These are ,without doubt, 2 of my most favourite Photoshop pieces... Hands Down!

These are 2 pieces that were created for a very happy client. They had seen a famous piece by JJ Adams, where he had painted Princess Diana with tattoos.

The client fell in love with this idea and asked me what I could do with 2 images they had purchased for editing and retouching purposes. This was really an honour for me. Firstly, as I got to emulate an amazing style of work (by an amazing artist) - and, got to put my twist on it. But, mainly because these are 2 of the most iconic people from an era that can never be forgotten! I had to do them justice!

The client had 2 amazing images to work with. I quite literally fell in love with Marilyn all over again! The image that was provided was full colour, for me seeing her in black and white really was where I wanted to start. Her 'pout' in this image was just perfect and had to be the focus. I brought back the original lip colour from the image and then darkened it very slightly. I carefully selected tattoo designs that had a nod to the nostalgia and a flash of colour. Creating the perfect displacement map to apply the tattoos was key and took a few hours of refinement until I was happy they were confirming to her contours. Carefully masking the tattoos allowing for depth of field was a fun task. Final bit of colour grading and... Marilyn, I love you!

For Marlon, the process was pretty much identical. However, when I finished the piece, the colour just distracted from the mood and the 'feel' of the original image. As soon as the colour was taken out and the levels were corrected. I think, I have done Marlon proud?