commissioning your portrait
My portraits make the perfect gift for loved ones, special occasions or a unique way to personalise your home or office. Each one is custom made to your taste. The standard canvas size is 20x30"
The Process is quite simple and stress free, I'll be in contact with you every step of the way. Each portrait is tailored to the taste and personality of the model.
You can have control over colour and style or you can leave it to me to create something and then we can refine it to your taste.
Step 1 - selecting an image
Go through all your photographs and pick a selection you are happy with. This is an important step so take your time to look at the composition as a portrait is built upon the strength of the source image.
If your unsure about sorting your photographs to this criteria then please contact me via the link at the bottom of the page, there is no charge for consultation. E-mail your selection to me via the 'Commission a portrait' button.
When choosing your photographs make sure you take into consideration the size and quality of the photograph, small and out of focus pictures a very hard to work with.
I will look at your photographs and pick out a few that I feel have the most potential and let you know my choices pointing out my favourite, together we will decide upon the right one to use. Once we have decided upon the photograph to use I will get to work on producing the basic line work for the image and send you a sample.
For the example below my brief was to modernise the portrait. The picture is of the clients mother when she was 19, a new hair style was requested along with detailed colouring and specific overall colours for the final piece. Drastic changes such as the hair can be made but the cost will increase with the work load.
Step 2 - Working on your portrait
Once I have a solid line work we can discuss colour and style, things you do and don't like. You are free to pic elements from different portraits in my gallery that you like and combine them in yours.
With each portrait it is important to capture the personality and mood of the model so colours and shapes play a vital role in achieving this. Through out the process I will send you samples of how the portrait is progressing so that we can make adjustments as we go.
Continuing with the example, a realistic and detailed style to the hair was required. This effect requires that each colour layers is drawn line by line, this allows me to get a crisp detailed and realistic look to the hair.
Step 3 - Final design & last adjustments
Eventually we will arrive at a final design, How long it takes depends on the scale of work to be done. Once I have a final design for your portrait I will e-mail you a high-rez sample for you to examine, you are free to take your time at this stage and make sure you are 100% happy with it.
This is the stage where last minute changes can be made so if there is anything that is bugging you let me know.
With the example it had to be yellow / orange and she had to have blue eyes so time was spent balancing the hue of the hair, eyes, skin and background so they all work together.
Step 4 - Final product & FREE t-shirt
Once you're 100% happy with the design and give me the go ahead I will prep it for printing and order your canvas and free t-shirt. Delivery on average takes around two weeks depending on the work load at the printers. You will receive a 20x30" (50x75cm) canvas print of you portrait. You will also receive free T-shirt featuring your portrait.
Thats all there is to it, the process is quite simple and you are involved every step of the way. The terms and conditions can be downloaded as a PDF from the link below. You can contact me to talk about the process or to get your picture assessed via the commission link.
