This is what we are making.


Step 1

Making the background color, you don't want a too bright color since then the dodged spots won't be that clear.


Step 2
The basic outlines. You don't want too much details in it, just the basic structure. The outline shouldn't be black, it should be in the same color as the background only a bit darker.



Step 3

Take the brush tool and make it large with low opacity (in this case 9 pixel smooth 6 opacity brush) Make sure the color you brush with don't differ too much from the background. Only slighly darker as shown. Paint in the darker values where light doesn't hit that much. A good idea is to look at other paintings when doing this so you can see where the light are suppose to hit if you're not able to calculate that on your own (takes a bit practise)



Step 4

Now take another brush and make it slightly ligther than the background and fill in the bright spots. The light at the forehead and cheek should be stronger than the light hitting around the eye and under the nose.


Step 5

zooming in a little to paint more details (for this I used the same brush as the outlines) After that use the brighten/darken technique that is shown earlier to paint smaller shadows/bright spots.


Step 6

Filling in more details and bright spots. Also painting in the eye. The way to do it is to paint the background color on the eye first. The background shouldn't be totally white, but slightly blue. The pupils are painted with first painting the circle black, then painting blue in the middle over it. The paint a black circle over that again. The reflection are done with a low opacity small brush tool. Remember that the pupils are completly round.


Step 7
Made some more wrinkles and eyebrows. Remember that the eyebrows shouldn't be too visible


Step 8
You don't have to do the next steps, but if you want alot of details continue looking. The small white details are done with a low exposure dodge tool 3 pixels. Use the techniques shown above and go more and more into details


Step 9


Step 10


After making this I figured out that I needed a bit resizing, and in most cases resizing is something you have to do to make it perfect. I also fixed the ear and other small details.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial Pm me if you have problems with this techniques or want to see more like this.

i think it looks best at step 5
things were so much more subtle. and i just LOVE impression lines with only small amounts of neat detail
the final piece looks over worked... jaw lines are a big hate for me... you think too much about the texture and not enough about the sphere.
the sphere squashes everything, so the jawline looks strectched out, lines need to be more vertical, but its not possible because then the mouth is too low. etc etc etc...
would have just left it out along with the chin line.
with the defining lines, it looks like the skull is coming down under his mouth.

basically(goes towards everyone reading this) dont fight the sphere... you lose more often than you win

Yeah as I said I had to fix it a little afterward.

Also:

Step 8
You don't have to do the next steps, but if you want a lot of details continue looking. The small white details are done with a low exposure dodge tool 3 pixels. Use the techniques shown above and go more and more into details

But you made a nice point there bend.