Why Pet Portraits Are A Timeless Keepsake. Hand-drawn pet art

Have you ever wished there was a way to keep your beloved pets with you forever? As a pet owner myself I have always dreamed of having a way to keep my past and present pets with me even once they have passed on over that rainbow bridge. And as an artist with a passion for drawing animals from a young age I have always strived to capture each pets unique personalties and overall look into each one of my drawings. Today I will take you through my process when drawing my hand-drawn pet art, what lead me to drawing animals and more specifically peoples pets and share why custom pet portraits are extremely special to have in your home!

My process when creating my custom pet portraits

Choosing the right photos

For the detail I strive to achieve a clear photo is a must to work from preferably photos that are close up to the animal and show details like fur direction, specific markings, eyes and noses clearly even if you are after a full body drawing the clearer the photos the better. I also love having more than one photos to go from so please don't be afraid of sending multiple photos and multiple angles as well. I don't mind being spammed with photos when capturing your pet in a drawing is so important the more photos you have to share the better. If you feel like you have hundreds don't be shy to create a folder or a drop box file of them all compiled into one that way I can go through them all and pick out the ones I feel will work best for our vision of your drawing. I can also combine multiple photos and backgrounds into one image for the drawing as well so don't worry if you cant get that perfect photo of your pets looking all at once we can make that work!

Tips for taking the best photos

Now I know some people do struggle with getting their pets to pose and look towards the camera or even sit still for a photo so here are some of my tips after working with animals for years. You know your pets best so what do they like? Do they have a favorite toy or are they very food motivated, maybe they have a specific sound that gets their attention like a squeaky toy even? Find what gets your pets attention the most and use that to your advantage, if a toy or food get down to your pets level and hold up your phone/camera where you pet is in full view, now hold up the food or toy where they are looking straight at you and take a few quick snaps before they move then treat each time they do what you want. This is also best done in natural lighting as well either outside or inside opposite a window or door where light is coming through.

If your pet is quite active and not likely to sit still for long periods of time you can try take some photos at their feeding time before you give them their bowl of food you can do the same, get down to their level and snap a few shots while holding their food bowl up to get them to look. If this isnt an option then try taking them outside and playing with them a bit with their favorite toy and try taking a few snaps before you throw the toy for them, getting them tired beforehand works really well for active dogs. You could also use training time to capture a few photos as well.

Starting the drawing

Once you book in your drawing with me I will give you a date on when I will start the drawing. Once that date comes up I will always start by setting up my workspace ready for a new drawing, getting all of my pencils that I will need out and ready, paper, pencil sharpener, erasers, pastels for coloured portraits and my trusty portable easel that I use for most drawings. I always start by getting the initial outline down on the paper first and then I work with base layers getting the values down first before going in with any details.

Adding details and texture

Once I have built up the base layers I can then start with adding in details, this means textures for fur, making those eyes glossy and making that wet nose or tongue look real and textured, building up specific markings on the specific animal I am drawing and really bringing them to life while making it look like that specific pet and not just any pet of the same breed.

Final touches and delivery

I will always come back to a drawing the next day after I have called it finished to make sure I have fully finished it and if I have missed anything I will add that in before pacakging up the piece to be delivered to my client. Sometimes my client may also want something slightly changed or added once I have said its finished as well so this is the time I will fix/add that. Once I am happy with the drawing and my client has approved it I then will take final photos and videos of it for my social media and for advertising purposes as well then I will take a final scan. After that I will get it packaged up and include all of the bits and bobs I add into the packaging including the Certificate of Authenticity for an original piece, artwork care guide, a bit about the artist that did their artwork and more. I then place the artwork into an acid free cellophane bag and wrap it up securely. If I am then posting your drawing for you I will secure it between cardboard so it doesn't get bent on its way to you and book the courier to deliver it to you.

Testimonials

One of my favorite commissions was for a lovely lady who lost her beloved long haired German Shepherd named Herzog that was her pride and joy, her everything and she would take him everywhere with her, he was like her soul mate. She would share his adventures on a popular facebook group and they became very well known on facebook and how much she loved him was never ever questioned. In his older years he lost his ability to walk and so she had a cart specifially made for him so they could still do all their adventures together and she would push him along on each trip they took. In 2024 he unfortunately passed over the rainbow bridge and to say his owner was devestated would be an understatement. The facebook group she would post on I also would post my artwork there as well so many of the members knew of me and my work. I was approached to draw Herzog for her by a few of the members of that group that came together to donate towards her portrait and together we brought Herzog to life on paper. His owner was beyond words when she finally received it as we had all kept it a big secret until she had it in her hands!

"This is amazing, such a beautiful painting, my handsum boy. What can I say, just a huge thank you to everyone in this amazing group. Skyla Temoni you are amazing, your talent is beyond words. You captured him beautifully right down to his cheeky sparkle in his eyes. And this, right when I needed it, his beautiful smile. So thank you everybody miss my boy more then I've missed anything. WOW so its actually pencil..such amazing work"

Thinking of getting one of these hand-drawn pet artworks? Check out my gallery to see more of my work and fill in the contact me form at the bottom of the page to enquire with me.

Gallery