Pawsome Portraits (some big images!)

[AllieMackie]

Hey guys!

I've recently been doing a handful of promo portraits for a potential business idea I'm working on. Once I have some stuff worked out, I'm hoping to get it off the ground - you guys will be the first to know!

I work digitally, in a variety of programs, and try to do cartoon "caricatures" of pets. I do my best to convey individual personalities, and toony portraits make that easy.

Here's a few samples, mostly of border collies owned by folks from a BC board I frequent. Please let me know what you think, and any suggestions/comments are much appreciated.

Taz

Zeb

Ness & Kenzie (a more solid shading style)

Auggie, who some of you may know

 

[skKi]

Those are great! I adore the way you draw fur, it's so cute. Excellent job capturing motion with Auggie's pic! You've got a great style.

 

[perrodeagua]

These are brilliant, really made me smile.

 

[smkie]

Happy and inspiring work. STrong use of lighting, and i love the shaded spots. GLad to see!!!

 

[puppydog]

Those are truly lovely!

 

[Barb04]

Love them all!

 

[MyHorseMyRules]

Wow! Those are fantastic! Very well done. I really like the shading you did, too. Oh, man. Wow. Just wow. I seriously love your style.

 

[SharkBait]

i love these!!

How would you sell them, like to download or printed versions or..?

 

[Whisper]

I'm on the forum you're on and I've seen your work there. You do a great job!

 

[AllieMackie]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone!

Currently, I'm working on how exactly I want to put out the illustrations. Digital (cheap), prints that are mailed out (pricey) and/or personalized products? I'd also like to do some "generic" but cool pet products for a broader audience.

If anyone has suggestions or ideas, throw them out. I'm in the brainstorming phase, I have a notebook littered with doodles, notes and mindmaps.

 

[dr2little]

I love them but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was about them until I read Smkie's post...so, what she said!! Fantastic!

 

[skittledoo]

Those are amazing. I would love to have one done of Bamm. Do you have a list of prices for different size drawings etc?? Also... out of curiosity what program do you use to do your digital art? I've been playing around in Image Ready with some stuff... and use photoshop as well...

 

[xpaeanx]

OMG! those are soooooooo good! me loves them!

 

[rayter]

You are talented! I love all the portraits!!!

 

[inspector16]

I love them. They're so much fun

You could have them printed through Cafe Press or something. I used to do that and they do a decent job. And since you're working digitally, you'll be able to get a much better replication of your original digital file, versus someone who works more traditionally and needs to scan or photograph their work. But the nice thing about Cafe Press is that you just send them the file, and you're done. Otherwise you have to do all the printing, then packaging, and then shipping, which takes a lot of time and just isn't very cost effective.

And selling downloadable copies at a lower price is also a great option.

Good luck!

 

[Lizmo]

I knew those looked familar! Your on the same forum I'm on. I love Taz.

Great work!

 

[CaliTerp07]

I love them. They're so much fun

You could have them printed through Cafe Press or something. I used to do that and they do a decent job. And since you're working digitally, you'll be able to get a much better replication of your original digital file, versus someone who works more traditionally and needs to scan or photograph their work. But the nice thing about Cafe Press is that you just send them the file, and you're done. Otherwise you have to do all the printing, then packaging, and then shipping, which takes a lot of time and just isn't very cost effective.

And selling downloadable copies at a lower price is also a great option.

Good luck!

Mpix can do this too. They'll gift wrap anything you submit/order and send it to your buyer. AND they don't put Mpix advertising all over it, so your buyer doesn't even have to know you didn't do the printing.

 

[SizzleDog]

VERY cool! I love that particulkar drawing style, it's very expressive and works great for animals - shows personality a lot!

Do you do shorthaired dogs? So many dog artists love long, luxurious hair but never do svelte, single-coated dogs.

 

[AllieMackie]

Woops, hi folks! Been a bit AWOL lately.

My business should be all set up in the New Year. I'm working with a friend to get the website up and running, and in the meantime, I'm taking simple portrait commissions on the side.

I certainly do all kinds of dogs, as well as cats, small animals, reptiles... you name it!

If you're interested in a commission, I'm accepting PayPal and would gladly take a portrait commission while working on getting the business set up. PM me if interested.

 

[AllieMackie]

Here's a few more samples to show you guys the variety of animals I can do.

Hamish

Rogaine, evil Canadian sphynx cat.

Pippin, an adorable bird.

Tesla, a red-tailed boa.