A digital portrait request
The other night a friend sent me a text and asked if I could turn her family picture into a faceless digital portrait. While I’ve seen them before, I had never attempted to make one myself. I decided to give it a try and was quickly hooked with the final result!
What the heck is a faceless digital portrait, anyway?
Odds are you have seen them online before. A faceless digital portrait is a drawing of family, friends, or even pets, but without any facial features. Truth be told, this is probably why I love making them so much – no matter how much practice I do I have never been able to illustrate eyes. Or mouths. Or noses.
Most often faceless portraits are rougher, sketchier illustrations rather than very polished art pieces. You’ll see colors outside lines and streaks in pigment. The edges may look a bit uneven, and if there is a background, it often is a watercolor inspired hue.
Ok, but…why?
True, the objects don’t have any facial features (which confuses my 5 year old to no end -she keeps telling me my art isn’t complete without eyes and ears. Apparently to her mouths aren’t important, which is surprising since she is always talking).
I love this style because it makes a favorite picture a work of art. Even without these defining features, everyone is still recognizable – It is the relationship between the subjects that is captured.
My friend who first sparked this idea sent me a picture of her portrait printed and framed (she used Costco Photo Center, and I cannot recommend them enough!). Seeing it displayed in her home makes me so happy! Knowing that my art is a part of telling their family story is an honor I don’t take lightly.
As we are all looking to shop small this year, I would love for you to consider letting me create portraits for your friends and family.
