Shaquile O’Neal was the most dominant big man of his time. He was quick, strong and wise and those can be seen in his stats—points, rebounds, blocks. This portrait was the Orlando Magic Shaq—the young Shaq that despite his tremendous power, was still working his way up the steps of NBA greatness. A rookie with crazy potential. A young man destined for the Hall of Fame. He didn’t disappoint.
This is my first attempt in digital painting. Or at least the “digital painting” as we know it. I was actually hoping it would be watercolor-esque but it ended up differently (than what I expected and/or wanted). But I liked it.
This marks the time when I was exploring around digital painting. This marks the time when my favorite era of the NBA was dominated by these two geniuses —Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant! What a time to be a Laker fan.
Thanks and credits to Gettyimages and Andrew D. Bernstein for the wonderful reference photo
The Art of Erik Pingol 