Wow, that's amazing! It looks just like him. The only thing I have a problem with is the texture on top, it just seems kind of distracting.

Thanks I was kind of in two minds about the texture, I wanted a traditional oil painted look but I always find it hard to achieve without actually painting something in Oils.
Which I really can't be bothered with and certainly don't have the time for at the moment.
Trouble when you apply a canvas texture to digital work...
If you were using oils, they're a thick medium, they cover the grain of the canvas....
Apply the texture to a digital painting and it just looks like flat colour with a canvas texture. Which is SO annoying.
I'd spent so much time on this and it got to the point where I'd stupidly saved one time too many and couldn't go back without redoing everything so I thought Meh! The texture will have to stay.

One day I might get round to doing a proper, massive portrait of him, in real oils, on real canvas and then I'll hang it above the bed because I'm weird.

HOLY SHIZZZ!!! It looks just like Alan RIckman!!! Very cool. I'm not a fan of Snape, but this is just incredible.

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Satan for President!
"Why Choose the Lesser of Two Evils?"

Wow, this looks great! From the thumb, I thought it was a photo, sure surprised me. You are incredible with your Wacom. I like how you added the texture onto the painting to give it a more traditional look. Acouple thinkgs bother me though. I think that the background is a bit to dark. I tmakes his outfit blend in too much. Also, his eyes look too vibrant. I don't know why, but it looks as if they have "avoided" the texture that was placed on top. Other than that, this looks great!

--
Sometimes you leave a Mark...
Others.... it's Naaaaancy!

You gotta love em!

absolutely beautiful, very well done like everything else in that gallery of yours. If you only lived in the U.S., I'd stalk you in order to absorb your talent.

Noooo! Are you a Borg?
ASSIMILATE!


*Runs away*

OMG!!!
That is excellent! How good are you? Bloody amazing, that's how good!
Bravo!!!

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If you always do what you always did,
you'll always get what you always got.

that is really good. I can imagine the handcramps. lol. Do you do no digital pastels as well? or oil paintings?

I've never had a go at digital pastels, never really thought about it! I usually paint using the airbrush tool in Paintshop, at a low opacity, building up colours n stufff as I go along.
Then I use my fave smudgy tool to blend everything together.
Probably add a few more layers of airbrushing for details, highlights and deep shadows and then smudge again etc...
When I'm finished in Paintshop I chuck everything over into Photoshop as I find it's better for dealing with layers in.
Then I'll probably sit there for an hour just messing about with filters/actions and giggling at the results until I find something I like.

I keep meaning to experiment with different styles/brushes and find out exactly what Photoshop is capable of but I always get sidetracked with something else and do what I usually do instead of being adventurous.

I used to paint with with real oils when I was younger as my Mum is a professional artist which meant I could use all her stuff, including the really expensive paper, as long as I didn't tell her. Ahem.

At the moment I don't have the space or the equipment for doing traditional art although I keep having to draw dinosaurs and Harry Potter for my son using his CHUNKY crayons

no, I'm not a borg. I'm just scarily obsessed weirdo who stalks anyone who has more talent than I do. I try to make them my friend then to steal their talent, if they refuse to be my friend then I just force them to be I'm pretty harmless though.