I illustrated this woman in 2018 using the point-and-click software Sketch. She is based on a painting by Yan Yaya, a Chinese painter known for her realistic oil portraits. This is great example of how I practiced vector illustration when I first started using digital drawing software.

Drawing on the computer is great for myriad reasons. You can undo any mistake, experiment with different ideas, and copy and paste. But it can also be an incredible pain.

When I first started, simple tasks often took a painstaking effort to complete. Something that would take seconds with pencil and paper, i.e., drawing a freeform shape with rounded edges, can take several minutes on Sketch. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it can take an hour.

I practiced with intricately detailed paintings because it forced me to learn every aspect of the software. It also gave me a chance to balance detail with minimalism. There are several other examples like this that I plan to upload in the coming days.

Side note: I learned after researching the painter that the woman depicted in the original painting is most likely a depiction of a youth from the Pamir Plateau in China.