How to Create a Stunning Closeup Portrait with Midjourney

Adair Lee
5 min readJun 12, 2023

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Discover the secrets of hyper-realistic digital painting with Midjourney. This tutorial will teach you how to create a stunning closeup portrait featuring dramatic shadows and grunge punk style, inspired by the works of El Greco, Brian Bolland, and Bridget Riley. Learn how to use cel shading and tattoo-like exaggerations to bring your portrait to life, and see how the use of blinds can create a powerful visual effect. Follow our step-by-step guide and unlock your full creative potential with Midjourney.

Midjourney prompts:

closeup portrait of [person0] smoking cigarette looking out [place0], the [element0] thru blinds creates shadows across her face, in the style of el greco and brian bolland and bridget riley, hyper - realistic portraits, dramatic [element0]ing, realistic digital painting, cel shading, grunge punk exaggerated realism, tattoo --c 100 --s 1000 --v 5.1 --style raw --ar 9:16


closeup portrait of model smoking cigarette looking out the city skyline, the sunlight thru blinds creates shadows across her face, in the style of el greco and brian bolland and bridget riley, hyper - realistic portraits, dramatic sunlighting, realistic digital painting, cel shading, grunge punk exaggerated realism, tattoo --c 100 --s 1000 --v 5.1 --style raw --ar 9:16

closeup portrait of actor smoking cigarette looking out the beach, the streetlight thru blinds creates shadows across her face, in the style of el greco and brian bolland and bridget riley, hyper - realistic portraits, dramatic streetlighting, realistic digital painting, cel shading, grunge punk exaggerated realism, tattoo --c 100 --s 1000 --v 5.1 --style raw --ar 9:16

closeup portrait of musician smoking cigarette looking out a park, the moonlight thru blinds creates shadows across her face, in the style of el greco and brian bolland and bridget riley, hyper - realistic portraits, dramatic moonlighting, realistic digital painting, cel shading, grunge punk exaggerated realism, tattoo --c 100 --s 1000 --v 5.1 --style raw --ar 9:16

closeup portrait of artist smoking cigarette looking out the mountains, the candlelight thru blinds creates shadows across her face, in the style of el greco and brian bolland and bridget riley, hyper - realistic portraits, dramatic candlelighting, realistic digital painting, cel shading, grunge punk exaggerated realism, tattoo --c 100 --s 1000 --v 5.1 --style raw --ar 9:16

closeup portrait of photographer smoking cigarette looking out a rooftop, the neon light thru blinds creates shadows across her face, in the style of el greco and brian bolland and bridget riley, hyper - realistic portraits, dramatic neon lighting, realistic digital painting, cel shading, grunge punk exaggerated realism, tattoo --c 100 --s 1000 --v 5.1 --style raw --ar 9:16

closeup portrait of performer smoking cigarette looking out a balcony, the fire light thru blinds creates shadows across her face, in the style of el greco and brian bolland and bridget riley, hyper - realistic portraits, dramatic fire lighting, realistic digital painting, cel shading, grunge punk exaggerated realism, tattoo --c 100 --s 1000 --v 5.1 --style raw --ar 9:16

closeup portrait of writer smoking cigarette looking out a deserted alleyway, the flashlight thru blinds creates shadows across her face, in the style of el greco and brian bolland and bridget riley, hyper - realistic portraits, dramatic flashlighting, realistic digital painting, cel shading, grunge punk exaggerated realism, tattoo --c 100 --s 1000 --v 5.1 --style raw --ar 9:16

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Adair Lee

Experienced full-stack developer proficient in C#, Python, and web development, with 20+ years of Google SEO expertise and successful entrepreneurship.