avoid banding!
guilty as charged
Adarias would you mind being more specific about what you see as worse? In regards to this portrait or the fisheyeish update or the style immitation? etc...
Terley yeah I agree with you its been bugging me for a while. I think I set out on this one from the wrong direction. Ah well. Thanks for the edit some useful ideas there
Helm I agree with your point regarding learning about an artist's style from a single piece. I tried to clarify in my first post i'd be imitating 'a selected' work not 'their' work. I don't pretend to be learning about each artist's work on this timescale. Although I do think I'm learning about the techniques they've used in the specific piece.
The conflict between style and content is an interesting one. One that I feel adds to the challenge of what I am trying to achieve. These stylistic restrictions force me to think of an alternative way of achieving my end result - taking me out of my comfort zone.
I try (I am easily distracted) to start each piece by setting out some rules that I derive from the selected work. I understand that these rules may not be what the artist was thinking. Even if I've deciphered their thought process the techniques and approach they used will have been derived from what they were trying to achieve with respect to the specific content etc. So that means that there may well be better ways to approach to my pieces, approaches the artist's themselves may use, but its fun to work with restrictions. It's also enjoyable to see and learn what I can change and what I can't while maintaining a stylistic link. There's a balance to be struck.
I suppose what I'm doing is approaching it as if someone said to me here's a portrait we've already got and we need one for another guy that will look fine next door to the original.
So both Terley and ilkke are right.
This last one I would definitely start over differently - I would draw a stylised sketch and work it up. But then I've learnt some great stuff going the way I did
