Such stunning effects of portraits is something which I had been striving to achieve in both traditional and digital media.
Each work is dynamic, the facial expressions and features are beautiful in each, yet they hold a form of individuality, expressing different emotions and feelings even with the eyes closed.
I have found myself trying to master drawing the most anatomically proportionate and aesthetically appealing face over the years of my art making. Yet, perhaps I have failed to realise how beauty can come in different forms and it is in such variations that make the features more realistic, and even more breathtaking.
I personally think that this artist's share of works bear some resemblance to my own, as I also like to embed fashion into portraiture. Also, I adore the way the artist had treated the paint, especially on the faces in terms of modelling the forms and applying the shadows and highlights. Clearly, there is still much for me to learn as an artist in terms of technique.
This Japanese artist had adopted a unique way of painting with the complicated process of resin combined with painting. He had invested a large amount of time into his fish painting prior to adopting such a technique which shows the amount of effort and preparation to achieve such a level. It greatly inspires me how he has used such an unconventional approach to painting to bring his paintings into a new dimension - 3D as opposed to the usual paintings on a 2D surface.
I think what is most fascinating about his work is how one would not think that the artwork was created by painting at first sight. It would look more like a sculpture. The use of the resin and the layers of paint he did is a highly innovative method with amazing results.
What we can learn from him is how he ventured to experiment for a whole new approach to painting in such a unique methodology. In a way, he has opened a whole new possibility in this aspect. Other than gold fishes, other subject matter could also be painted and made to look like 3D objects suspended in resin.
From this, I think I can try to explore new means and ways to incorporate painting into 3D art in such a manner.
Amid browsing deviantart each time, this one digital artist seemingly stands out.
She is a 21-year old Canadian artist who goes by the username of *sakimichan.
The following two are simply her sketching practices.
River Spirit, 2012, Photoshop CS4
Gold Fish, 2012, Photoshop CS4
Hello Friend, 2012, Photoshop CS4
What really strikes me in her works is not just the accuracy, pictorial representation of the subject matter, though it is crucial. On scrutiny, we can still see the visible brushstrokes that look raw, yet smooth with colour. It is absolutely amazing how she does her digital paintings in such a style. Also, all her paintings has an individual style and atmosphere to it. In each, the lighting is different, even the expression the subject matter varies accordingly evoking enough emotion to allow the viewers to sense and understanding. In this aspect I still have much to learn from her as my illustrations do not often show emotion, and the background atmosphere seems dull and undeveloped as contrasting with this young artist here.
Once again another artist from Deviantart. I do not know much information this artist, other than the fact that he/she is Japanese and I personally do think she's a she.
I came across this artist pretty early, say in Secondary Two when I was still developing my digital art skills. She provided a great source of inspiration for me. Even so, I tried as much as possible not to imitate her style too much, and rather, learn from it.
What I consider as a successful artist is when one embodies a distinctive style. This artist has done it.
The human figure - a subject matter that will probably never be unused in the aesthetic world has been portrayed by many artists before. It honestly is not easy to develop a unique personal style that can be easily identified. Even I myself have faced problems and difficulty in terms of developing a unique style of human form that solely belong to me.
This artist, Takenaka had successfully created her own style of drawing humans, it has made her artworks easier to spot and sets it apart from the others.
In her works, although she may not do detailed modelling as do some artists do, the forms, are still able to be presented well and suits the atmosphere in the artwork. Even the little areas where she does actually shade is strategically well done; such can only be an indication of her experience and capability as an artist. Clearly, she also likes to make use of patterns to give the images some texture and detail, in which case worked very well for her.
Below are some artworks I have done based on inspiration from tknk.
Geisha, Digital Painting, 700x1100px, 25 July 2010
Geisha 2, Digital Painting, 1520x2128, 10 December 2010
As seen, I have adopted the subject matter of Geishas, and not surprisingly it seemed that I had an obsession over it during a period of time. Similarly I juxtaposed many elements and trying to create intricate and detailed head pieces and hairdos for the Geishas. However, upon reflection now, the difference in levels is still jarring. It will probably be a long way to go before I can achieve such great standards.
Geisha 3, Pencil, edited with Photoshop, 1576x2299px, 19 July 2010 in pencil, edited in 30 May 2011
This piece however, didn't disappoint me quite so much. Perhaps it was the flexibility provided by the mechanical pencil, I seemed to be able to add even more intricate details easily. Furthermore, I sought to take reference from some Japanese prints paper that my Aunt got from me from Japan for the prints on the Kimono.
All in all, I hope to continue improving my drawing skills not only in terms of digital painting but perhaps I could brush up on my line art as well.
By chance, I cam across this exremely skilled artist on deviantart.com, a community of artists.
Her page is here : http://agnes-cecile.deviantart.com/
I was appalled by her unique artistic style in using arbitrary colours to present a representational forms of the human face, which I am fascinated in as well.
In her works, it is as if every stroke or spot contributed to the very composition and detail of the painting. The seemingly abstract washes and splatters of paint actually gives the viewer freedom to imagine or visualise it as different things such as flowers. This could perhaps draw some link to impressionism as the details are vague and could be interpreted as mere impressions. Since the paint do not seem to take up every inch of the paper, it could be seen to be not fully complete, contributing to the impressionistic style. Moreover, there seems to be a balance between the warm and cool colours that provide a suitable contrast that pleases the eye. Despite the odd use of colours, the forms do not look unrealistic or absurd, instead it gives the artworks a sense of intensity and emotion.
Another connection could be to surrealism as real humans are defnitely not coloured that way and in the third image it is impossible for a bird to be embedded within a person's head.
Apart from that, as shown in the video, the artist does not seem to bother with using a line-art, she simply starts painting and adding on, wowing us with her professionalism and experience. I truly to aspire to attain her level of capability.
