# Watch me paint a dog portrait!



## sigmadog

Here's a screen-capture video of me painting a portrait of my Bernese Mtn. Dog, Beorn.

Lately, I've gotten into the habit of laying down a bright color as the background and working on top of it. I like doing so because 1) it helps eliminate that big bad white empty space and 2) bits and pieces of that background color will likely remain uncovered in the final image, creating a bit of "sparkle" to the image.

I finally found a good video capture software and - most importantly - adjusted my computer's settings to make the process easier, so I'm doing more videos of my work, which I will post here whenever I can.

enjoy…


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## PiP

WOW!!!! That's amazing!


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## Ma'am

Very cool! Thanks for sharing.


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## sigmadog

Here's another portrait I did a couple weeks ago of three dogs.


Note: I have since moved PetArtWorks into my Sigmadog website.


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## Aquilo

Wow!!!!!!


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## Gentleman Rat

Wow, you must have been doing that for decades.


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## sigmadog

Gentleman Rat said:


> Wow, you must have been doing that for decades.



One painting? Decades! I'd never make any money.

Ha! Well, I've been drawing and painting since I was a wee lad. I'm no longer very wee, and I've spent the last 35+ years in graphic design and illustration. Now, I'm sliding towards retirement and hoping to tap into the "lucrative" pet portrait market to keep myself busy and my dogs in biscuits.

Thanks for watching!


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## sigmadog

Here's one I was going to post earlier this summer but forgot. This is Boris, our 110 pound Black Lab / Mastiff cross.

Sadly, we had to put Boris down a couple weeks ago due to heart disease. Right now, it's hard to look at my photos and paintings of him and not get choked up.

In time, I'm sure these images will instead make me smile. He was a good dog, and a sweet friend.

The painting took about four hours (I spent a bit of time dithering, changing colors and such in the middle) and it's condensed down to 4 minutes.


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## Gumby

Beautiful! Reminds me of our black lab, Roscoe. We had to put him down last year.  It still hurts.


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## sigmadog

Here's a screen capture video of a recent commission. I included some captions to explain the process I went through for this painting.

Software used:

screen capture: Snagit
digital painting: Corel Painter
video editing: Adobe Premiere
captions: Adobe Illustrator
music: Apple Logic


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## Ma'am

These are amazing!


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## sigmadog

A local pet expo held a Cutest Pet Photo contest and asked me if I would help out by narrowing the field to the ten best and painting a portrait of the winner in exchange for co-sponsorship of the event.

Well, of course the virus forced cancellation of the expo, but the contest went on. Here's me painting the winner.


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## sigmadog

Even though this isn't a video, it's still a worthy sample, recently finished.

One of the reference photos I was given had Diesel sitting in a wheat field. The photo was dark and the wheat was new spring growth, and very green. I liked the wheat field idea, but the photo itself was poor. 

There was another photo of Diesel in a car looking out the window that was strongly lit, it was too bright, but the pose was good. 

There was a third photo of Diesel laying on a car seat. The pose wasn't good, but the lighting was nice and even which gave me a good idea of her coloration.

So I modeled the sunny shot and put her in a summer wheat field, and referred to the middle tone image for ideas on coloration. 

That's the process I went through on this portrait. It was a lengthy process, with a couple stops and starts, but you can't argue with the final result.

Diesel (16x20 digital)


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## sigmadog

Here's a quick portrait of a Leonberger. I did this just for fun because I love the breed.


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## Gumby

I love these! I am a dog lover, all my life and these are so great, the way you've captured the spirit of these dogs is unreal! The life in their eyes and expression is just awesome.


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## sigmadog

Gumby said:


> I love these! I am a dog lover, all my life and these are so great, the way you've captured the spirit of these dogs is unreal! The life in their eyes and expression is just awesome.



Thank you! I always put lots of emphasis on the eyes, as that's the emotional center of where we connect with our pets.


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## Lee Messer

sigmadog said:


> Here's a screen capture video of a recent commission. I included some captions to explain the process I went through for this painting.
> 
> Software used:
> 
> screen capture: Snagit
> digital painting: Corel Painter
> video editing: Adobe Premiere
> captions: Adobe Illustrator
> music: Apple Logic
> 
> [video=youtube_share;LAKoSj-QMHI]https://youtu.be/LAKoSj-QMHI[/video]



It would happen sooner or later, but I'll bite. Can you illustrate a book? What kind of book would you be willing to illustrate in this way? Many of us here are first timers. I personally would like to see what genres you could do. Just sayin without being self-centered. I really don't know what you would/could do for any of us. I just thought it the obvious question. I mean, you could make some money if this quality came with a profound message. Something powerful to drive home this image... maybe even poetry. An anthology of poems about animals? pets?

