Portrait (Drawing)

This is my self portrait for drawing class. I have mixed feelings about this piece for many reasons. Since the photograph I used was taken from the side, its a weird angle.. I tried to show the view, but it just looks like one eye is smaller than the other. I like the value on the face though: the highlights on my cheeks and also the lowlights where the smiles creases are. I also think I got my nose just right. I learned a lot from this project like how to control the value with your pencil. I didn't use a blending tool at all, which I'm proud of because I think I had smooth transitions between the value shown. I think my next self portrait will be a lot better just because this was my first. It was really good practice and showed me what I can do, and now that I know, I think I could do better. I think the position of my face was a risk just because I had to show that depth and the sideway-ness of it. I don't know how well I executed that; I could have added more shadows on both sides. Overall, this piece taught me a lot about myself as an artist, and I look forward to the next self portrait so that I can see a growth.