puppies
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I started trying to figure out my style of drawing dogs this week. By the end of the week I’m taking commissions and have a guest spot in a store on “shop local” Saturday. November 30. Y’all, this is just crazy. I was trying to draw my brother’s dog for Christmas. That’s all I had planned for November. Inktober was intense!
I draw about 30 dogs. I looked at how other artists stylized dogs. I was ashamed I didn’t recognize Anita Jarem’s style. She wrote “guess how much I love you.” Honestly, it was so helpful to draw other drawings of dogs. Trying to do a stylized dog from a photo is much harder without practice. So... there analogy is right. Musicians don’t just start painting from their heart. They learn scales and learn from others.
My style isn’t perfect. But it will do for now!
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@Whitney-Simms That pooch certainly has lots of character
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You got my attention with that title.
Keeping busy is a good thing! Sending you good vibes, sleep, and coffee
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@Braden-Hallett they looked like a lively crew in the pictures. Obviously, they weren’t posed together that way. Illustrators bring the impossible to life. You just do it fancier than I do!
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@SFischer awe. Thanks so much!
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For good or bad, there seems to be consistency. I love that class on watercolors. I’ve completely changed my color palette and love the way the colors dry. Super fun!
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40 orders. I got 40 orders today. Well, 9 of that were preorders. And some of that is people ordering multiple paintings. I’m floored and humbled people chose to shop small and shop local. You know those moments in your journey where you feel like you’ve made it? This was kinda one of those days. It’s not a major licensing deal, but it was a ton of business for this girl! I’m still floored. I used to hate commissions. I’m still not sure I like them. Ha! But the joy from all the people when I showed them their pups. All but one. I did one more try making one dog thinner compared to the other. Then they were super happy! Connecting with people that want what you create. Just an amazing feeling.
Happy creating guys! Best on luck to you all on your journey!
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@Whitney-Simms congratulations! What a great response!
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@Whitney-Simms
Commissions make me so nervous 
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@BichonBistro you can do it! Especially dogs. Draw 100 dogs and it won’t be scary anymore. But the other commissions are still scary! Ha!
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Looks like this is part of my business now!!! Holy cow. I do feel like connecting with the buyers at the boutique I sell my cards at was a major part of the success! So, if you can grab another established clientele take advantage of it!!! I think game (board games where they play d n d and stuff) stores would be a great place to do that too.
Happy painting. FYI- people love their dogs. Anyway you tap into that market you’ll do great!
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@Whitney-Simms I just said to my wife I should do pet portraits. Its no where near my style but I am working on doing my two dogs first to see how long it would take and if it would be worth it for the person paying. I may hit you up later on your pricing. FYI I loved all the ones you did for xmas.
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@Chip-Valecek awesome! Draw a million of them. It took about 30 tries to get it consistent before I showed people. I did the old tried and true, draw dogs that other people have already done. Like in the style you like. Do a few artists. Then I used actual dogs vs redrawing stylized dogs. And that took some time to get it right. It still wasn’t a huge amount of time. But I drew my sister in laws sag three different times. Now I’m quick enough and it’s simplified. I charge $40 for a 5x7. I mat it. I may go up to $50 at some point. Once you get your style down, connect with a brick and mortar store. They love to drive people to their store with a special event. Especially if one does a humane society day out front where you can adopt dogs. Maybe even an actual pet store. Or set up a booth at a local fair that doesn’t cost too much. I’m doing that in May. Good luck! There is money in that market once you find your grove. Remember, cute sells! No buck teeth! You can find your chip style that is still marketable. Or maybe ren and stimpy would be pretty darn funny. Start with cute first.
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@Jake-Parker @Will-Terry don’t y’all need a dog portrait. Just kidding. -
@Whitney-Simms wow thats awesome, don't sell yourself short either, charge that extra $10! So how long does it take you to do one? I'm not sure if i would be able to do an event at a store. I will create a different post to share what I am doing (i don't want to hi-jack your post) but first go at my own dog took about a total of 6 hours or so over the course of 2 days. I also wouldn't print them and ship, I would send them the digital file to print themselves. Or is that bad? My thought would be they could then print it larger or smaller depending on what they wanted to do with it.
