What if you could convert your favourite photo or memory into a handmade painting? What if there was an easy way for you to find an incredibly talented artist to make a handmade personalised painting for you?
Handmade Portraits Artist
Since time immemorial, Royals, Nobels and the wealthy have been fascinated with the art of oil portraitures. From the 16th century, oil portraits were an embodiment of the magnificence of the monarchs and how their subjects would perceive them.
Stoned Santa brings you this age-old tradition with a modern twist. We bring a network of incredibly talented portrait artists to take your pick from. Every artist with Stoned Santa is a master of their craft and can help you cherish your memories forever.
What are Handmade Portraits?
Handmade portraits are a form of art that intends to represent a human figure. They are an artistic representation of people that can be created using any medium, from traditional oil paintings to acrylics and even mixed media. Handmade portrait art is an extension of the realism art movement in fine arts.
Handmade portrait painting is a form of art that is perfect for the purpose of gift-giving or if you want commissioned portrait art for yourself or your family to display in your living room boldly.
10 Handmade Portrait Artists in India
Stoned Santa has curated a list of 10 incredibly talented and exciting handmade portrait artists whose handmade portraits are sure to make you look twice. We hope you enjoy reading!
1. Sadashiv Sawant – The Educator
In his own words, Art is not about training only our hands but our eyes. A true realism virtuoso, Sadashiv Sawant has spent more than 30 years perfecting his art. Today, he believes in educating others and sharing his deep knowledge of the craft. He is the founder of the art academy known as “Pencil Perception Academy.”
His work spans from Handmade charcoal portraits to displays of still life through his art. His play on light, shadows, shades and contrast are the main elements of his artworks. His artworks though simple, leave no room for error. His experience and versatility can be seen in the simplest of his artwork.
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2. Komal Thoria – The Student
Following in the footsteps of her mentor, Mr Sadashiv Sawant, Komal Thoria has created her own identity in the realm of Handmade portrait artists. She has worked and assisted Sadashiv Sawant in many projects and strives to be an educator like him. Like her mentor, Komal thoria’s portraits have a play of light and shadow.
Her handmade charcoal and graphite portraits are masterpiece examples of hyperrealism. She is an artist who has evolved beautifully over the years; from charging just 250 rs for a portrait, today, she can charge 15,000 and upwards for a single piece of her art.
3. Koushik Mondal – Master of the Ballpoint
Koushik Mondal is a brilliant and self-trained handmade portrait artist who steps away from the world of fine arts and creates accurate and realistic portraits in his style.
His choice of medium is the ballpoint pen. For him, the tip of the pen is merely an extension of himself. Though his portraits are not photo-realistic, they will make you look twice.
He uses different coloured pens to create beautiful intricacies, highlights and shadows in his art. He uses techniques like stippling and cross-hatching to create ballpoint pen hyper-realistic art. His unique style and ability to emote through just a few colours of the Ballpoint technique make him stand out.
He is a master of photorealism who specialises in creating outstanding family portraits. His style though traditional is unique to him. Nobody does photo realism quite like him.
His Handmade portraits will make you look twice so much so that many of Stoned Santa clients have questioned if we are simply selling photos printed on a canvas or if his paintings are really handmade
His unique ability enables him to make a combined family portrait by simply referring to different pictures. His art is emotional and sentimental in its essence. He not only captures moments, but he creates them for his clients.
5. Abhishek Samal – Hyper Realistic Art in Monochrome
Abhishek Samal, an artist from Bhubhaneshwar, has the skill set of a seasoned artist. His forte is creating hyper-realistic Monochromatic portraits. He likes to create Handmade charcoal portraits and graphite portraits of celebrities, superheroes and movie characters.
A closer look at his art will show us how dedicated he is to the finer details of his handmade sketch portraits. We can see every wrinkle and every emotion on the face of the person in his portraiture. Not only does he create Charcoal portraits from celebrities’ photos, but he also creates custom charcoal portraits on commissions.
His talent is in his versatility, apart from the incredible charcoal portraits, he has been working on storyboarding, and character design and has done hundreds of digital artworks for several corporate clients, since 2019, when he joined our team at Stoned Santa.
