Also portraits of some of the world’s greatest figures simply do not exist or haven’t survived. 

How do you go about creating these portraits?

I find stock images that have the attributes that I want such as hairstyle and texture, clothing I think the figure might wear, and general skin tone. I need to find those where the angle of the head and neck of the subject matches that of the original artwork as closely as possible.

I put the images in Photoshop and use the original portrait as a template. I often source features from other photos to replace the eyes, nose and mouth, and then I digitally paint on top of it to blend it all together. The end result is usually a mashup of five or six photos.

How long does it take to finish a portrait on average?

I would say three to four hours.

Why did you decide to make a portrait of Shaka Zulu?

I received many requests from my followers to make a portrait of him.