Step 12 The necklace in the illustration was inspired by lyrics from Beth Ditto’s material. The text was drawn freehand, scanned and then coloured. I also overlaid a gold leaf texture – created by scanning an actual piece of gold leaf – and added some lighting effects as with the microphones. I played with layer effects and opacity until I had the look I wanted.
Step 13 The necklace’s chain was originally a photograph of a silver chain, scanned and saved as a monotone image. I contorted the chain using Edit > Transform > Warp, applied colour and added a shadow so as to give the necklace a more three-dimensional look.
Step 14 Finally, I zoomed in and cleaned up any areas where the different elements didn’t intersect correctly. With all the components together, I could also make any tweaks that I felt the composition needed.
To finalise the portrait, I linked all the layers together and saved out the finished piece.
Paul Holland
Who: Paul Holland is an English graphic artist who relocated to Paris in December 2005. A graduate in illustration of Kingston University, Paul has also applied his techniques to skin, working as a tattoo artist while still living in the UK. He is fascinated by popular culture, and his mark-making methods are witty and often boast unique twists. Paul has been freelance since his move to France.
Contact: paulholland.co.uk
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS4
Time to complete: 3 hours, excluding drawing time