I love illustrating people. I have finally managed to finish this illustration of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. As I am sure you are all religious Facebook users, you know his story and how incredibly successful he became. Time Magazine named him the person of the year in 2010 for a good reason. We live in an age, where the internet has become a very powerful tool and has created platforms for many entrepreneurs to evolve and achieve the success that 10 years ago would not have been possible. Zuckerberg’s success story is a perfect example. To me as an illustrator, this is exciting news! seeing young entrepreneurs reaching for a global audience through the use of the internet is truly what I envisioned the new millennium to be.
So … I decided to make a portrait of Zuckerberg. As an artist, I have a personal vision. No matter what the subject matter or personality that I choose or get commissioned to illustrate, my style comes through. I tend to see people in a very dreamy light, as if they are timeless characters of the universe. It all starts with the drawing… below is a scan of the drawing that I did of Mark Zukerberg. The way I draw people is always half realistic, and half abstract and I love how these two levels of perception can complete each other in a final piece. It is my way of communicating my subject, as well as my own view of the world. After I have a drawing that I am happy with, I scan it in the computer so I can add colour and other abstract elements. A lot of the times, for each piece, besides the drawing, I create shapes and drips, in watercolour, ink or acrylic, and I scan them along with the drawing. Then, I open everything in Photoshop and try to combine the elements in ways that convey the right message for the piece. In this case, I wanted my character to have a glow, and wear this undefined abstract shape, made out of multiple patterns and flowing strings. His face resembles him, but the rest is truly an intriguing intangible form just like the platform he developed.