Self-Portrait and Green Hair

After all the struggles and fuss of trying to re-dye my hair (I will make a post about that, too, but it's going to be a long one) I figured it needed commemorating with something more than just a selfie.

Ok, that's not really why I did this (well, maybe a little; that is some VERY green hair I now have) and I actually did it to get back into making art. I've done so much for my university coursework that is design, but since the first term, not much drawing that isn't technical. I happen to really like drawing in a more illustrative sort of way; I like doing recognisable artistic pictures of things. Don't get me wrong, technical drawing and CAD are really important in architecture, and have their own beauty when done well (or maybe that's just because I've got really perfectionist about lining up annotations and line-widths and arranging things in the clearest manner...) but sometimes I just want to make a pretty picture. 

This was done with the painting simulator FreshPaint on my shiny new Microsoft Surface tablet. It has a stylus and I am learning how to use the stylus. I like using the painting simulator more than I like actual digital art programs like illustrator; it does a reasonable job of mimicking how paint works, and turning stylus strokes and pressure differences into realistic brush-strokes. I think this looks reasonably like what it would be if it was an actual acrylic painting I ahd done. I don't want it to stylistically be all perfect and smooth like a digital painting, or a very time-consuming oil or water-colour; I wanted it to look painted, a tad impressionistic at the edges. 

And I was wearing iridescent, slightly glittery lipstick. 

I know the nose is a bit off, and that one eye seems slightly droopy, and I would love any constructive criticism.