Creating a portrait
Using a selection of photographs of your pet, I will begin the process of creating a unique portrait of your friend.
Below you will see how the portrait comes alive through the various stages of the drawing process.
The first step is to get the base outline of your pet drawn which will serve to frame the later portrait.
On the left, you can see how the portrait is beginning to take shape. I stay as true as I can to the original photograph.
Once I have the outline set, I begin the process of adding the individual details that make your pet unique. I concentrate on the shape of the ears, nose, and mouth to capture the personality of my subject.
I prefer to use colored and pastel pencils on textured paper to create the portrait because I feel it allows me a lot of flexibility to match closely the coloring and coat of the animal.
The eyes are an important aspect of the portrait, so I work hard to find the inner “spirit” of your pet by recreating a look that you can recognize in the finished expression.