Have a photograph of your pet creatively transformed into a unique piece of art! Whether you want to capture your puppy’s cutest stage, have a keepsake of a faithful departed four legged friend or transform a favourite photograph into a stunning, characterful hand-drawn memento, I can help.
I work from your photographs; these don’t have to be perfect but they do need to be relatively clear and have a high resolution. Sometimes it is useful to provide a variety of photos for me to work from. Here are some tips for what works for my style of portraits:
- High resolution photo so I can get decent detail into the drawing. Most phone cameras these days are capable of taking high resolution shots, but you must make sure the lighting is good or else the photo may be fuzzy. Photos are best taken in natural light during the day, preferably with the light source behind you. A slightly cloudy day is actually ideal, especially if you are taking photos of a white or pale coloured animal.
- Eye contact (between the animal and the camera) can really help to add character to a portrait. It doesn’t have to be directly face on however, a turned head or “looking over the shoulder” pose is also lovely.
- Get down at face level with your subject but don’t let them get too close! A giant nose or face and tiny body looks cute in a photo but it often doesn’t work so well in a portrait. If your pet tries to approach as soon as you try to take the photo, have someone else help you and use treats or toys to get the dog engaged.
Be a part of the process!
Tell me what pose you want your pet in, what medium you prefer (I specialise in pencil and charcoal sketches but coloured chalk/pastel and watercolour pencil are also possible) and what size you’d like.
I can do head and shoulder or full body sketches or even montages of the same or a couple of different pets in different poses.