Max Tegman
Artist | Hobbyist | Digital Art

Sweden

Hi, My name is Max Tegman (a.k.a. ZeroArt) and I´m a retouch artist.

I am often asked how I make my pictures.

My pictures are not drawings or paintings, it´s a photographs... Or rather it was photographs when I started and ended with "Retouched Digital Art" when I´m done. It is made with Photoshop from a photo. I use a variety of techniques, and all of them are my own. The story of how I do them is long, but it started when I saw a movie poster from the '80s which I think was done with airbrush (Blade Runner, one of my favorite movies) and wished I could make such pictures too, but how?

I tried maybe not thousands, but rather hundreds of different techniques. First, I search the Internet with a fine-tooth comb for all Photoshop tutorials I could find on the subject, but none of them gave the desired result, soft movie poster look. So I started developing my own techniques, a bunch of more or less failed attempts later... and I still try every day... it's goes a little bit better and better for everyday, and I are constantly developing new techniques.

Each portrait takes between two to six hours to complete. If the portrait had not been completed in six hours, I threw it away, and start all over from scratch again.

Although I didn't become the new "John Alvin" and make cool movie posters, I became pretty good at doing portraits in the trial process and now I almost dare to believe that maybe one day being able to make a living of my hobby. But I can't explain it more than that. What you see is my handicraft, and people usually get pissed off when there is no simple solution to it, because there is none and I haven't written a tutorial and I never will do that either.

A very wise person said that everything is about three important things: time, effort and patience. I could not think of a better, shorter and more precise answer myself. I've done about a thousand portraits, and it is is only now I'm starting to feel comfortable with the task. But if you thought it was a drawing or painting, then I feel honored, because when I first started, the idea was that it is should either look painted, drawn or done with airbrush, everything in John Alvin's spirit (May he rest in peace.). Hope you like the results.

If you wish, you can watch a full screen slideshow with my portrait wallpapers.
Follow this [link] or you can see 400 of my old portrait wallpapers on a YouTube clip by clicking this [link]

Thanks and best regards
Max Tegman max@zeroart.se






Current Residence: Stockholm, Sweden (Stoccolma, Svedese)
Print preference: Euro Standards
Favourite genre of music: Melancholic and Pop, Rock
Favourite photographer: Herb Ritts, Bettina Rheims and hundreds here on dA
Favourite style of art: Female portraits, emotive, expressive, sensual and nude
Operating System: XP (yes, still...) I hate Vista. Windows 7 is okay, but far too controlled...
MP3 player of choice: My HTC Android mobile, ipod
Wallpaper of choice: Any one from zeroart.se
Favourite cartoon character: Wulffmorgenthaler (www.wulffmorgenthaler.com)
Personal Quote: "Flocci non facio" (Latin. I don't give a damn!)

www.zeroart.se