Compare the Dual Characters of Indian Women in a Digital Artwork!

Women, the kind around us, represent two faces of existence. One, which is treated like a commodity, shackled in the age old misdoings of the tradition. And the other which is breaking all boundaries to follow the dreams of freedom. Digital artist Ankur Singh Patar chronicles this duality in his artwork and explains the process of creation.

Step 01

Drew a row sketch to get an idea of how the artwork would be. Created rough lines to get a feel.

Step 02

Added a background colour to decide on the skin tone of the woman. This would act as a base colour for the whole illustration. Also added more details in the face with a soft brush, taking care of the highlights and shadows.

Step 03

With the help of a pen tool, created the lines and gave them little bit of shadow. With the help of big soft round brush added some softness and some more highlights and shadows to give depth to the portrait.

Step 04

To add more details in the artwork, changed the shape of the lips slightly. Also added a texture to the whole portrait, giving it a rustic feel.

Step 05

While on the go, decided to change the illustration for good. On the canvas made the woman portrait smaller so that some more area could be achieved around her to play with. Took the help of slightly harder round brush to made these swirl shapes around her face.

Step 06

Added more details around the portrait with the help of thin soft round brush. It's all about highlights and shadows which add the depth and drama.

Step 07

On Adobe Illustrator created a few abstract 3D shapes. Imported the shapes to Photoshop and with the help of dodge and burn tools, added the highlights. Wanted to give it a glow effect which was achieved through dodge tool.

Step 8

Used some stock imagery and some more abstract edgy elements. Adjusted the colours and saturation to mix it with the illustration. Also adjusted the light source by painting the areas of the dome to the ambience.

For a portrait, it's all about highlights and shadows, which add the depth and drama to it.

Step 9

Created some more element and placed on top left of the canvas to make the composition complete and add meaning to it. For the eyes, added two earthen lamps to make it look like a reflection of light and to add life to the illustration.

Step 10

Keeping with the idea of festivals, added those flags. Used a pen tool to create a triangle, filled it with a colour, reshaped it with warp tool and used dodge and burn tool to add depth to them. More depth was needed to the gate. So with a hard round brush added that.

Step 11

Painted the bricks on the face with the help of med-soft brush.

Step 12

To achieve the concept of two faces in one, half of it was broken with top skin removed and bricks inside. The other one was outer part or the body which was beautiful and flawless but underneath was all broken. Painted ornamental elements to make it look royal. Also added more colour and contrast into the whole illustration. More elements, like the abstract sharp edgy depicting a heart and a gear and queen in chess were added.

Step 13

Added gears underneath the bricks layer which depicted that part of our society which consider women as mere objects. Made the gears in Illustrator and imported them to Photoshop. Using a brush highlighted the areas where light might be falling and then added shadows. More things were needed to make the message clear. One of them was freedom, depicted by open wings. So, added couple of wings and painted the areas to mix them with the surrounding environment.

Step 14

Lastly, added some contrast and some more texture. Texture always helps in giving your illustrations some depth. Added some more flags at the top to complete the illustration. Achieved the final artwork.