Tag Archives: portrait

Make-up test

Those of you following me on tumblr will have seen this image come up again…and again…and again…at various stages in the process. This was a test on two things: to create a mostly realistic portrait of one of my characters, and to finally get around to doing an improved version of the previous make-up test, this time by giving myself a base face, and then painting on top of that, with the final goal of getting something looking like a fashion shoot.

Here’s a quick summary of the things I learned/did:

  • I like to refine a picture.
  • It’s hard to see in the web-friendly versions, but for the top two faces I textured the skin by running a dry-brush over it, following the main muscles. This had the side effect of lightening the skin and unifying the colour – and I also used it to exaggerate the saturation in some parts. Next time I’ll try using a sponge instead.
  • I’m a bit less apprehensive of soft-edge, glazy brushes now. This picture made much more use of soft gradations and gentler edges than what I’m normally used to.