The look
- Visible brush strokes, thickest where the light hits.
- Warm, deep color against a dark neutral background.
- Soft edges on the shadow side and crisp edges in the lit areas.
- Canvas weave showing through the thinner passages.
- A slight surface sheen, the way varnished paint catches light.
Where it comes from
Oil paint is pigment suspended in a drying oil, and Tate points to its slow drying as the property that changed painting: the paint can be blended, reworked and layered over days. That made two things possible which this style depends on, thick raised strokes, which Tate calls impasto, and thin transparent layers that let earlier passes glow through. The National Gallery's glossary records oil in use in Northern Europe for panel painting as early as the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, well before it became the standard medium for European portraiture.
What it suits
- A formal profile picture or author photo
- Anniversary and retirement gifts
- Framed family portraits for a hallway
- Pet portraits in a classical frame
How to shoot for it
- Use a single soft light source from one side, roughly at eye height.
- Stand against a dark plain background so the figure separates from it.
- Turn your head slightly off axis; a three quarter view suits the tradition.
- Wear plain fabric in a deep color, which renders better than a bright print.
This look is not in Toonsta today. It is described here so you can recognize it; the closest Toonsta styles are listed below.
Related styles
- Watercolor portrait: A watercolor portrait keeps your face recognizable while letting the edges go soft.
- Storybook illustration: A storybook illustration turns your photo into a picture book page: warm painted color, a soft drawn outline, and a scene built around you rather than a cropped background.
- Pencil sketch filter: A pencil sketch filter reduces your photo to graphite on paper.