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6. Sushmit Koshore – Micro and Intricate Artist
Sushmit Kishore, an artist from Delhi, is a portrait artist like no other. He has created a new niche for his unique style of Handmade portrait art. Sushmit is a miniature artist who creates tiny Handmade graphite portraits of real people.
Though his portraits are tiny, they are full of incredibly fine and minute details.
Not only has he mastered the art of small things, but he has also created a utility to his unique sensibility. He turns his miniature graphite portrait into pendants and lockets to make them into memorabilia or a perfect gift.
7. P.S. Rathour- The Master of the Watercolour
Master of Handmade watercolour portraits and also an educator. P.S. Rathour is an artist who can control the flow of his brush. His paintings are both contemporary and hyper-realistic. His use of watercolours to create art is impeccable. The colours mix into each other seamlessly and effortlessly. His Watercolour portrait paintings bring a sense of calm and serenity to the eyes of the bystander.
His brushwork is soft, and his paintings are in layers. He creates commissioned handmade portraits, fan art and portraits of celebrities. There is a unique subtlety in his art that makes him different from everyone else.
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8. Siddhant – Shades of Black and White
Siddhant, popularly known as Siddhant Artworks, has a following of 108 thousand followers on Instagram and 123 thousand subscribers on Youtube. He is also an official brand influencer for Brusto and has been working with Stoned Santa for a few years now.
He is a Charcoal and graphite portrait artist specialising in Photorealism and Hyperrealism. His portraits stand apart because of his flawless pencil execution of the human figure. His artwork shows that he understands and empathises with his portrait’s muse. He uses techniques like cross-hatching, smooth shading, and scribbling to bring out the softness of the human figure.
9. Shruti Kulkarni – The Queen of Portraits
A civil engineer turned artist from Pune, Shruti Kulkarni is a self-taught artist and a master of handmade oil painting portraits. Her oil paintings use vibrant colours to tell the story behind her portraits. Her custom oil paintings on canvas are a great example of realism.
She started her journey as a freelance oil portrait artist in the year 2015 and has not looked back since then. For her, art is a form of expression and let out for her emotions. She has not only mastered the art of detailed oil painting portraits but has also mastered the art of self-portraits.
10. Sandesh Porlekar – The Artist for the Women
Sandesh Porlekar is a self-taught artist who hails from Mumbai, Maharashtra. Sandesh primarily uses pencils or charcoals to create hyper-realistic portraits. His portraits display the delicateness and femininity of a woman’s figures. He draws women in all their beauty and strength. He uses the technique of shading and smooth shading in his works and plays with highlights and shadows to soften or make the portrait stronger.
His unique style makes him stand out, as he can find beauty and softness in the most mundane objects. Women are the main focus of his art and his custom-made Charcoal portraits. One look at his portraits has the capability to answer the viral question, “what is a woman?”
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Are you Considering Obtaining a Custom Portrait for a Friend, Colleague or Your Family?
Look no further, Stoned Santa brings to you a wide network of incredibly talented portrait artists in India. We are here to paint your memories and dreams so you can cherish them forever.
Stoned Santa has been a quintessential part of the handmade personalised gift, art and decor industry for over 5 years. The artists with Stoned Santa have successfully created over thousands of handmade portraits for weddings gifts, corporate events, home decor and much more and have delivered them on time all over the world.
(Order Your Custom Portrait)
Through Stoned Santa You may discover various artists proficient and connoisseurs of various art forms who will meet your needs and budget and deliver your handmade portrait order within your time frame. Stoned Santa makes it incredibly simple to find a trustworthy and professional artist for you according to your specifications!
Gifting is a beautiful gesture to express your affection and care for your loved ones. You can choose expensive gifts off the shelf of reputable brands or go for something as simple as handmade portraits.
All that matters is the thought and love we put into giving. And what makes the gift unique and memorable is the thought behind it and the sentimental value it represents. However, finding a special gift in a sea of options may seem to be a daunting task.
Handmade portraits are a doorway to the heart as they encapsulate the memories and feelings you share with your loved ones through art made from your favorite photos.
