Grandfatherly

One nice benefit of doing the same subject over and over is that you learn a bit more with each iteration and then, sometimes, have leaps forward. I have illustrated somewhere around 500 of these avatars now and feel like I am only now really getting the hang of it. I really like this one for a few reasons. First, the simplicity of the highlights and shadows imply a complexity that isn't really there. Second, I think he has a very "grandfatherly" face. He reminds me of my own grandfather quite a bit. As I was illustrating this one, I thought a lot about my grandfather's face, his smell, his hair, the texture of his skin, and his mannerisms. It made me miss my grandfather but in a good way.

You can purchase this and other avatars in the Diversity Avatars collection. Volume 3 will be released on July 1, 2018. The final collection will contain nearly 10,000 avatars.