My sustained investigation question was:

How do our idols affect us?

I also played into the question:

How are we conformed to the beauty standard?

I decided to portray the celebrity Audrey Hepburn as my first subject for this piece. Back in the 60s, Hepburn was idolized by many women and considered to be the beauty standard of that era. She is most famous for her role in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, and her legacy still continues to be prevalent today. 

First, I started by finding an image of Hepburn off of the internet. The one I chose was from her most famous movie, which I figured would make her most recognizable. I cut it out using the polygonal lasso tool and put her on the right side of the piece. Next, I added newspaper clippings featuring all of her accomplishments to use as my background. I also wanted to use a quote for one aspect of my background, so I used. "The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy. That's all that matters." I chose this quote because it embodies Hepburn's true outlook on life and shows that she was much more than just the beauty standard of her era. 

Then, I added a cloud of smoke, but portrayed as flowers. I used a layer mask to create an outline of this and insert the floral image. I liked this because it made the project more vibrant and displayed the bright personality of Hepburn. 

After that, I decided to highlight Hepburn's bold eyes. I first selected the area that I wanted to change using the polygonal lasso tool, then I applied a stamp filter to get a simple effect that would make her eyes stand out. I then used the Hue/Saturation tool to change the color of the stamp and then the brush tool to add color to the white background. Next, I used the stroke tool and added a grey outline to make they highlighted area really stand out. 

Then, I filled in more of the background with various newspaper clippings. I made the existing ones bigger and  added others. Next, I used the Stamp filter on her forehead and hair to match her eyes. I also used the Color balance tool to add a pink color to her arm. 

Lastly, I used the Color Balance tool to change the tones of the flowers to better match the rest of the piece. I also added more newspaper clippings, and used the torn paper brush tool to the edges of the quote clipping. My final piece is down below.