At Planet Labs, the offices are named for people influential in humanitarian or scientific causes. Previously for my residency, I made a portrait for the Malala Yousafzai room. My latest portrait is for the Mahatma Gandhi room. I think most people have an image of Gandhi in their mind as soon as they hear the name. I wanted to do something different, so I picked a photo from his time as a young lawyer in South Africa.
Below are some of the steps in turning the vintage photograph into an illustrated portrait.
Sketch on bristol board with blue pencil
Linework with brush and ink
Scanned and vectorized ink lines
Basic colors and textures in Illustrator
Details in Manga Studio and Photoshop
"Young Gandhi", finished artwork