Stages of creating a portrait

Analysis of customer requirements

After receiving a message, a call, and the discussion of the future portrait, I ask about the wishes and deadlines for completing the portrait. We usually do this on WhatsApp.

Analysis of the customer’s requirements implies the volume of upcoming work and cost. If the image is collective — creating a layout from several photographs. I send this collage to the customer for their correctness and compliance with the customer’s expectations, whether I understood the task correctly.

The best photo is a professional one. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and that is why I am writing this article with one of the possible scenarios for the process of painting a portrait.

Visual collage and its coordination

We have six photos from which we need to choose a face that will be the basis for the portrait. As you have already noticed, the girl in the photos is artistic and different. The customer chose the face from photo 1, the dress from photo 2, hair 3 and 6, earrings from photo 5. I sent the Photoshop layout and I started painting the portrait.

For a modern artist to provide quality service, it is important to know and be able to work with Photoshop. Quickly send the layout to the customer for approval, especially if the deadline is tight.

You will need knowledge of the basics of face construction, the ability to use paints to construct a face, to catch the right features, to choose the color of the skin, hair, to understand where the light and shadow will be. My task is more difficult, because I create portraits using the technique of old masters. Hyperrealism in portraits appears layer by layer. Not every artist has mastered this technique, it is not taught at universities. These are my personal developments and experience. This is what makes me unique.

Preparing to create a portrait

At this stage, I check if I have the canvas I need in stock. Should I order a baguette frame for the portrait in advance, if this was discussed with the customer at the first stage. Or maybe I will need a box for shipping to another city.

If the portrait is large, with two or more faces, I order a layout printed on paper. This helps me maintain the correct scale of the portrait. This is another preparatory stage for creating a portrait.

Painting a portrait

I have my own quality criteria. They are based on museum portraits. Therefore, at each writing session, I check my work from the point of view of an expert and an ordinary viewer. I evaluate my work critically and record shortcomings.

For a portrait of one face measuring 30×40 cm, about 5-7 sessions are needed. One session is one day. Between sessions, the drying of the layer is about 2-3 days. Therefore, the more days before the deadline, the better. If the deadline is very tight, then you can consider the technique of painting a portrait in two days. It will be beautiful and interesting, but this will no longer be the multi-layered painting technique of the old masters.

Depending on the complexity, number of faces, detail, and size of the canvas, each layer takes from two to 10 hours a day.

Quality, museum beauty — this is not fast. Large portraits can take up to half a year to create.

So, what is fixing a mistake in a portrait? It is a photograph and comparing it with the original. For example, an eye from a photo and an eye from a portrait. And so on for all parts of the face. I create small layouts and conduct a comparative analysis. The better the original photo, the faster the result and the better the portrait.

Preparing a photo report

I photograph each stage of painting a portrait to show the customer the creative process and the dynamics of progress. As we remember, there is a deadline. If I have several orders, then I distribute my time in such a way that between drying days, I paint a layer of another portrait.

After presenting the portrait to the customer and getting his approval, I move on to the next stage. Frame, preparing to send the portrait, if it is not St. Petersburg.

If the customer is very demanding, wants to make adjustments to the face, or the face does not seem quite like the photo, then I start a new face check with a ruler and look for discrepancies up to a millimeter. This is very rare, but it does happen.

Sending a portrait or sending by mail

After the portrait has dried and its transportation is planned, I start packing it. Russian Post has proven itself well. 

This is how the process of creating a portrait occurs. As for the nuances of cost and advance payment, it is all individual. I did not touch upon this issue in this article. You can ask me about this on WhatsApp +7 911 296 2516.