Fantasy Portraits

Learn how to create enchanting narratives in your digital portraits.

Sparking emotion and wonder through a fantasy narrative is a skill that requires a resourceful mind, flush with imagination. However, a defined methodology is just as important to successfully transmit these ideas to your audience.

This project will guide you through an easy-to-follow method to achieving this.

This project is adapted from Karmen Loh (Bearbrickjia)'s course.

You can see example portraits here.

TOOLS & TECHNIQUES IN PHOTOSHOP

PRACTICE: Rough Shadows and Highlights

Download the practice portrait Template Open it.
The Reference is on the left, and the sketch is on the right.
- The layers are already created and named for you.
Change your Colour Panel's mode:
- If you are missing the Colour Panel, find it under "Window" at the top.
- It's default is the Hue Cube (see right)
- For portraits, switching to HSB (Hue, Saturation, Brightness) is more useful.
  - Click the square of 4 horizontal lines in the upper right corner of the panel
  - Switch to "Color Wheel" or "HSB Sliders"
You may wish to download some new brushes.
- Click Here for the set that Bearbrickjia uses.
- You can also google "Kyle Adobe Brushes" to find some great sets on the Adobe website.
Your goal with this practice is to block out your rough shadows and highlights using the lasso tool, brush, and smudge tool.

Click here to view Bearbrickjia's video lessons.

You can wear a pair of headphones to listen, but they also have Closed Captioning.

Rendering Techniques and Brushes

In painting, "rendering" means adding details like shadows and highlights to make something look realistic. It’s about making your painting go from a basic shape or outline to something that has depth and feels three-dimensional.

Continue with the same practice portrait.
See the lesson video in the folder linked above;
I know its long, its mostly painting. You can skip to whenever you see captions pop up.

Adding Colours

Welcome to the fun part of adding colors! In this lesson I will show you how to add colours using blending modes and colour adjustment tools.

Continue with the same practice portrait.
See the lesson video in the folder linked above.

Some artists recommend getting the values down in black and white and THEN adding colour... I know from personal experience that this does work well with portraits. And here's a video showing why:

LET'S CREATE!

Making a Moodboard

Let’s start working on your portrait! Your first task is to collect references and create a moodboard, which will inspire and guide you to create your final project.

Pick a topic for your portrait
- Think of something you really like: ex) "Travel"
Start looking for references
- Pinterest
  - Highly recommended, but you will need an account
  - When you click a picture, there are more related images beneath it
- Unsplash
Search for a word related to your topic: ex) Travel > Beach > Ocean Waves
Find an image that fits your project
- Save it to a "Fantasy Portrait" folder in your Media Design folder (in OneDrive)
Keep searching for other images. ex) Travel > Moon
You should also look for a few portrait references (faces, hair, etc.)
Compile them together into a photoshop file (see video)

Click here to view Bearbrickjia's video lessons.

You can wear a pair of headphones to listen, but they also have Closed Captioning.

Sketch

Create a new file that is 3300 x 5100 pixels, with 300 Pixels/Inch.
- This is the same as the "Tabloid' option under "Print" in the New Document Window
- It will be a bit larger than a regular sheet of paper. We can always shrink down!
To see your moodboard beside your new canvas:
- Click on Window > Arrange
Sketch a rough composition of your portrait with fantasy elements based on the references you collected

For Sketching tips, watch the video:

Rendering

Take what you learned from the Practice and apply it to your own portrait.

Block out your colours (like how the template looked when you got it)
Add shadows.
Add highlights.

This stage will take you a while.

Bearbrickjia's videos for this part are nearly 1.5 hours long. (I can add the videos if you want them, just ask)

Embrace the process!

Try to get into the Zone and just keep building things up.

Applying "Make-Up" and Colour Adjustments

Harmonize your portrait by adding some extra pops of colour.

Watch the video:

Finishing Touches:
Making your Artwork Pop Out!

Add some more details overall.

(I can add the last video if you want, just ask; its an hour long)