It took me some time to find the right picture to use for this illustration. When I found the one I wanted to use I realized that it was took dark. I thought it would be a long shot to take it into photoshop and try to get it right but with a lot of experimentation and tweaking I got the picture to look realistic and a great tone. I am aware that the coat is over exposed however I was really going for getting the face to look it's best.
I get a fair amount of compliments and questions after each piece of artwork is completed. People often ask me how I accomplish these illustrations with such detail and a certain style. As I tell anyone who asks... It's all about layers.. drawing certain parts of the face and hiding them. Layers upon layers building up into the final product. Never get discouraged if its not turning out the way you want it to. Its going to look a bit odd until it is completed. Don't let it stop you. I find it easiest to start with the basic outline of the face and build up. Once you finish the basic shape of the face, draw the darks, midtones, and highlights. Then go for one of the eyes and focus on that, then the other, on to the lips, hair, and part of the body. Afterwards I always unlock all of the layers and make sure to adjust opacities and tones to make everything look the way I want it to. At the very end I add a background colour that will compliment a certain colour on the person being illustrated... usually the person's shirt. In this case Kyle was wearing an orange shirt so I chose the complimentary colour blue.
Never give up on your illustrations
Keep on practicing, you only get better as time goes on.
