Molly

To create this image of my niece Molly, I went back and forth between Sketches Pro and iColorama. I used Sketches Pro for drawing and painting, and iColorama for blending, smoothing, sharpening, modifying color, and applying textures. Finally, I made some fine warping adjustments using Elasticam.

I started with this photo of my niece Molly, taken by my Mom.

I imported the photo into Sketches Pro over a blank white layer. I reduced the opacity of the photo layer, then I created a new layer above the photo and drew outlines on it with a black pen.

Next I reduced the opacity of the photo layer to zero. Then I painted on a new layer with a watercolor brush. I saved the image to my camera roll.

I opened the image in iColorama. I used Texture/Vintage and a brush mask to paint a texture onto her hair, with low opacity.

In Texture/Vintage, I applied two more textures over the image, using a brush mask to protect the face and neck.

I opened the image in Sketches Pro and used the smudge tool to do a bit of smoothing. Then I saved it in my camera roll.

I will use this photo from Pixabay, a source of copyright-free images, for blending.

I opened the image of the girl in iColorama. Using Effect/Blend, I blended the Pixabay photo on top of the girl. I tried several blending modes and slider settings, including the sliders under Set.

I used Effect/Simplify to prepare the image for Raise, then I applied Effect/Raise for emphasis.

I used Adjust/Exposure and an inverted brush mask to lighten the catchlights and the whites of the eyes.

Now I opened the image in Sketches Pro. I drew some shadows onto the face with a pale gray watercolor brush. I saved to my camera roll.

I opened the image in iColorama. Using Effect/Blend, I blended the image with a previous blurred version of the image.

I used Tone/Enhance to adjust the color. Then I used Effect/Sharpen and Effect/Raise, both at low opacity, to emphasize the lines.

I opened the image in the Elasticam app and made small adjustments to her face, to widen the eyes and give her a hint of a smile.