Jin
Of all the brush experiments this portrait of Jin is one of my favourites. That’s partially because I on a whim decided to try out a half-tone brush, which I probably wouldn’t have picked up if I wasn’t for the experiment. The grey skin tone is a lower opacity layer rather than a colour, as I couldn’t quite get the shaded effect I was looking for with the main brush, but I’m really pleased with how it looks as just two flat colours (three if you count the white) with the half-tone shading.
To keep track of the brushes I used, I made a note of them on the images themselves. That way it would be easier for me to find and work with those brushes at a later date. It’s worth noting that some of the brushes I used are default Procreate brushes, but the majority of them were brushes I’ve purchased.
RM
This brush used for RM’s portrait might seem rather chaotic, but I actually love it. The hatching effect of this textured brush adds a lot of character and creates dynamics I never really would have thought of adding myself. Though, I can also see how it might not be the best choice for a single brush used in a portrait (despite thinking it works well here), but it could be a really good brush for imitating hair, and save some time that way.
In order to keep things “fair”, I initially strived to keep the paint everything using the same colour, and stick to just that one colour. However, as my experiments continued I needed a bit of a break from the monotone and added a few more colours. This was actually the first portrait where I added more colours, which turned out to be another way of testing how the brush would perform.
J-Hope
Of all the portraits I painted of J-Hope, this is hands down my favourite, not just because I feel I got his likeness right, but also because of the brush I used. The texture this brush ahs reminds me a lot of my go-to brush, though it’s a lot softer. Since completing this experiment I’ve used this brush in several paintings, and probably will be used more still.
Suga
I have to admit I struggled a bit with this portrait. While I think I captured Suga’s likeness, my biggest struggle was to control the brush. A lot of the brushes I’ve used in the past use pen pressure to control the size of the brush strokes, and can let you taper them. For this one pen pressure controls the opacity of the stroke, which it also fully understandable, but it was a bit backwards for me. Once I got the hang of it though then I feel I’ve painted a rather dreamy portrait, possibly leaning a bit more towards realism than my usual style.
Jung Kook
For Jung Kook’s portrait I went back to two of my go-to brushes as I wanted to see how they’d work with another half-tone brush. This was heavily inspired by Jin’s portrait, but also driven by my curiosity to see how this change could affect the outcome. While the style isn’t quite there, and the image maybe looks a bit flatter than I woudl like, I feel the likeness is a lot closer, so I’m really pleased with how it all turned out.
Jimin
Much like Suga’s portrait, I used a soft brush for this portrait of Jimin. Both brushes work in a the same way as well; with pen pressure controlling opacity. While I did struggle with controlling the brush at times, I’m still quite happy with the outcome, both regarding the likeness and the general look and style of the image.
V
The BTS member I started sketching was V, and I’m not gonna lie, I struggled with likeness a lot, and at the time I was uncertain if it was because of the unfamiliar brushes I chose to use. Therefore, I ended up going back to my usual go-to brush for this one, and I’m glad I did, because I’m really happy with how this looks. It might be a bit sketchier than many of my other portraits, but it still works. It also shows that even if I’m used to using one brush, I can still vary my style and expression with that as well. Oh, and because I went back to my go-to brush I didn’t bother writing the name of the brush.
Jimin - second attempt
Ok, so I was really pleased by the really soft portrait of Jimin, but I also just had to show this portrait as well. While this style is not one I tend to dabble in that often, I just love the colour palette! I usually don’t use hard brushes like this, meaning brushes with a hard, solid edge, which doesn’t blend, be it through texture or blurring. That said, This type of brush is really good to use when creating a cell-shaded look, but can also be really useful for hatching and for line art.