This article has compiled a detailed guide on everything you need to know about Handmade Portraits.
Brief History of Portraits
Before the invention of cameras, people captured images through paintings, and drawings. Hand-drawn portraits in particular played a significant role in capturing the likeness, and preserving precious memories.
Kings, and people of influence would hire artists, and painters to paint their loved ones, and decorate their houses and palaces with massive paintings.
Portraits have evolved over time from serving as important family records to being unique gifts for loved ones.
However, do you know how handmade portraits are made? Well, continue reading further!
How are Portraits Made At Stoned Santa?
In addition to handmade paintings, portraits can be made in other forms of media, such as digital media and prints. Moreover, these portraits can be made using different art mediums such as graphite and charcoals, oil portraits, water colors, pencil colors, string art, and mix-media.
Although the techniques for each media and medium may differ, the core process of making portraits remains the same. Let us take you through a brief process of how our artists make portraits –
Gathering the Photo of the Subject
As the first step of making handmade portraits, we collect photos of the subject from our client. A front-facing picture of good quality is a must, as it allows our artists to analyse the facial features, and accordingly paint the features of the subject.
A snippet of a front-facing good-quality photo shared by our client and a hyper-realistic painting by our artist!
Choosing the Medium and Surface
At Stoned Santa, we have a range of handmade portrait paintings, each curated using different art mediums. So as the next step, we require our clients to choose the medium and the surface they want their handmade portrait paintings to be.
Choice of mediums
Graphite and Charcoals
Pencil Colors
Oil Portraits
Portraits in String Art
Mix Media Portraits 6. Digital Media – Caricatures, or Digital Portraits
In this step, we require our clients to define and decide on any specific customized backdrop or elements that could enhance the portraits. For instance, some clients want the same background as shared in their reference photograph, while some prefer to have an abstract background left up to the artist’s creativity.
Or we can take the creative freedom, and let our artists decide.
Here is a snippet of a handmade portrait painting with abstract background for our client
The Painting Process
Once the photo, medium, and background elements are decided, our artist begins with the painting process.
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Seeking Approval and Shipping the Artwork
In this last step, we seek approval for the finished artwork from the client, and once they give the nod, we ship the portrait painting.
Pricing of Handmade Portraits
In this section, we will talk about the pricing of handmade portraits, which typically is based on the combination of the following factors –
Size of the canvas – We allow our clients to choose the surface they prefer the handmade portrait paintings to be on. These surfaces include canvas, artist-grade papers, or wood.
Moreover, different sizes are available for each surface, which ultimately becomes crucial in deciding the price of
handmade masterpieces. If the client needs A4-sized portraits, the cost would be comparatively lower than a 20 x 24-inch canvas.
The choice of the medium plays a crucial role in deciding the price of the handmade keepsakes.For instance, if a client opts for hyper-realistic portraits with mixed media, the cost would be higher because several mediums would bring photographic realism to the handmade painting.
Number of figures in the painting
Handmade portraits may involve more than one subject, so the number of figurines becomes a critical determinant of the price of the final artwork. If there is more than one subject figure, it would require more time and effort on the artist’s part, the monetary value of which is accounted for in the final price.
Timeline for delivery- Delivery time is an essential determinant of the final price of the handmade portraits. Urgent requirements of portraits will cost higher than a standard delivery time.
Graphite and Charcoal Handmade Portraits Collection
This black-and-white collection of handmade portraits is made with graphite and charcoal. These are dry art mediums that give a vintage touch to the paintings. Both graphite and charcoals look like pencils but provide a contrasting effect when used in conjunction, leaving behind a masterpiece.
Pencil Colour Handmade Portraits Collection
A rather colorful collection of handmade portraits, these are made using professional, highly pigmented pencil colors. The colors in the actual photograph can be enhanced to look more appealing in the painting with the help of this medium.
String Art Handmade Portraits Collection
Wondering what unique gift to give to your loved ones? Well, we have nailed it for you! Our string art handmade portrait collection is a perfect choice. These portraits are hammered using nails and strings to create an excellent piece of art just for you!
