'Photoshop'

Texture and Reflection:

Once the colouration was complete, I could now start texturing. Using photos of textures, I searched for the most realistic finish. For example, for the collar of the vest, I applied a tissue texture. Here is how I proceeded: I applied the chosen texture on another layer, either in soft light or in overlay. Then, with the Photoshop tool CS2 (Wrap tool), I distorted the texture to adjust it with the perspective and the folds in the collar. For the reflections, the method is similar but this time I used the picture (in black and white) of a window. The secret is to have a picture with as much detail as possible, so that you can see all the deformities and the contrasts in the texture. Once more, I erased the surplus, with a mask on the respective layers (Fig.07, Fig.08 and Fig.09).

Composition and the final touches:

As a final step, I looked at the composition of my illustration. Even with the best illustration in the world, if the composition is deficient, the impact will be totally different. In this case, I had a square framing and I knew I wanted to reposition my character. There are many theories regarding the composition of an illustration. Personally, I prefer the rule of the third and the focus of interest. For this illustration, my focus was on the eyes and therefore, I situated this focus point on the third part of the image. I could elaborate more on the composition of an image but it is up to you to do your own research on the subject. I easily spent one hour just on the composition of the image.

My finishing touch was to adjust the colours and contrasts to enhance the overlook of the illustration (Fig.10 and Fig.11).

I hope you enjoyed this!