This post should be short and sweet…hopefully 🙂 I’ve been working my butt off over the last week to two weeks coming up with a new style of digital art and taking it to pet portraits! I’ve done 9 pet portraits so far and even managed to do a couples portrait for a friend that commissioned it for a Valentine’s day gift. I’ve also been working on a piece for myself that I finished today which came out better than I could have hoped and I want to make a series out of it.
Pet Portraits
I’ve opened up commissions for pet portraits today now that I’ve gotten a decent amount of practice in and I’m comfortable with the style and how the portraits come out. Here are the ones I did for practice.
The style mainly consists of uploading the photo to Adobe Sketchbook (the program I use, which is free!), tracing the color sections I want, and filling it in! I like to pick my own colors that are close to the real colors but with a touch more of the undertones. I also like to add a spot of texture somewhere in the picture so I’ve been experimenting with different brushes in the program and have loved the results so far! The whole process is super fun and relaxing and quite therapeutic at times 🙂
George
George is one of the dogs my brother and his wife have. He has separation anxiety and needs to be by someone’s side all the time, which just makes him the best and most snuggly lap dog this world has ever seen. He also has a super underbite and it gives him a bit of a snaggle-tooth look. We lovingly call him our “ugly boy”.
Ollie
Ollie is the other dog my brother and his wife have. He does a very good job of keeping Georgie company when they leave the house so he doesn’t get so nervous. He loves to chase the crows back and forth across the back yard for hours and use his butt as a defensive weapon when playing with George.
Boo
Boo is my friend Adrianne’s pet cockatiel! She’s an absolute joy and is nice enough to whistle with me whenever I see her at Adrianne’s house.
Rudy
Rudy, aka “Stinky”, is Adrianne’s guinea pig. He loves chasing people around his enclosure and treats, but not the strawberry ones. He will run from butt scratches but comes right back like it’s the best game in the world.
Dutch
Dutch, @whatsupdutch on Instagram, is a sweet as pie yellow lab who belongs to a coworker.
Levi
Levi is another pup belonging to a coworker’s son. I’m told he never sits still for pictures and this was a rare occasion. He is seen here wearing his new tie-dyed t-shirt.
Maddox
Maddox, but mostly called “Maddie”, is a gorgeous fluff of a dog belonging to my friend Jake. Maddie is a true gentle giant with a smile that could melt you. Jake was kind enough to purchase the art and even a canvas print of his good boy.
Zorro
Zorro is my family’s cat! He is a very affectionate 14 year old boy who could still keep up with kittens some days. He loves sleeping on fleece blankets and still brings us presents to the back deck in the summertime. I had to catch him sleeping as he hates knowing a camera is on him.
Black or white fur is so fun to play with because it has the potential to catch so many other colors in the light. I love picking out all the different shades 🙂
I won’t share the couple’s portrait until after Valentine’s Day as promised. It was my first attempt at a human portrait and I hope I get to do more of them soon.
“A Moment Too Soon”
“A Moment Too Soon” is the project I’ve been working on for myself for the last few days. This is the most detailed and largest piece I’ve done so far digitally. It is also the first piece I’ve done in my life that came out just the way I had imagined it should look in my head. Digital drawing has opened up the possibility of my art finally reaching the level that I always imagined it to be at and it’s a really thrilling experience. It’s like learning how to draw all over again. I plan on making this piece part of a series since it came out so well and I am so happy with it 🙂
The idea was to make a stained glass fawn with the bones falling out. The vine was added in later as it seemed a little too empty without it. The outlining was definitely the most tedious part, but once it was done and I could begin working on the texture and details to make it look more stained-glasslike I couldn’t have been more excited. The background was done with one brush setting and the deer, bones, and vines were done with a different brush. Once I found the lasso select tool and realized I could select multiple sections at once it’s like I discovered the moon. Game changer.
I learn new things every time and I hope this helps me to improve even more down the line and even finish pieces like this much quicker in the future. A majority of my time drawing is spent testing new brushes or still getting used to how much pressure to apply to the pen (I apply way too much and I’m afraid it’s damaging the pen).
I would like the next piece to be centered around a barn owl which is inspired by my very first purchase of original art. I bought “Wesley,” a barn owl painting done by Rachel Altschuler and he’s happily displayed in my room next to all my owl figurines (owls are my favorite).
Keep up to date with my art!
Don’t forget to follow my Instagram page where I post all of my art Monday through Friday 🙂 @ElynJocCreates and use the hashtag #elynjocpetportraits for a chance at a free pet portrait!
Which portrait was your favorite?
