My face, your face

No artist draws from memory alone.

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Well… unless they are incredibly talented—a true genius with a photographic memory. I admire those people, but unfortunately, I am not one of them.

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I need a reference.

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My head needs to touch inspiration to ignite creation before my hand touches the canvas. That’s how my creative process begins. Then, I draw several messy lines just to sketch an idea out. That’s the moment I start the reference hunt—searching for expressions, lighting, anatomy, textures, and poses.

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I observe, gather, sketch, refine, and finally bring the image to life through color. And sometimes, hidden somewhere inside that process, a face that belongs to someone else becomes part of my artwork—well, only if it’s drawn well.

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Do artists worry about that when creating personal work and sharing it on Instagram? Usually, no. The purpose isn't to sell someone else's identity. There is no profit. The purpose is to create, experiment, and tell a story.

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But this is where art and advertising take different paths.

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An artist can use a face purely as inspiration to express an idea, but advertising follows different rules. When a face becomes part of a commercial message, everything changes. That face is now linked to a product, a service, or a brand.

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At that point, we can no longer talk only about simple inspiration—we have to talk about permission, licensing, payment, or whether the concept needs to be completely redrawn from scratch to ensure it's 100% original.