Pooches Only

OK - So I've been playing with creating some custom pencil 'brushes' so that I can create my digital drawings faster than my old traditional method of multiple layering and erasing.

This is my first full drawing using them - it's a bit of a more sketchy style than my traditional work because I've dispensed with much of the blending/smudging that I tended to use with traditional pencils - as I don't think it looks so good in digital form.

Will keep working on this method until I'm happy - but it will allow me to offer portraits cheaper and in a variety of sizes and also customers will be able to choose to either buy the digital file and get them printed themselves or buy ready printed on paper or canvas through my print provider.

Drawing Digitally – Is It Cheating?

Drawing digitally has it’s pros and cons. Some people tend to think of digital art as ‘not real art’, and indeed if all one does is apply a filter to a photograph, whilst you could argue that it takes some artistic skill to get the right final effect, it is a fact that almost anyone can create a reasonable looking image – there’s even apps for your phone that can do it.

I looked at some ‘custom portrait’ listings on the internet and some are just the photo being run through a Photoshop action to create a sketch, ‘watercolour’ or ‘oil paint’ effect. My idea of digital art is different to that – I use a pressure sensitive pen and graphics tablet or drawing monitor to create the artwork in a similar way to my traditional graphite artwork.

There are a number of advantages to working this way over traditional methods many of which, admittedly, can make it easier to draw digitally. But there are also advantages for the end customer too.

1) Mistakes can be reversed instantly with undo.
2) I can zoom into areas to get close up.
3) Layers can be used which means that, for example, sketch outlines can be on their own layer and turned off after rendering. Or I can try something out without affecting the rest of the work.
4) Proportions can be adjusted by using selection and transform tools.
5) Prints are easier to make as I don’t have to get a good photograph of the drawing.
6) The drawing can be printed on a multitude of products, or provided as a PDF file so the customer can have it printed by their favourite print supplier, and then have no postage costs or chance of damage in transit.
7) No materials storage or drawing boards/desks required. And no pencils snapping when trying to sharpen them.
8) Because it’s easier to produce a work, the cost to the customer will be lower.
9) The customer can have the drawing on a non-typical ground. It would be difficult to draw in my style a realistic portrait on a canvas for example, but the digital portrait could quite easily be printed on canvas.

Sadly, it’s not all golden – there are downsides too:

1) The tactile feel of different pencils when drawing traditionally and using different techniques, pencil point, pencil side, lifting out, blending etc. These are all done digitally using the same tool - a plastic pen either on the plastic drawing tablet or the glass of my drawing screen. There’s just less feedback from the tools.
2) The artwork can look different on different monitors, especially colours and tones.
3) Finding the right software tools to use was a pain in the butt – I have tried practically every windows based painting application available, to find the right one for my process. With all the customization options in each one, along with different brushes etc it took a long time to try everything out to the point where I was happy.
4) As I said earlier, people have a tendency to not value digital art as they do traditional art, with most presuming that it has just gone through a filter rather than created with close to traditional methods.

So after trying practically all windows digital painting software, I have finally settled on an application, along with workflow and tools, that work for me in a very similar manner to my traditional drawing. So there will be examples to come shortly, hopefully with time-lapse videos now instead of just progress photos.

Whilst, for at least the time being, I shall continue to offer my traditional pencil portraits, I am moving towards digital, and most of my dog art products will be available as a PDF file for your own printing or as a physical product from one of my print-on-demand production partners. I shall look at offering custom portraits this way as an alternative also. I may also offer some cheaper options that do use actions and or scripts to assist in the process, it depends if I can somehow put my own spin on it to make it more original.

Stay Safe.

Etsy shop is open with Hand Drawn Portrait listing - More Doggo art products to be added soon.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1001653340/

Custom Hand Drawing of Your Dog From Your Photo - Pet Portrait A3/16"x20" Other doggo related art products are available in our Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/PoochesOnly This is a hand-drawn portrait of your pet using carbon and graphite pencils, and sometimes charcoal. The portrait will be of the head/neck only. I use only the highest quality artist materials. Drawn

Charlie

Pooches Only updated their website address.