Hyper-Realistic Mixed Media Portrait Collection
Have a special memory you want to capture in a painting the same way it took place? Our range of hyper-realistic mixed-media portrait collections can replicate the memory for you, with much more love added to it!
Digital Portrait Collection
These are the most trending range of portrait paintings used for various occasions such as wedding invites, anniversary gifts, birthday invites, etc. Digital portraits can be customized to suit the event and your needs. The portraits are then digitized and sent to the client for further use
Different Themes of Handmade Portraits
Running out of ideas for handmade portraits, Stoned Santa is here to save your day! Our gifting experts have curated a list of trending themes to choose from to get your customized handmade portraits made in
Wedding Couple Themed
We have various options if you want a gift for your better half or the couples in your friends and family at their wedding. These handmade portraits are available in traditional and digitized forms and can be customized by adding fun elements in the background to encapsulate the journey of the couple –
Music lovers theme
Music is an art to the ears, and what better gift to give a music-lover than handmade portrait paintings of their favorite music icons?
Marvel-themed
Superhero fans assemble, for we have a Marvel-themed collection to choose from. So convert your loved one’s photograph into their favorite Marvel character handmade portraits, and see the joy it brings them.
Crystallize a good memory with your loved one into beautiful handmade portraitsfull of love and memories. At Stoned Santa, we curate exclusivehandmade portraits customized as per your need and budget to help you leave a lasting impression on the receiver.
Our end-to-end customer support ensures that you are assisted by our gifting experts at every step, from ideation to theme selection to timely delivery of the masterpiece at your doorstep. Contact Stoned Santa today!
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Today, the world is defined through technology, and Digital art is a part of it. Digital artwork can be defined as any artistic creation that incorporates technology and digital media as an integral part of its creative process.
Anything produced using digital media and devices like animations, illustrations, video animations, portraits, caricatures, and many more can be classified as Digital artwork.
People who create these magnificent pieces of art are known as Digital Artists. Everything goes in the spectrum of Digital Artworks and Digital paintings, from AI-generated art to digital photography, computer graphics and pixel art.
Typically, digitally created art can be used to create advertisements, Graphic designs, animations, videos, movies and much more. But digital art is not limited to high-end commercial use; we can use digital illustrators and software to produce personalised art, digital portraits, caricatures, and e-invites to weddings and other events.
Stoned Santa brings you a network of incredibly talented digital artists to take your pick from. Every artist with Stoned Santa is a master of their craft and can help you cherish your memories forever.
Neha Sharma- Digital artist, animator and story-teller
Neha Sharma, famously known as Neha Doodles, is a freelance digital artist, animator and storyteller. She gave up her studies in CA to pursue her creative dreams. She boasts a following of over 3 Lakh followers on her Instagram page.
As a digital artist, she has been published on various digital platforms like Huffington Post, The Delhi Times, Times of India, Cosmopolitan etc. Her digital paintings are in the form of doodles, animations and intricate illustrations.
She uses bold colours throughout her designs and has collaborated with brands like Dunkin Donuts, The Body Shop, Costa Coffee and many others.
Her speciality lies in the ability to illustrate real-life stories and characters in digital art, which makes her work stand out!
Akanksha Agnihotri- Illustrator, Animator and Digital artist
Akanksha Agnihotri is a Delhi-based freelance artist with a following of over 1 Lakh on Instagram. She has worked with companies like Google, Amazon, Times of India and many more.
Her work has been published in various children’s books as well. Her Digital art is mainly in the form of cartoon illustrations and involves drawing cartoon portraits of real-life people and mythological deities as babies. She also creates motivational digital illustrations on topics like Monday motivation, friendship etc.
She creates beautiful wedding cartoon caricatures of people to use as wedding gifts or wedding mementoes. Her art is a reminiscence of youth, happiness and motivation, making her Instagram page enticing and engaging.
Chetan- Caricature artist, illustrator, and animator
Chetan is a Yogi and an outstanding digital artist specialising in caricatures and animations. His digital illustrations revolve around creating animations or caricatures of famous movie characters, both Hollywood and Bollywood. and anime characters. He also shows his Digital art skills by creating animated versions of Hindu mythological gods and scenes from Hindu Festivals.
