Portrait Art & Wildlife Illustrations

Choosing the subject

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Pets

Whether you have dogs, cats, horses, birds, rodents, reptiles or someone else - it doesn't matter. All of them are your family members and deserve to be cherished when they are with us and remembered if they are gone. Pet portrait is a wonderful tribute to your pet. It is perhaps the most fitting way to celebrate the influence that the special animal in your life has on everything you do. You may wish to have a pet portrait produced as an original piece of art for your home, or you may prefer to give a portrait as a gift with personal touch for an animal-lover.

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People

We have moments in our lives that are so special that they deserve to be captured. The best and most special way to capture them is in portrait art. Life goes by so fast and portraiture is a great way to remember those precious stages of life and enjoy the memories every day. Whether we are parents, grandparents or children, seeing ourselves in the beautiful portraits on the walls of our homes reminds us daily how much we are loved! Portrait drawing is without a doubt a wonderful and unique gift to someone. Nothing would be more suprising than to see yourself or your family on paper in those delicate pencil strokes.

 

Other

Although I specialize in pet & people portraiture, I don't hesitate to accept different kind of commissions. Not only living beings can be meaningful for someone. It can be as simple as a childhood home, your first teddybear or some other toy, your first bike, favourite car, family heirlooms, favourite game character, favourite bird or an animal etc. This is what's so great about art. It doesn't matter what's the subject. If something means a lot to you, it can easily be put on paper to remember and enjoy looking at every day.

 

 

 

Choosing the photographs

 

Without a doubt, choosing reference photos is the most important part of the whole process. Since I draw from photographs, I am totally dependant of what I have to work from. Make sure you provide me with the best photos you have and send as many as possible so we can choose the perfect one.

 

The following guide will help you to get a great photo for your drawing. There are four requirements for a great photograph:

 

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Quality

The better the quality, the better the drawing. In order to capture all those sweet details without missing a single one, I need to be able to see them from the photograph. The subject has to be really clear and sharp and definitely in focus, without any other subjects being in the way. Body parts (e.g. ears, tail, paws) shouldn't be out of the frame so I can draw them out just the way they have to be - I can't draw something I can't see.

 

Size

It is very important to have a large photograph so I can zoom in to view the details. Original size that comes from the camera with the highest resolution possible makes the best reference photo. If you had a session with a professional photographer, make sure you ask for original size photos.

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Lighting

The best possible lighting is achieved outside in the daylight, by a window or of course in the studio with professional lighting equipment. If you are outside though, avoid direct midday sunlight as this will make a person or a pet squint and there will be really dark shadows and colors will not be completely true. It is better to make pictures in the shade to get a nice dynamic outcome with true colors.

 

Position

The bes way to take a picture is from the same level of your subject. For example you are taking photos of your small dog, make sure you are down at the same level - if you need to, crouch or lay down. This way the perspective will be ideal (although there are a few exceptions and sometimes other angles make great drawings too). The other important thing is to have the picture taken up close fillin the entire frame whether it's a portrait or full body photograph. This gives me the opportunity to zoom in closer and see details much better. Make sure your subject (especially pets) don't look fed up with posing. It's best that they look typical and their glance and appearance show their true personality.

 

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Please note that these are requirements for an ideal photo for creating a drawing. It is perfectly understandable that often we don't have the opportunity to make that happen. Even though I prefer large, high quality digital photos to work from, you can always send me something else - old scanned photos, black and white photos or simply something that means a lot to you, although it didn't come out as well as you planned. I am sure we can work it out somehow.

 

 

 

Choosing the medium

 

There are three different mediums I currently offer, which are graphite pencil, colored pencil and pastel. Graphite is classic - this is what I first started with and it looks good whatever the subject. Colored pencil has amazing detail and looks awesome with whatever colorful - dogs, cats, parrots and also wildlife. Pastel is very painterly-looking, which makes it a very magical medium. Besides these mediums I am currently learning scratchboard, which I absolutely love already. I also want to try out pyrography in the future and who knows what else I will feel like trying! I try to keep my artwork versatile and offer my clients many options to choose from. If you are having trouble with choosing the medium, feel free to ask for advice. A lot depends on the reference photograph, so it is often best to first choose the photograph and then we can decide which medium works best.

 

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Pencil

Pencil drawing is the most classic and traditional medium you can never go wrong with. It will look stunning no matter what's the subject. I specialize in pet and people portraits, but since it's a really versatile medium, I'll draw other kind of subjects such as vehicles, architecture, still-life or something else without hesitation. I use high quality materials to create dynamic, clean work. My drawings have high contrast and crisp details combined with a bit of softness and hint of depth of field, which will make the drawing really pop out. Larger format allows me to draw out even more details, but individual features and recognition will always come through no matter what's the size. The lack of colors allow me to express and accent the subject's features and characteristics without color getting in the way, making it an honorable and lasting piece of art you can proudly hang on the wall.

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