Lip bite
I have seen and admired a number of intentionally minimalist portraits. They’ll pick some trait of their subject and show just that. Can you recognize Clint Eastwood from a drawing of just his eyes? Alfred Hitchcock’s personal brand was always exemplified by a silhouette of his profile. I have been debating whether I could pull off such a feat with my favorite subject, Aftyn Rose.
Most of that time, I was thinking about her eyes. I think Aftyn has distinctive eyelids; someone might be able to pick her out by that alone. But I think I finally nailed those in my last painting of her, and I didn’t want to just do that again. Then, among my references, I spotted the perfect thing: her biting her lip. What better way to encapsulate Aftyn’s features and playful sensuality?
I painted this with two brushes in Procreate, continuing my experimentation with their new brush engine. I started out with a broad, round brush called Lilydale. When it came to carving out shapes, though, it was too limiting, so I switched to one called Winkleigh. Winkleigh can carve out precise detail, but is oddly directional in nature. I don’t have the iPad that will let me rotate the pencil to turn the brushes, so the strokes are all vertical.
Is it a success? It’s not my best work, but I’ll give it a qualified yes. You’ve got her tooth gap, her fine lips, her subtle smile. Her lip bite reads well. A fan might be able to recognize her from this portrait.
Medium: Digital
App: Procreate
Tools: Paint (Winkleigh brush)