City of Lost Children

A couple years ago, when I first started to work without sketches, I collected a bunch of references to people I admire with an aim to practicing portrait work. I have tackled a number of those in the time since, to greater or lesser degrees of success. When I thought about actors with distinct faces, Ron Perlman came to mind right away. And what better role to exemplify him than One in City of Lost Children.

This particular moment also let me add in Judith Vittet, who I still think is one of the best child actors ever. It is the world’s loss that she left acting shortly thereafter.

My original attempt at this painting was so awful, it never left my iPad. Even among the pages of trashy sketches and ideas accumulating in my Procreate gallery, it stands out as shabby work. You’d be shocked how little time it took me to lose confidence in that painting and abandon it.

Today’s work is a fresh start. Again going for basic shapes, but now supported by a more opinionated, textured brush (called Abalone). This one had a bit of value jitter on it that made those shapes a bit more complicated than I wanted at first, but I wound up liking the effect.

I ended up with a painting that doesn’t look so much like my other works. It even has a quote from the movie on it! But I am proud of it. It might be my most “painterly” output yet.

Medium: Digital
App: Procreate
Tools: Abalone paintbrush