In depth Portraits
ADD POP TO YOUR CHARACTER ART
Procreate
Alix Harris showcases her process for creating vibrant portraits that provide personality for your characters
Artist
PROFILE
Alix Harris
LOCATION: US
Alix is an illustrator and character artist whose primary medium is digital, creating in Procreate on iPad, and occasionally working traditionally in gouache. www.cyanaliart.com
For this workshop, we’ll be creating a portrait that gives your character, well, their character! Whether you’re a beginner artist or more experienced, a portrait can be a great way to explore characters. While the design can focus on anything from their build to setting the character’s tone, the portrait can show who they are at an intimate level.
Try to focus on the overall shape of the portrait design. Be aware of negative space around your character and how that can help with clarity, like how the hair can frame the face or the full portrait. As for colour, we’ll focus on a simple colour palette that compliments the design.
One thing to keep in mind is the expression. Try thinking of your character’s situation and how they would react. What would their expression be? Would it be over the top? Many people connect with an expression, which can make it pop. We’ll be using Procreate for the iPad. This software is a great way to explore your character, from sketching to finalising a painting. We’ll use multiple brushes, layer modes and adjustments to achieve the look for you. Awareness of some basic digital art techniques will be helpful for this tutorial.