Portrait Redux

While looking for something else, I came across a quickie portrait that I had done last year. It wasn't very good, but there was something about the face that had some potential. I decided to see if I could do a better version.

Part of the problem was that there was no indication of the underlying structure of the face. It was very flat. So I started "building" the head and face.

The darks and lights were nearly indistinguishable from one another, so I darkened the darks and lightened the lights. I liked the idea waves in the hair, but I took the hairstyle in a different direction. I toned down the shape of the eyes, though I tried to keep some of exotic feel.

I added some musculature to the the neck and shoulder area and created some jewelry. I used custom brushes to create the background textures and to add texture to the skin.

I used a blending brush to soften some areas and to shape others.

Overall, I like the way the redo came out.