Give Harley Quinn a realistic look

Learn how to use realism to emphasise a comic villain’s naughty side, with Admira Wijaya’s delicious take on the Batman adversary

Admira Wijaya paints the Joker’s unhinged sidekick.

To me, the appeal of painting digitally is simple. Unlike traditional media, I can create a piece of art without waiting for the paint to dry.

In my early days of working digitally, I had plenty of fun trying to get to grips with the software and while I explored more about digital media, it was also interesting and challenging. I also worked on traditional media, which made it easier for me to understand what to do with digital art software. I’m still trying to improve myself and especially ways to get my illustration done in the fastest way – by applying different digital methods, and by experimenting with different layers and effects.

I’ve learned a lot from online tutorials and got some tips from magazines, which makes me more curious to practise with new techniques. Many of these tutorials are from ImagineFX, which always has plenty of workshops and beautiful artwork from great artists from all around the world, and it makes me so inspired.

Mistakes will always happen along the way, but I enjoy the process. Sometimes the computer crashes while I’m producing artwork, because the memory is over capacity. That can be painful, but it works out in the end when a client is satisfied with the result and I get paid enough to buy a new computer!

So don’t be scared to make mistakes and prepare to go through some artistic pain. It will ease in time, and then you can look back at what you’ve been through… and smile. Enjoy the journey.