Poe's Progress

I'm not at all traditional in my approach to caricature. I don't usually finish the drawing before I start painting. Since I have switched to digital painting I feel no need to distinguish between a drawing and a painting, it is all one platform now. Of course this can lead to hideous mistakes but I have been doing this long enough to know that it is never a waste of time to practice! Since I started Photoshop a couple of years ago I have improved greatly and it took real effort just to get up to par with what I could do traditionally.

STEP ONE

I always start very small and blurry. I just try and capture a likeness good enough to get me onto the next stage. In this case I really fell in love with Edgar Allan Poe's crooked little face and that was the impetus to start. As you can see there are no details to speak of.

STEP TWO

At this stage I'm ready to start painting in some highlights. For those who are interested, my technique is not too fancy. I have one layer for the background, that I will continually develop, a layer for the drawing which will eventually combine with the painting layer, I have my first painting layer of highlights as a separate top layer and of course the graphic oval layer. I started in sepia tones but switched to blue/grey to make it more moody. I always have a neutral ground color to start with. I use brushes provided by Photoshop I don't waste any time making new brushes I'm far too impatient for that.

STEP THREE

Now I use burn, dodge and blend tools to mold the face further and select and adjust to darken the hair and suit.