Creating portraits with Xara

I started this thread because a lot of us basically hijacked Frances' Self-Portrait thread in the Xara Art Gallery, even though she's an excellent sport about it, thanks Frances.

I did this using some of the techniques we covered here. I began with a well-lit image of the woman, then used an Exposure setting in a different software program to almost posterize the photo, wiping out a lot of the midtones, to leave only the brightest brights and the shadow areas. This was what I was looking for both artistically and cosmetically. I wanted to reduce Tamara's portrait to the most flattering essentials we can see in a woman's face: a small recognition of the nose, most of the emphasis and detail on the eyes, a few shadows in the hair, and the rest of the portrait rendered using negative space and a lot of suggested shape without actually bothering to draw it.

Attachment 109429

Then came the auto-tracing, which required an awful lot of clean-up and manual drawing to replace awkward shapes, and then with a four color palette in violets, I recolored the image from a greyscale copy, exactly as I did with the Piper picture right here

At best, drawings that are intended to mimic photos almost parallel the photo itself (unless you draw each grain of silver, or pixel). But as the artist gradually backs away from every single detail, there grows room for interpretation, and the 2¢ the artist contributes to shape and ultimately make the drawing a part of their own portfolio. Naturally, you need to take the photo yourself or ask for permission, but my point is: sometimes, an artistic treatment of a subject is to reveal as little as you can while still retaining the meaning of the portrait and the message you want to share. The photo of Tamara had her posed a little shy, and I pushed that to the logical extreme...much of her face is so shy, it's hidden.

My Best,

Gary


My Best,

Gary

Interesting technique, Gary. After you posted Patrick Nagels name I looked up his work. His drawings are so simple yet so very complex and stunning to look at. They lend themselves well to Xara vectors. I thought I would try to draw a face in the same style as Patrick's work. The nice part about these types of drawings is they don't take 50 hours to complete yet they still tell a story. My effort below.

Nice image gray, is your image a complete free hand drawing or a line drawing from a photo, either way it is very good.

Stygg

Graham, you nailed it in one!

Bravo!

(Add a few highlight strands to the hair to break up the solid field of black) Attachment 109436

I used Patrick Nagel's style to draw both male and female portraits for years, marker and colour pencils.

I'm happy to have rekindled an interest in a very influential artist during the 1970s and 1980s as part of a return to Art Deco in American Pop Art.

My Best,

Gary

Thanks for the reference to Patrick Nagel. I'm always looking out for simplified ways to do portraits! My inspiration for that has been Julian Opie...his style lends itself very well to vector work. Though sometimes you get people saying "but my eyes don't look like buttons..."

Here's a more detailed image I did a year or two back. Portraits are always tricky to do!

I really, really like the posterization of the tones on Pam, Manoj.

It distracts me from the skin tone falloff, and makes me concentrate on the geometry of her face, of which you used minimal lines.

Great work, and there's a simple technique for drawing eyes, not around the eyes but the eyes themselves, if anyone cares for my 2¢.

My Best,

Gary

Stygg, that was just a quick little drawing to duplicate Patrick's style so it's just a simple trace. If you wanted to add the step of free handing it would be fairly simple to make a pencil drawing first, then upload it to xara and draw it in vector. I wouldn't try to draw it free hand in vector though.

Manoj, that looks great. Love the style you've used for the portrait.

This ones for Stygg. I drew a crude and quick freehand drawing in pencil, took all of two minutes, just to see how easy it would translate to this style. Scanned it and uploaded into Xara and then drew in vector, refining where I needed to. I'll call this one pretty lady 2. One could have a lot of fun with this style.

When I create portraiture in Xara, I shoot for it to resemble a painting and not vector, even though its entirely created in vector. I created this illustration of Tomoe Gozan, a famous female samurai from the 10th century. I created this about 2 years ago, as an illustration for my Way of the Samurai (PFRPG) product.

Attachment 109463

Thats pretty good for a pencil drawing gray, it certainly translates to the style of your first one, I'll give it a go, although my freehand pencil drawing is 0. Thanks for posting.

Stygg

Excellent image Gamerprinter, you could think that was a photograph it's so well done.

Stygg

I took a stab at doing someone famous. I'm not sure how I did but I figure If she is recognizable I got some measure of success. so can you tell who it is?

