You may have seen on previous blog posts and over on my social media just how much I love working in black and white. Two colours and a 2 paint brushes is all that’s been used for the Tiger. I used my airbrush for the background and for the bokeh background effect.
Reference photo: Jan Willemsen @ Wildlife Reference
Why black and white?
Working purely in black and white enables you to focus on your values. The contrast.. Getting your shadows dark enough and your highlight bright enough. That is what makes a portrait look realistic. You don’t want everything to be the same value otherwise the end result will look flat.