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Refining and touching up
Now, although it looks like a lot has been done, not all that much has been. The main differences are in the eyes. Here, I’ve totally refined them - opened them up a little more - putting extra detail in the eyelashes. I’ve smoothed out a lot more of the colours, whilst also working on her chin area a little more - curving it. As for her ear, I began late on this so added some basic tones to it then built it up so that it’s just not one solid purple colour.

Quick hair and fleshing out her cheek
For this step, I used a soft brush in both parts. For her cheek, I turned down the opacity of the colour to 20% and started to flesh it out a bit. By doing this, it helps to curve the lighting on her face to create a softer shape, rather than a hard shadow. Block in the soft colours around the areas that look a little harsh by turning the opacity down - this will make the colours more seamless. As for the back of her hair, which is starting to take place, use the soft brush again to create some curls and light strands.

Cigarette gone and refining
I’ve now removed the cigarette and started to refine some of the soft spots on her face. Firstly, I worked on the area where the shadow of the cigarette fell on her cheek, then over-painted the cheek with a soft pink/pearl colour, starting to blend all of the additional colours together. Once I have a consistent colour scheme for the side of her face, I can then start to blur it in using the Blur tool - not too rough - just soft enough to get a smooth touch to it.

Detailing her outfit, and tiny details
To me, it’s the small details that can really bring a picture to life. Whether it’s a tiny freckle, an earring, or whatever else comes to mind, it can change a picture in an instant. Even a tiny strand of hair across her forehead makes her appear innocent, whilst a raised eyebrow makes her look more mysterious. I start to detail the outfit now, adding a nice fringe to the edges of the turtle neck. To do this, I used a hard brush, but set to pressure. I first dabbed in the same colour as the background to get the little embroidered fringes. Then I used a size 3 hard brush, still set to pressure but at 80% opacity, and added in the little holes here and there. I then added some earrings to her left ear, and continued to shape out her arms and body.

Final Fixes and steps
This is the final step of the picture. What I did first was to move her eye a little closer to her nose than it was before. I fixed up her nose a little bit - adding more of a curve to the tip of it. I added more streaks of hair, as I explained earlier in this tutorial, just to make her hair a little wilder and not so “secretary-like”. I then changed the overall colour of the picture, by duplicating the image, setting it to overlay, lowering the opacity and messing with the colour/hue.

After that, it’s up to you to define your own details and make any touch ups. That’s it!

The Artist: Adonihs
More work from this artist can be found at http://adonihs.deviantart.com/

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This tutorial is used by permission from 2DArtist Magazine - Monthly Concept Art, Digital and Matte Painting Magazine for Digital Creatives.

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