itself has changed over time - i gave myself severe dark circles under my eyes in the old piece bc i was actually pretty sick when i drew it. i also noticed how absolutely desaturated the colors were in the old piece and i have no idea why i did that?  i had also given myself a flower crown bc 1. i was obsessed with them back then and 2. i had just wanted to draw flowers anyway lol, but this time i wasnt in the mood to deal with flowers. i also gave myself a choker this time bc its become my new permanent accessory in real life. any color hoodie + black undershirt + choker is my everyday fashion

one last thing! my bangs appear to have changed sides. but that’s only because i fucked up in my redraw and drew myself according to how i look in the mirror... in the 2016 piece i drew my bangs to how other people see me but this time i forgot to account for that