Have you ever wondered how some artists work….how the various stages of their painting process (traditional or digital) look? Well, I decided to share the various stages of my digital work flow from my newest commissioned piece with you.
Meet Samson. Samson has lived a long & happy life. He has not been well of late and his ‘Human wanted his portrait painted.
I have 2 cats and we like to walk around the house speaking for them – like we know what they are thinking. We call ourselves the ‘Humans on their behalf ;) Don’t look at me like I’m odd…you do it too, I know you do!
The first thing I do is ask for the best quality image you can provide. In some cases, such as with Samson, this was the best that could be provided. The higher the image quality you provide, the more detail I can see to recreate for you. When necessary I’m pretty good at filling in the blanks when it comes to animals. I use this to my benefit and to yours.
This is Samson. Samson does NOT like his picture taken!
In this picture Samson is not impressed! Samson wishes his Mom would take that camera and shove it up her ar*e! Samson does NOT like his picture taken.
My job, as an artist, is to make Samson look happy (like he usually is), and to bring out lots more detail in his hair and eyes. Ears would be good as well, yes we shall give Samson a full set of ears. I think he would like that.
At Stage 1 I do a very ROUGH composition and block in some background color. (Keyword here being ROUGH) At this stage the customer would be very – VERY – worried as it looks horrid. Don’t be…keep reading! I’ll throw the original image in there for placement so I don’t waste my time painting a bunch of background in that I don’t need. This also helps with my main outline as I begin my painting & blending process in Stage 2.
*To see more detail – click on each image for a larger view.*
Cat portrait painting - Stage 1 & 2
At Stage 3 I decided to soften the background. The colors were a bit too bold for my liking so I knocked it down a few notches. I also ‘roughly’ painted in more dark hair in appropriate areas.
At Stage 4 I did more blending and added more light hairs to mane area (on the chest). I also added more fine hairs inside Samson’s ears.
Cat portrait painting - Stage 3 & 4
The hair is painted & blended in several stages and layers and with various tonal values to create depth. It is time consuming but well worth the time and effort! As you view Stages 6 thru 9 you will see more detail being added. By now you should be able to see Samson’s lovely personality shining through that grimace from the original photo provided.
Cat portrait painting - Stage 6-9
By the time I’m done thousands of brush strokes have been carefully placed to recreate the cat’s hair - even the white ones. It’s hard to see in these smaller images but I added grey tones in that big white patch area between the eyes. I also spend a great deal of time on the eyes as they are the most important part. That is the one area you absolutely MUST get right…the eyes!
Here’s a close up crop so you to see some of the stroke detail not visible in smaller views. Now that’s a lot of brush strokes!
cat-portrait-detail
Now here comes my favorite part, the final before & after comparison. The customer was thrilled and she now has a custom painted portrait to cherish for the rest of her days.
Sir Samson - before & after
Samson is also happy. His best side has been captured and he no longer needs to contend with the camera being shoved in his face.
I still don’t regret making the switch from traditional painting methods to digital. It’s more environmentally friendly, has opened up even more creative doors for me, and I’ve ruined a lot fewer clothes since I did ;)
Renée
http://www.renee-dawson.com
