Illustration
I was tasked to create a realistic styled portrait that highlights the focal elements of the given image (woman and sunflower). The tool used in this project was Adobe Illustrator.
Example mock-up created to visualise the illustration as a poster.
Challenge
The challenge was to capture what the client’s version for the illustration was in a realistic style.
Original Image
The client provided me with an image she wanted me to use as the main reference image for the illustration.
Illustration Progression
I utilised the reference images whilst illustrating the key elements and regularly updated my client with the progress of the project. This allowed for the client and I to understand where and how the project was developing. It also enabled the client to provide feedback on the specific areas of the illustration.
The style was a technique that I developed throughout the completion of the Beautiful in Blue, Flow and My Self Portrait project where I focused my attention on breaking the reference image’s light and shadows to create the illusion of dimensional shape and texture.
Background and dress changes.
Background and gradient additions.
When deciding the background for the illustration, I experimented with different options and presented them to the client. The client and I both agreed that the illustration must convey a warm and intimate message and that should be reflective of the colour palette. As a result, the background was chosen to be warm brown and tan. The blue elements of the dress were also changed to yellow as it was not a prominent element of the image and needed to align with the existing colour scheme.
Result
Final Illustration
The final illustration conveys a warm and personal portrait of a woman and a sunflower in a realistic aesthetic. Smile at Me can be interpreted as the woman smiling at the sunflower but also as the sunflower smiling at the woman as sunflowers represent happiness and joy. When presenting my client with the final piece, I received positive feedback.
My Takeaways
I was able to communicate the message my client intended for the illustration. Additionally, I demonstrated my skills which I developed in the previous projects whilst gaining a new experience in successfully completing a full body portrait.
Testimony
“The illustration not only conveys the emotions and my intended image successfully, but it also a great rendition of the given image.”