As quarantine continues to hinder my ability to work, I have turned again to digital paintings to occupy my time. Some people might wonder how I make these – it’s not a filter. I start with a photo that makes me feel inspired. This photo is from a friend I used to work with. She has a wild spirit, fierce and fiery. There is poetry in her soul.
Next I put a transparent layer on top of the photo so I can get the basic form down. I use a Wacom Bamboo tablet and experiment with photoshop preset brushes. As I put the lines down, I go through a combination of adding shadows and highlights.
A lot of times, I take creative liberties with features and background, but I love my model’s photo and background, so I tried to keep true to the original. There is one element from the photo that I incorporated into my painting – the cheetah pattern on the robe. When previewing between my painting and the photo underneath, the pattern on the robe was something that really added an extra depth that I wanted to keep, so I kept it as a layer under the original drawing.
Below is a look at the original photo. Feel free to let me know what you think.
Saint Siouxie 