Through the use of the liquify and smudge tool, I used the first layer in Stage 1 to base the shape of the illustration in Stage 2, I also erased the eyes as the evolution and expression of this piece was going to mainly be through the head size, eyes and hair...


The formation of the eyes in the next shot were completed using the same technique as the finer details of Stage 1, using an 1px airbrush of 0% hardness and modified using the a 1px blur brush at 50% strength and a 1px smudge brush of 30% strength. The base of the hair was also extended using a 3px airbrush of 0% hardness using the same smudge and blur settings...


The smudged area for the hair provided contour lines to guide myself in creating purposeful strokes for the visible strands of hair taking 6 layers of duplication and alterations in opacity for the best image result...


Splatter brushes were then applied to the forehead which were then smudged and blurred to add to the imperfect interpretation of a man. Once again two layers of black fill were put on soft light to finalise the harsh appearance of the work...