Process

When I finally decided that I wanted to make digital portrait paintings of people who are homeless, I knew that I needed to go out and shoot portraits which was a fairly easy process. It was probably the easiest portion of this project to be honest, but definitely the most gratifying which I will get into a little more in a bit. I traveled to three cities to get photos. San Jose, Mountain View, and San Francisco. Travelling to different cities allowed me to get a variety of photos with a variety of people. Some photos I shot as candid and others I shot more portrait style. For the actual portrait style I actually had to go up to people and ask if I can take their photo which was really natural to me. I carry a certain confidence around, but if you’re thinking of doing something different go to a shelter. This is much safer to do since the person is approved by staff. Back to the process. I took about 4-6 shots for each individual that I wanted to photograph and possibly interview. Usually after I was finished with taking the photos, whoever I was photographing would start a conversation which led to them explaining their background, how they got to where they are etc. This is what I was referring to as the most gratifying part of my zenith. Hearing their stories was an experience in itself which further motivated to have the paintings done well.

After I had the photos and interviews that I wanted, I turned my attention on learning how to create the digital paintings. Since digital painting was something that I knew nothing about, I had to learn the basics, taking notes on what kind of brushes worked best for outlining, light painting, hair, etc. I watched dozens of beginner tutorials on digital painting and since digital painting carries the same principles of actual painting I also watch acrylic and watercolor painting tutorials. A big concept that I especially had trouble with was blending and shading which makes what ever you’re painting look real and three dimensional instead of a just a flat image.

 

I took several notes and practiced on a random portrait I had on my hard drive. I started by outlining the subject. Next, I painted the eyes which made it easier to paint the face in a more realistic manner. I used several colors as an experiment, just to see how it would end up.

 

 

Having finished the practice painting, I felt a little off about because of how manufactured it looked. I then spent several hours watching digital artists painting their own paintings which helped inspire me and was also incredible to watch.

Having been inspired I chose these two images to paint. (You can see my work in action on the production page of zenith.)