Multiple child family portrait

11 grandkids!

This past holiday I did a portrait commission for a friend of mine. She wanted a portrait of all the grandchildren in her family, for her mother. This is meant putting 11 kids from 11 different photos into one 18 x 24 sheet of paper. We went through the photos and picked out the best ones of each child. Then i scanned each one, cropped I started by lightly (almost invisibly) sketching the shape of each head onto the paper, just to get the space divided evenly, and making sure I can make them all fit proportionally.

Honestly as portraits go, this is one of the hardest thing to do, in my opinion. Taking different photos and combining them into one portrait offers many options, but also lots of challenges. Photos are often different sizes, colors, and light/dark levels. This is one reason that i scan each photo and then adjust the contrast, color, and crop them to make them each a little more similar. It is easier for me to see the drawing boundaries when the photo is cropped, otherwise I often draw too large.

The last 2 portrait commissions I have done, have both been like this. They have turned out well, though I still like a couple portrait or single child portrait, they are just simpler projects.

8 Grandkids