My custom pet portrait business continues to grow …

Since I wrote my last blog post about my custom pet portraits, I have illustrated 8 more dogs. Each dog is so distinct and fun to draw and my favorite customer comment was that my illustrations “show their unique personalities”. Although I’ve been using Adobe Illustrator for many years, this particular application takes a new set of skills. I’m layering more now and using the layers to work on different portions of each animal – ears, mouth, eyes, color blocking and details. This enables me to concentrate in on more details and add or erase more easily. When asked what my biggest challenge has been so far, I responded that the lighter the dog, the more challenging the drawing. I did a solid white dog recently (which I can’t show you here because this portrait will be a Christmas gift!) and found that dog particularly difficult to capture. In the process, I used both blue shades and tan shades to give depth and realism. The portrait posted here was done for someone who was mourning her recently deseased pet and wanted the portrait to help ease the pain. “Maddie” turned out to be one of my favorites and was easier to illustrate due to her variety of shades – the tans, blacks and a hue of blues helped bring her personality out. I try to always illustrate the dogs with smiles – happy dogs make people happy. 

I draw the portraits from a photo (or photos) provided and use the program Adobe Illustrator. The final piece is an 11 x 14 digital print on Epson UltraSmooth Fine Art Archival Photo Inkjet Paper.  I use some Prismacolor pens to complete each portrait. Currently, orders take two weeks to ship and can be ordered by emailing me. All I need to get started is the pet’s name and some nicely lit close-up shots! My goal for this business is to open an Etsy shop where all my custom portraits will be available for purchase.

To see more of my pet portraits, click here  or follow me on Instagram!

instagram.com/mindyjs_lefthander/

The post Custom Pet Portraits – post 2 appeared first on Left Hand Graphic Design.

A custom pet portrait of a Boykin Spaniel goes to Florida …

Last week, I shipped out another custom pet portrait. This one a Boykin Spaniel, our official SC dog. South Carolina designated this spaniel as the official state dog in 1985. Known for their mild temperament and highly regarded as pets or hunting dogs, the boykin spaniel was originally bred for hunting wild turkeys and ducks in the Wateree River Swamp of South Carolina.  Nowadays, the boykin is an extremely popular breed and when you walk the beaches of Charleston, you’ll see plenty of boykins running in the sand. 

This portrait request came from Florida (a SC transplant) and I received two photos to get me started on the project. One was an inside shot and the second was of the dog laying on the front porch. The lighting was completely different making the dog’s coat a very dark brown in one shot and a light, golden brown in the second shot. I decided to go with the lighter tones. Although I was happy with the final, I will probably go a little darker on the next boykin I illustrate. It’s a learning process and this was my first boykin spaniel. Fortunately, the client was very happy with the portrait. My own critiques are always the most harsh!

Today, I got a text from the owner of this friendly pup and she said,
“Yahmi is a handsome boy, especially in your portrait. But he has been in trouble every day this week … the fame has gone to his head!”
Enjoy it while you can, Yahmi –  I’m sure the limelight will dim!

My custom pet portrait business is growing slowly and I hope to soon develop a line of greeting cards using the portraits. I draw the portraits from a photo (or photos) provided and use the program Adobe Illustrator. The final piece is an 11 x 14 digital print on Epson UltraSmooth Fine Art Archival Photo Inkjet Paper.  I use some Prismacolor pens to complete each portrait. Currently, orders take two weeks to ship and can be ordered by emailing me. All I need to get started is the pet’s name and some nicely lit close up shots! My goal for this business is to open an Etsy shop where all my custom portraits will be available for purchase, along with the greeting cards.

To see more of my pet portraits, click here: www.lefthandgraphicdesign.com/pets or follow me on Instagram!

instagram.com/mindyjs_lefthander/

The post Custom Pet Portraits appeared first on Left Hand Graphic Design.