This was done for a client who wanted a picture of who she was in her publicity pack as she was starting up a new venture. The photograph worked from had to be scanned and drastically altered before even work started drawing from it in illustrator. All sorts of colour correcting and repositioning of shadows and hair then occured. Sometimes it would have been easier to re-shoot or self shoot the client to get a picture that is closer to what they want. Eventually the client was happy with the corrected photograph and work started on the drawing.

 

There were several versions done but in the end the client didn't go with the portrait although she did like it,  I think its quite a good likeness.. She didn't feel it was suitable for the brand image in the end. It was one of my first large vector portraits.

These are two working pieces that didn't get the thumbs up. In the process of drawing it's the simplification that poses the biggest problem  - how to minimise the shape and lose the detail but keep the essence of the person you are drawing! This was initially scanned into photoshop, cleaned up, simplified, recoloured, taken into illustrator tweaked and then brought back into photoshop for the final retouch.