Not to long ago, I created this illustration as a birthday present, using a technique I’ve used before. It’s a technique that I’ve found particularly useful (and fast) for creating a nice painted look — a look that isn’t computer generated, but instead depends on your own hand movements / brush strokes. Below you’ll find a somewhat brief walkthrough of the process behind this illustration. It’s not in-depth in any way, but only serves as a brief overview of the process. If you’d like, I can make a video tutorial on this subject. Let me know in the comments below. If enough of you guys show interest, I’ll make one :)
![1-materiale](http://jokke-svin.dk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/1-materiale.jpg)
I scanned a photo of the couple whom the illustration was for (birthday present).
![2-materiale](http://jokke-svin.dk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2-materiale.jpg)
Downloaded this image from the Google Image Search. I was looking for something superhero-ish, and what more perfect than "The Incredibles"?!
![3-remove](http://jokke-svin.dk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/3-remove.jpg)
Removed the other members of the family, to focus only on the husband and wife.
![4-heads](http://jokke-svin.dk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/4-heads.jpg)
Cutting out the heads from the scanned raw material, and placing them on the superhero bodies.
![5-title-illustrator-3D](http://jokke-svin.dk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/5-title-illustrator-3D.jpg)
Creating the title of the illustration in Illustrator using the type tool and various filters.
![6-title-smart-object](http://jokke-svin.dk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/6-title-smart-object.jpg)
Imported the title to the Photoshop document as a smart object. Also, I've added color to the faces using the multiply blend mode.
![7-paint](http://jokke-svin.dk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/7-paint.jpg)
Using the Blender Brush in Photoshop to give the image a painted look. Notice the difference on the left (painted) and right (non-painted) part of the image.
![8-texture-og-grading](http://jokke-svin.dk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/8-texture-og-grading.jpg)
Adding texture and color grading. Left: Final look. Right: Untreated.