His artwork is perfect to put on personalised cards and invitations. His digital caricatures can be made into posters to hang on our walls or to gift someone a digitally made personalised piece of art they will love.
Shailly Gajjar- Illustrator, Comic Artist and digital invites
Shailly Gajjar, a digital artist who initially set out to become an engineer, decided to give it up and follow her dream path in graphic design. She was introduced to the field when she decided to design her wedding card, which has now become her full-time job.
She has been able to form her own niche and style amongst all digital artists. Her artwork concentrates on Digital invites for weddings, family events and any other occasion. She also specialises in creating personalised portraits, which are guaranteed to put a massive smile on the person who receives her artwork.
Since her start, she has collaborated with various big-name brands like Snickers, Google India and many more.
Abhishek Samal- Digital Portraits
Abhishek Samal is a digital creator who is brilliant at creating not only Hyper-realistic Portraits and artwork but also breathtaking Digital art pieces and illustrations. He uses digital art software known as Procreate, to develop such enigmatic art pieces.
His digital artwork mainly consists of portraits of famous movie stars, sportspeople, singers etc. He takes his inspiration from Hollywood and Bollywood and draws the character as he sees them.
His Digital portraits bring out the character’s inner emotions on their face. He has created his niche in the market by appealing to the various fandoms of movies, famous people and comics.
He also creates personalised hyper-realistic portraits of real-life people on commissions. His artwork will leave your mouth wide open in amazement and surprise. His Instagram page and Youtube channel are a testament to his unique digital artwork.
Priyanshi Dhawan is a Lucknow-based artist who started her design studio, “Designs by Inaara,” with her elder sister Divi Dhawan. They decided to pursue their dreams of creating digital art during the Pandemic and saw a need for digital wedding invites. Since then, they have been growing rapidly in their niche.
They specialise in personalised wedding invitations and e-invites for all occasions, from birthdays to formal events. They also create personalised digital portraits with bespoke backgrounds and clothes. Clients can order their invitations as static, video, or animated invitations.
Their artwork celebrates their clients and helps them to cherish their memories.
Anirudha Lele- Illustrator and concept and caricature artist
Anirudha Lele is a freelance caricature digital artist based in Ahmedabad, Gujrat. As a digital caricature artist, his artwork revolves around his clients’ requirements. He creates intricate pieces of exaggerated personalised caricatures, and he can also create an illustration or caricature that is simple and cartoonish.
He makes digital caricatures of Hindu mythological deities, famous movie characters and representations of various favourite shows etc. He is also a published Children’s books illustrator.
His Instagram page will leave you wanting more with his realistic, intricate pieces or artwork.
Niharika Singh- Illustrator, Digital Artist and Educator
Niharika Singh is a freelance digital artist who specialises in Personalised Digital portraits, Invitations and is also a Children’s books illustrator. Niharika Singh is not only an artist but also an educator.
She comes up with intensive courses on how to make personalised digital art like her. In her workshops, she also teaches the use of various digital art software like Procreate and trains students in concept design and character development.
Looking at her Instagram page, anyone can tell that nobody captures a moment like she does through her artwork. She creates pieces based on movies, shows and real people.
Shweta Singh- Wedding Card Specialist and Educator
Shweta Singh is a freelance Digital artist specialising in Digital Wedding Invites and invitations for other occasions. Her artworks are incredibly intricate and full of minute details. Every piece she creates is unique and moulded to suit her client’s requirements. She is known for her realism and minute detailing in clothes and backgrounds.
She is also an educator and releases tutorial videos and workshop classes to teach people how to create digital art pieces. The scope of her artworks ranges from subtle to absolutely extravagant.
Ankita J Mehta- Digital illustrator
Ankita is an exquisite freelance Digital artist, well known for her powerful works displaying femininity and women. Her art revolves around celebrating Indian culture and women. Beyond this, she also specialises in wedding illustrations and digital fan art.
