Digital Portraits

If you have a blog or participate in various discussions online (forums, blog comments) you know that every time you post a comment or anything else, you leave your avatar next to it. Avatar is a very small image, but it makes your posts and comments look more personal. Even Google realized the power of avatars and has included them in their search results (try searching for blogs, and you will see the author avatar next to the Google listing). Why is that important, you ask? Well, if you make your avatar stand out, you have a chance of getting more clicks. It could mean more traffic for your blog or more attention to your comments on various forums.

I have an idea of how to create a really attractive avatar. This idea is very simple: find a portrait artist and get a portrait. I am talking about digital portraits. If you go with digital painting then your portrait will be created using your reference photo. You can also choose to alter an existing photo in some creative way.

There are some portrait artists out there that specialize in digital fantasy portraiture. Some of them play with existing images, altering them in different ways. Others paint fantasy portraits from scratch. The results are impressive either way. You can be painted as a wizard, fairy or any other character. The painting could have a fictional setting and a background. There is no limit to creativity when it comes to fantasy portraits.

If you are not a fantasy art fan, you can get a nice looking traditional digital portrait for your avatar image. I know, "traditional digital portrait" sounds weird, but I can not come up with a better name for it. Traditional digital portraits are created by painting on a tablet. Just like with fantasy portraits, some artists may use your reference photo as a starting point and go from there, others will create a painting from scratch. When painting on a tablet, artists use traditional portrait painting techniques, so your portrait will have a classic look.

Digital portraits are gaining popularity. You can use them online (as profile pictures and avatars) or even print them out on canvas, frame and hang on the wall. Another good thing about digital portraits is that they are affordable. Part of that is a low cost of the materials - there isn't any. Another reason could be that many artists simply alter your images and do not do much of the painting. You can get a decent digital portrait for around $60 - $100 today. That is not a very high price to pay for something that will preserve memory and look modern at the same time. And since the portrait is digital, you can always reprint it in the future, post it online or use it in any electronic devices, like digital photo frames, iPads (as background) and others.

Finding an artist to commission a digital portrait is very easy. You need to find websites that have artists portfolios and contact them. Check out Portraity, they have several great digital portrait artists.

You can also check my tips on how to choose a photo for a portrait commission.