I have been producing fine art portraits for a few years however I hadn’t tried out using digital software. Since using adobe illustrator for a few months, I gave myself a few projects to push my skills. I felt going back to basics such as landscapes, fruit and faces were a good place to start!
To get started I used some references and created my own clothing, background and styles, I found a lot of the magic comes through the lighting and gradients.
I re-started a few times while I was gaining a process, I didnt know where to start! I found producing a preliminary base was a good approach, it is just like drawing a portrait with pencils or paints. The strategy is easily transferrable, especially since these visuals are built through layers and tonal values. Once I had discovered these key points the next hard part was knowing when to stop. Light, shadows, reflective tones are endless so the real challenge is finding what is worth the layer, less is more therefore its about simplifying the visual.
SELF PORTRAIT
After producing 2 portraits, I felt it was appropriate to try out a self portrait, this time i wanted to try out a different perspective, lighting and shadows. I found it was challenging making sure the result held a likeness to myself and my reference image. Usually I dont try to make anything look exactly like the reference, since its just a source of inspiration. I am quite pleased with the outcome, I feel it really does look like me! I have been enjoying exploring a new creative realm! This practice has inspired me to get painting again so I have a new sketchbook decidated to funky fun portraits, doing both keeps my perspective fresh and open to different mediums.
FAYE TIKIC 