Variations on the WSJ Hedcut

 There are many variations on the WSJ Hedcut possible. Among these, there are lots of crop treatment options available. These variations keep the creation of the Wall Street Journal stipple portraits I originated for the paper fresh and timeless.In this post, I will present a variety of different approaches…This is the standard approach that is used today — hasn’t changed in many years.But, over the development of this portrait style, I experimented with various ways of presentation:Here is a rounded, soft-edge approach, with the inclusion of a background to accentuate this gent’s white robe.Here was a challenge: to fit a ballooning hairstyle into the required box, without just chopping of the sides and top of the subject.This one was for a GM annual report, I believe. Breaking from the Journal format and going a bit wider in the shoulder.Now, back to the WSJ gallery:These two were published in the paper. They display (maybe an excessive amount of) the saturation we used to like achieving at the paper. The under-exposed images held up well in the rigorous treatment the portrait art received to get them into print all across the USA, usually overnight. The closeup of the hardhat worker gives an idea of the detail that goes into these rather small portrait drawings!A pleasant expression in this woman’s face — it’s easier to work on good-looking people with sunny dispositions… She was part of a project not connected with the WSJ, so I gave her the soft vignette treatment.Lastly, This is a portrait of a DowJones & Co. executive, one of a collection of portraitsthat was commissioned by a financial publication some time ago. He received the squared-off look, with broadened shoulders.And that’s it. I hope you enjoyed this tour of Hedcut Portraits. Until next time…