Her digitally created art stands out because her illustrations of women are as powerful as they are delicate and as enchanting as they are enigmatic. She can capture the essence of a strong Indian woman in all her digital illustrations and paintings.
Are you considering obtaining a custom Digital art for a friend, colleague or your family?
Look no further; Stoned Santa brings you a vast network of incredibly talented Digitalartists in India. We are here to string together your memories and dreams so you can cherish them forever.
Stoned Santa has been a quintessential part of the handmade personalised gift, art and decor industry for over 5 years. The artists with Stoned Santa have successfully created over thousands of Digital Art paintings for wedding gifts, corporate events, home decor and much more and have delivered them on time all over the world.
Through Stoned Santa, You may discover various artists who are proficient and connoisseurs of different art forms who will meet your needs and budget and deliver your Digital portraits and paintings within your time frame.
Stoned Santa makes it incredibly simple to find a trustworthy and professional artist for you according to your specifications!
Looking for the perfect gift?
Look no more, our gift experts will get in touch with you and help you with all your requirements.
“Art is perfection. Like God made humans to his level of perfection, humans make art to their level of perfection”.
Pawan Natekar likes to experiment with various shades of charcoal that bring out hyper-realism in his work making his art one-of-a-kind. His story holds many pieces of advice and inspiration to more than his 10K followers on Instagram.
All thanks to Pawan Natekar, he helped us look at art in a different and more realistic manner. He is selected for the Survival Art Festival in Italy in October wherein he will explore contemporary art survival in today’s society.
When asked about his definition of art, Pawan Natekar responded with a simple yet profound comment- ‘Art is perfection.’ Like God made humans to His level of perfection, humans make art to their level of perfection.
Although Pawan knew that he wanted to be an artist in his childhood, he was coerced into engineering- a field that he had no interest in. After completing his Bachelors and Master of Engineering, he considered taking up a job. But, later on he realized that he wouldn’t be happy and decided to become a full-time artist.
Mastering charcoal…
Pawan enjoys working with charcoal the most, despite of the difficulties associated with it.
Initially , Pawan wasn’t sure about working on charcoal style portraits as they didn’t work for him. But over time, we can confidently say that he has mastered charcoal art. Generally, he takes a couple of days to complete a charcoal portrait and about a week for an oil pastel portrait.
“Art is not an escape, rather a way to embrace reality”.
Many people view art as an escape from reality, but Pawan Natekar views art as a way to embrace reality. On asking how he manages to obtain such accuracy in his pieces, he explains that he observes the little intricacies including the shine of hair, the eyes, the nose, and brings all these features together to make realistic portraits.
Workshops and Festivals!
Pawan started hosting artistic workshops in Pune to promote art as a means of therapy and personal exploration. He now plans on conducting workshops all across Maharashtra. These workshops are seven-day sessions focusing on aspects of drawing portraits with charcoal and colour pencils like anatomical structure, shading, and lighting.
Pawan Natekar believes that getting selected to the Survival Art Festival in Italy was a miracle. On the final submission day, one of his friends recommended Pawan to submit his artwork. So, he submitted an abstract piece, and within few days he received an email congratulating him on getting selected. Pawan tells us that he was stunned that his work got selected!
“Nindak niyare rakhiye aangan kuti chhawaye; Bin sabun pani bina nirmal karat subhaye.”
In his journey being a successful artist, Pawan received criticisms too. He talks about the overnight viral post of a painting regarding the Delhi rape case, which was misinterpretad.
In the beginning of his career, he received some positive and negative comments which deeply impacted him. Over time, critics have improved him as an artist, as a person and taught him how to look out for the underlying suggestions.
Sacrifice is crucial to achieve success. The question is, whether it is worth it?
Pawan explains that he has hit the rock-bottom a couple of times, but persistence helped him create moments that are now defining his successful career.
When we asked Pawan to give his former self some advice, he replies by saying, “I would tell him to leave engineering and become an artist. I would have been more skilled had I started earlier”.
Pawan Natekar’s story tells us the perks of following your dream, by making sacrifices. It was worth it for Pawan Natekar. Is it worth it for you?
Edited by – Shivani Jayant
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