How to create surreal portrait art

Surreal portrait art
(Image credit: Ken Coleman)

In this workshop, we’ll show you how to create surreal portrait art using your own photos, 3D models and custom brushes. The workshop uses ZBrush and Keyshot for creating 3D models and rendering. Most of the image’s shape and composition is built in Photoshop with blends of images, textures and brush strokes.

But what exactly is surreal portrait art? Well, surrealism is an art form that draws on dreams and the subconscious, ranging from dreamlike depictions of everyday objects to the downright bizarre. Surreal portrait art combines the conscious world (i.e. the subject of the portrait) with the hallucinatory shapes, colours and symbols of the unconscious world. The result is a unique and interesting aesthetic with a basis in the real world.

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Ken Coleman
Artist

Ken Coleman lectures in game art and design at Clonmel Digital Campus in Ireland. He also designs for clients such as Catalyst Games and Morbid Angel.

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