By Michael Damico

Below is an example of a digital portrait painting. In terms of skill, this is no different than a traditional painting. I process digital portraits in my mind. I use skill-sets in the same way I work and build a painting from start to finish. There are very minute differences. However, with a digital portrait I don’t have to mix paint, clean brushes, or wait for paints to dry. So using a computer to paint digitally saves me so much time!

How to Make Digital Portrait Paintings

In case you are unfamiliar with how a digital painting is made, here is a basic explanation. I use the computer program Photoshop which provides tools that simulate traditional painting methods. Additionally, I use a piece of hardware called a pen tablet (made by Wacom) to interact with Photoshop organically. That is to say, whatever I do with the pen on the tablet, the Photoshop tool translates that onto my computer screen. The tip of the pen is both pressure and tilt sensitive, which means that my skill as an artist is essential to the process. In other words, if I don’t have the ability to paint or draw a portrait on canvas or paper, then I would not be able to create portraits digitally either. It’s truly incredible technology! If you have any questions or if this simply does not make sense to you, please don’t hesitate to let me know. 615-815-6015