Brazil based artist Fabio Alencar never thought about calling this a "project". For him, it's more of a "collection of studies". Fabio has been illustrating people in the past few months since September 2015, after he quit his job to become a freelance artist.

My evolution since then was huge, many friends and even people from facebook groups came to me and said "man, you're getting better every day!". These kind of words mean a lot, seriously.
-Fabio Alencar

In the beginning, my goal was to reach the exact proportions and colors from the reference. Now I'm always trying to exaggerate some characteristics from the model without removing the essence. Most of the time I draw big eyes. I think it causes more empathy in people.
-Fabio Alencar

I don't think I have a style yet. I see a lot of artists who have it and a lot who is struggling to find their own (sometimes I belong to the second category). I like so many different styles, it's hard to get inspired by two or three artists when there are great artists in every corner of the internet. If I had to choose, I'd go with Mike Azevedo, Jason Chan, Loish, Glen Keane, etc.
-Fabio Alencar

My advice is to keep studying until your eyes and hands bleed (not literally... hahaha). It's a growing process, there is no easy way, no shortcuts, no blood pacts. It's about frequency. The more your practice, the more you improve. And the most important, be PATIENT. I watched a movie a few months ago and there was this simple and amazing dialog between the two main characters that I'd like to share:
"Why do you think people are interested in art?"
"I don't know, it's a business?"
"No. Because it's the only trace of our passage on earth."
-Fabio Alencar

About Fabio Alencar

Fabio Alencar is a 21-year-old Brazilian illustrator, concept artist and aspiring animator. He spent two years working on illustrations for teaching material during the college period, which gave him the experience with a lot of different areas and took him off from his comfort zone. Now that he has graduated, he's focusing on his own projects and freelancer career. See more of his works on Behance, Instagram, Facebook page or his website.