I'm trying to help this community just like everyone else, right? I see great potential here.


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## -xXx-

Lee Messer said:


> It would happen sooner or later, but I'll bite. Can you illustrate a book? What kind of book would you be willing to illustrate in this way? Many of us here are first timers. I personally would like to see what genres you could do. Just sayin without being self-centered. I really don't know what you would/could do for any of us. I just thought it the obvious question. I mean, you could make some money if this quality came with a profound message. Something powerful to drive home this image... maybe even poetry. An anthology of poems about animals? pets?
> 
> I'm trying to help this community just like everyone else, right? I see great potential here.



excellent banner!
excellent challenge images!

quite inspiring, consistently...
jussayin',


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## sigmadog

Lee Messer said:


> It would happen sooner or later, but I'll bite. Can you illustrate a book? What kind of book would you be willing to illustrate in this way? Many of us here are first timers. I personally would like to see what genres you could do. Just sayin without being self-centered. I really don't know what you would/could do for any of us. I just thought it the obvious question. I mean, you could make some money if this quality came with a profound message. Something powerful to drive home this image... maybe even poetry. An anthology of poems about animals? pets?
> 
> I'm trying to help this community just like everyone else, right? I see great potential here.



You've given me a lot to respond to…

First, I'm always interested in discussing work for hire (whether book illustration, cover design, etc.), though the main point of this thread was simply to showcase my pet portrait work, because I love doing them. 

As to style, you can see I do realistic work for my portraits, but I've played with other styles and media over the years (check out this forum's Challenge Banners every month - I always try to mix up the looks on those). 

Combining words and pictures? That's what got me into my graphic design career 35 years ago. I love the challenge of combining art with words.

The powers that be here on Writing Forums have been gracious enough to allow me some ad space, so you can click on either my banner ad at the top, the sidebar on the right, or even my signature line below to visit my site and view my portfolio where I have plenty of samples of work through the years.

But in the mean time, I'm going to get back to work on a very new and obscure breed of dog, it's a cross between a Golden Doodle and a Velociraptor, called a Veloci-Doodle.


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## Deleted member 64995

Wow is Fabulous! Compliments!


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## sigmadog

For our anniversary last month, I painted a large portrait of Beorn, our Bernese Mountain Dog. The Missus loved it.


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## sigmadog

Here's a 3-minute video screen-capture of me painting a Christmas commission.


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## KeganThompson

Love dogs and art! They are really good. I did a portrait of a dog about a year and a half ago, not as good as yours tho lol. Mind if I share?
I need to get back into art.


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## Taylor

Wow!  Those are all fantastic!! 

Also, nice to see talent in action...thanks for sharing.


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## sigmadog

KeganThompson said:


> Mind if I share?


Please do.


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## KeganThompson

sigmadog said:


> Please do.


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## Taylor

Kegan, this is gorgeous...the eyes are amazing!!


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## KeganThompson

Thank you. I wish I had a better quality picture of it since I no longer have it. We had a raffle to raise money for a local shelter. I drew a portrait of the winners dog when I worked at a boarding kennel. Her name is Tili.


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## sigmadog

It's very nice! I'm trying to figure out what you used. I'm stuck between watercolor, oil pastels, and/or art pencils. I see some areas that look like brushstrokes, but others that look like pencil or oil pastels.

I'm probably wrong. Help me out, here!


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## KeganThompson

sigmadog said:


> It's very nice! I'm trying to figure out what you used. I'm stuck between watercolor, oil pastels, and/or art pencils. I see some areas that look like brushstrokes, but others that look like pencil or oil pastels.
> 
> I'm probably wrong. Help me out, here!


Prisma color pencils and white acrylic paint for highlight


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## sigmadog

Ah! So I was in the ballpark!

By the way, the migration to the new WritingForum seems to have killed my previous video links in this thread. I just now re-established them so they should all work now, if you're interested.

Cheers!
Steve


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## Foxee

Really beautiful piece, Kegan!

You two are making me wonder what I'm doing with my life. Art has fallen by the wayside again. I miss it.

Sigma, you may have mentioned but I'm too lazy to go hunt for this...what software do you use? It's really cool to watch the buildup of the portrait. I've never tried painting digitally. You make it look easy though I bet that's product of many hours of practice.


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## sigmadog

Foxee said:


> Really beautiful piece, Kegan!
> 
> You two are making me wonder what I'm doing with my life. Art has fallen by the wayside again. I miss it.
> 
> Sigma, you may have mentioned but I'm too lazy to go hunt for this...what software do you use? It's really cool to watch the buildup of the portrait. I've never tried painting digitally. You make it look easy though I bet that's product of many hours of practice.


