I've finally gotten around to try out Painter. It's actually not as bad as i thought it would be.

I like to use photo-retouching techniques to create my portraits. Although it has a bit of a natural media look to it, it wasn't what I was necessarily going for. The close-ups show by brush strokes in detail.

The image was a photo I took of my wife and then manipulated in pinter and fine-tuned in Photoshop until I got this. It probably took about 6 hours to create.

Please tell me your thoughts as i would like to promote this kind of artwork for my business.

http://www.electronicmediaarts.com/graphics/sample.jpg

No offense, but it kind of looks like there is a layer of cold cream poorly smeared on the face. Doesn't look natural to me.

Is it the texture or the color that bothers you? Or both?

I think the highlights of the brush strokes give it that appearance. Definitely texture problem though.

it isn't awful....just needs some refinement. I think the problem is with the angles and directions of your brushstrokes.....its too evident where you painted over, as it should look a bit more natural. Look into crosshatching to get an idea of how to create depth/highlights/shadows within your brushstrokes.

Yeah, I agree. I'm definitely going to tone down those textures. First time with Painter and I think I need to practice a bit more.

Look at these images done entirely in Photoshop. These were actually drawn by hand and painted in Photoshop. I used a hard-edged brush without any texture and just built up color a little at a time. It takes much longer though than the Painter way.

http://www.electronicmediaarts.com/ema/index.php?option=com_expose&Itemid=30

Click on my name and the artwork link.

Edit: Actually the two portraits were traced from a photo first before painting in Photoshop.