Realism

On YokoFolio, pick the style Realism and then your city: the search only shows portfolios with work in that style, and you can widen the radius if your town is small. Then judge on the images, not the follower count — look for deep blacks, transitions with no stair-stepping, and portraits that actually look like the person. Check the textures too: skin, fur and fabric should each read differently. Above all, look at work healed for several months. That's where Realism gets judged, not in a photo taken straight out of the chair. Then ask the artist which reference they will work from and how they will rework it, what size your subject needs to keep its detail, and whether they would do it in black and grey or in color.

A well-executed Realism piece holds, but it changes: the lightest greys fade, contrast flattens, and the finest details close up over the years. What makes the difference is the construction — a piece built on real value separation stays readable, while one held together by micro-detail turns into a smudge. Black and grey ages more evenly and is more forgiving: it rests on values, and values hold. Color has more immediate presence, but some tones — yellows, light reds, white highlights — fade faster than blacks. Sun is the main cause of wear, so keep the piece covered or protected. A maintenance touch-up, once the contrast has softened, brings it back. A good artist will tell you straight what your skin and the placement can carry.

Micro-realism applies the technique of Realism at very small sizes: a portrait an inch or two across, an animal, an object. It's spectacular the day you get it, and it's one of the styles that change most over the years — the value shifts hang on almost nothing, and that almost-nothing closes up as the ink spreads a little in the skin. If you want it anyway, pick a simple subject with strong contrast and few elements, a stable spot like the inner forearm, and accept that you'll be back for touch-ups. In portfolios, look for small pieces photographed long after healing, not only fresh ones: they tell you how the artist's micro work really ages. If the artist suggests going a little bigger, it's usually to protect the detail.

Neo-realism starts from the same realistic modeling, then lets the artifice show around it: painterly strokes, bold outlines, boosted or unreal colors, graphic shapes, abstract backgrounds. Realism hides every trace of the drawing: colors stay true to life, and nothing appears that the photograph didn't have. Chicano can share the soft black and grey shading, but it is recognized by its cultural codes — the Virgin Mary, praying hands, rosaries, the payasa clown girl, lowriders — and by its fine script lettering. It is worked in black and grey, while Realism is just as often in color and takes any subject; a black and grey portrait with none of those codes is Realism. If the subject looks like a photograph, with no stylization around it and no Chicano iconography, it's Realism.