I use Corel Painter software. It does a good job representing traditional media like oils, though I still miss the feel of canvas, mixing paints, and all the other aspects of oil painting. Of course, I always remind myself it was the smells (turpentine, dryers, varnish, etc.) that drove me to digital painting in the first place. 

It's definitely a trade off, though I think because I've made it so integral into my workflow for the last fifteen years that my digital work is far better than my traditional stuff ever was. I'm slowly getting back into traditional oil painting and I hope my traditional skills will catch up to my digital skills.

There is definitely a learning curve to Painter and, frankly, any high-end painting software. To this day I can't figure out how to paint in Photoshop, though it is very popular with many professional illustrators. I just never got the hang of it, though I used it almost daily for years doing photo retouching and such.

The main thing you'll need with any painting software is good pressure-sensitivity whether it's built in to the monitor a la Wacom Cintiq or incorporated into the stylus like an iPad (or iPad competitor).


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## sigmadog

Now that things have opened up, I asked my local veterinarian if I could hang some of my pet portraits in their lobby. They agreed, and also requested prints for each examination room (they have 3), so I've been ordering a ton of extra prints to hang in hopes of generating some portrait orders.

It's one thing to see these portraits on the internet on a tiny screen, and quite another to see them on canvas in actual size. They virtually sell themselves when seen in person.

Here's one of my latest. This is Chuy, a commission from last April. I love it when dogs smile!

There are several things I love about this portrait. First is the high contrast in the face. This makes it the center of attention and creates an almost photographic effect (note: there is no photograph here, it's all brushstrokes!). Also, the overall textures create a very painterly effect and the colors convey a bright and cheerful portrait of a very happy pooch.


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## Sinister

Sir, the level of skills you have is disgustingly advanced.  I congratulate you.  I've known your work very briefly, but you are precisely the sort of artist I appreciate in every respect.  A true talent.  Thank you for sharing it.

 And on a personal note: You even have a dog named Beorn for extra style points.

-Sin


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## sigmadog

Sinister said:


> Sir, the level of skills you have is disgustingly advanced.  I congratulate you.  I've known your work very briefly, but you are precisely the sort of artist I appreciate in every respect.  A true talent.  Thank you for sharing it.
> 
> And on a personal note: You even have a dog named Beorn for extra style points.
> 
> -Sin


That's very nice of you to say.

Honestly, I've never thought I had much talent, so I've compensated with obsessiveness, practice, and harsh self-criticism, which seem to work as decent alternatives to natural talent.

I once sat outside a shop on a sidewalk bench in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with Beorn while The Missus shopped inside. Everyone wanted to meet this 125 lb. creature, so I stood up and told them, "For those of you familiar with the breed, this is a Bernese Mountain Dog, and he is large but very friendly. For those of you unfamiliar with the breed, for $5 you can pet my bear!"

I got lots of laughs, but no money.


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## Sinister

sigmadog said:


> That's very nice of you to say.
> 
> Honestly, I've never thought I had much talent, so I've compensated with obsessiveness, practice, and harsh self-criticism, which seem to work as decent alternatives to natural talent.
> 
> I once sat outside a shop on a sidewalk bench in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with Beorn while The Missus shopped inside. Everyone wanted to meet this 125 lb. creature, so I stood up and told them, "For those of you familiar with the breed, this is a Bernese Mountain Dog, and he is large but very friendly. For those of you unfamiliar with the breed, for $5 you can pet my bear!"
> 
> I got lots of laughs, but no money.


No one is ever very sure of their talent.  Even when you receive compliments, self-doubt or modesty will have you brush them off.  And most artists are too close to their own skills to recognize if they have any at all, at least in the beginning.  I mean, there are exceptions like Salvador Dali and etc...  But, I mean for you to take away from this exchange something that many people might say, but that you might not believe.  You measure up pretty damn well, sir.  I look forward to seeing and reading more of your work that you might share.  ^^

Also, I would've paid out 5$.  I love dogs and every Bernese I have ever met has been such a lovable soul.  Have a giant Labrador myself named Nero(After Nero Wolfe) and two chihuahuas, Ozymandias and Loki.  My day'd be a thousand times more dull without them.  

-Sin


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## sigmadog

Sinister said:


> I love dogs and every Bernese I have ever met has been such a lovable soul.  Have a giant Labrador myself named Nero(After Nero Wolfe) and two chihuahuas, Ozymandias and Loki.  My day'd be a thousand times more dull without them.
> 
> -Sin


I agree!

The focus statement on my personal blog begins with "Dispatches from an absurd world made tolerable by the presence of dogs…"


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## Megan Pearson

Wow. That's amazing!


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## sigmadog

Megan Pearson said:


> Wow. That's amazing!


Thank you! 

It just occurred to me that I forgot to re-link several videos to my new source. I deleted my YouTube and Google accounts recently and need to re-load to my new video service.


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