I'll take a stab Francis, she looks like Lucille Ball? Excellent drawing even if I'm wrong.

Stygg

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Originally Posted by angelize

I took a stab at doing someone famous. I'm not sure how I did but I figure If she is recognizable I got some measure of success. so can you tell who it is?

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I didn't even have to click the thumbnail to enlarge the file, Frances; it immediately reads as Lucille Ball.

You did absolutely everything right, polished, expertly, precisely, and so on! :)

This one should go in your gallery, for sure!

My Best,

Gary

Thanks Gare and Gray, getting those tones is quite difficult for me and I keep trying out various ways to get a 'cutout' effect on the photo so I can use it to do the vector portrait.
Gare, do you have any tutorials to do the eyes well?

Gamerprinter, that's awesome, just photorealistic!
Frances - very nicely done and easily recognizable!

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Originally Posted by Manoj

Thanks Gare and Gray, getting those tones is quite difficult for me and I keep trying out various ways to get a 'cutout' effect on the photo so I can use it to do the vector portrait.
Gare, do you have any tutorials to do the eyes well?

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I do not have a specific tutorial, however, photorealistic eyes you just want to fall nito follow a certain foruula, if you will, not unlike creating glass, except of course there is no transparency. There are liquid-like reflections—let me see if I can do this in Xara...else-wise I'll physically draw it and scan it, okay?

Give me a while, okay?

My Best,

Gary

Gameprinter, that's very photo like. Lots of detail.

Frances, definitely Lucille. That looks just great.

Excellent work you guys. I love Patrick Nagels style.

I have two different approaches, one like Patrick Nagel's and one more like a pencil drawing, but both obey certain conventions: the pupil is shaded on the top, and mostly eclipses the pupil. There is a lighter arc on the top of the eyeball to suggest roundness. There is a highlight mostly on the pupil, extending into the iris.

This thing is easier to share as a Xara file than to try to explain in words. Words for once fail me:

Attachment 109466

My work is crude, admittedly, because I have no time today, if there is to be an august Xara Xone! But the principles are here, I think.

My Best,

Gary

Thanks for that Gare. Very informative.

Thanks everyone for the wonderful comment it is indeed Lucille Ball :) I grew up watching re runs of I love Lucy and Here's Lucy. She was one of my favourites.

@Gare: Thank you for the eye shading tip! I kept looking at Lucy and thinking the eyes were not right, then I saw your little tip and it all just clicked! I looked at the photo I was using for reference and there it was! That's what I missed! here is an updated version with that shading.

Way to go, Frances!

And no Loo-see, you can't go to the Copacabana to hear me sing "Babalooo..."

I need to apologize to the world for bringing you American television.

Some people to this day still believe that Gilligan was in the Merchant Marines.

-g

Those are fine looking eyeballs, Gary.

Thanks Gary, very helpful!

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Originally Posted by Gare

Some people to this day still believe that Gilligan was in the Merchant Marines.

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I have no idea what that means. I have blessedly been spared such cultural menhirs.
I do, however, remember Lucille Ball and I saw her immediately in your portrait, Frances, well done.

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Originally Posted by stygg2003

Beautiful image BF and glad to see your back. As a matter of interest, when you did that image and if you had had the new Xara Hair Brush, would you have used them?

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I confess that since I have stayed away from portraits for a very long time I was not even aware of the hair brush! I'll have to investigate that one day when concentrating on paying the bills eases up.

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Originally Posted by Big Frank

I have no idea what that means. I have blessedly been spared such cultural menhirs.

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You didn't miss much in 1967, BF The only thing remarkable about seven goofy people stuck on a desert island, was that this show marked the first season the USA started broadcasting in colour.

I Love Lucy was a classic, however, nothing for Hollywood to be ashamed of, and I think Frances' portrait captured the essence of this iconic comedienne.

-g

Lucy Ball a great lady... From a washed out photograph to a high quality digital art graphic. Please click the photos to enlarge.

Well that blew me out of the water! Beautifully done!

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Originally Posted by angelize

Well that blew me out of the water! Beautifully done!

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angelize - I love your beautifully drawn Lucy! I have always admired all of your postings. You have been blessed with such great talent.

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Originally Posted by laser1

Please click the photos to enlarge.

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I'm glad you said that - anybody who didn't do so missed a superb piece of work. Kudos to you!