My daughter, Ellie, was the inspiration for this illustration. She had such beautiful brown eyes and I couldn't resist capturing that in a digital painting. She was only one year old when I made this piece, back in 2011. How precious were the days when I would hold her in my arms and get lost in her eyes.

I was inspired to illustrate her in this style from seeing another high contrast black and white painting where only one color was allowed. Though my daughter was born with blue eyes like her mother has, it didn't take long for my dominant brown genes to take over. Just like her daddy, we both share beautiful brown eyes :)

The Line Art

Unlike my more recent artwork, I didn't always retain copies of the other stages of my drawing process, which includes the wire frame, sketch, and flat colors. I did, however, keep the color-less line art. I used the small Wacom Bamboo Fun drawing tablet and Corel Painter Essentials to illustrate this, which is something I don't use any more. I have since upgraded to the iPad pro 12 and Clip Studio Paint.

I have not illustrated any of my children since this portrait, and now I have a total of four kiddos! They're getting big and maybe I'll consider drawing them with a theme of sorts, so they can pretend to be their favorite character. It's much cheaper to illustrate them than to make convincing cosplay!

I do offer this illustration as a poster print for purchase on my website. It is available in 12" x 18" and is made on thick and durable matte paper. A museum-quality poster with rich colors and is made to last. It will spruce up any room in the home or office. A purchase really helps to support my endeavor as a professional artist and stay-at-home daddy.