Three Dog Portrait WIP — FINISHED

[the old garage]

I’ve been commissioned by an aunt to do a group portrait of three dogs another aunt has owned in her lifetime. Two of the dogs are long-deceased so I only have limited photos to work from. One was a purebred German Shepherd and the other two are very Shepherd-y mixes. I have a good traditional portrait-shot of the purebred, but only odd-angle shots of the other two.
My aunt is mostly leaving the composition and all up to me and I think I’ll run the idea by her of doing a portrait-oriented “stacked” composition. That is, stacking the dogs top to bottom mostly, rather than side-by-side. Offset of course, not straight up and down. I’ll post thumbnails here when I get that far.
My dilemma is that since I only have odd-angle shots of two of the dogs, what would you all suggest? I was thinking of finding references of similar-looking dogs to get a better angle for the portrait and then changing the features to match my aunt’s dogs. Any other ideas?
I’ll try to have something worth posting in a day or so. Thanks!

"Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising." - Acts 17:29

[Nephilims_child]

I don’t see why you shouldn’t have a look at similar dogs. I had to do a portrait of a black greyhound once and on all the photos they gave me they were holding it’s head up so I couldn’t see the bottom jaw properly.

I think as long as you can make them look like your aunts dogs then a bit of extra help to make it a bit easier isn’t a problem.

I’ve just decided to do one of all our cats, past and present (5 at the moment) and I can’t even find one photo of one of them, there may be a trip into the loft in my near future as I put loads of photos up there out of the way. Failing that I might just have to find a black fluffy moggy on line and ‘borrow’ it for reference.

Oh and I’ve got a commission coming of five dogs, so that one should be interetsting too!!

Good luck and I’m looking forward to seeing how this one goes.

[SparowHawk7 Moderator Drawing and Sketching]

I agree .. find similar looking dogs at an about the same or a better angle and then match features and markings.

Ken

http://www.heritageartstudios.com/

[Snidow]

I agree with Ken and Nephilims_child, finding images of similar looking dogs will help in completing the work.

Thanks
Laurie Snidow K9 Photography

[the old garage]

Well, I hoped to have something to show earlier, but you know what they say about best laid plans…I wish I could just win the lottery and quit my job some days

I have this very, very rough sketch worked out for the composition. Did I say it was rough? It’s also a terrible photo. Its only redeeming quality right now is that it’s at full size, so will be easier to transfer to the final paper. Please let me know if anything stands out at you. Thanks!

"Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising." - Acts 17:29

[ncgirl]

Chiming in a little late for advice but looking at the layout sketch, I think you’re on the right track! I like the overlap on the bottom, it looks like the dogs are all standing together checking out the viewer.

And yes, looking up similar dogs/cats/fish for reference is a-ok, I’ve done it myself very recently (doggie was extremely camera-shy). Looking forward to your final!

Sandra

[the old garage]

Well my aunt has also OKed the composition so we’ll see how long it takes me to actually get a start on the final. I’ll probably abandon this thread then and go with a better title. Seeya next go ’round!

"Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising." - Acts 17:29

[SparowHawk7 Moderator Drawing and Sketching]

Keep posting in this thread. If you wish the title to be changed, let a mod know and it’s no problem.

Ken

http://www.heritageartstudios.com/

[the old garage]

OK, thanks!

"Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising." - Acts 17:29

[the old garage]

No, I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth…but I HAVE been working 10-12 hour days, putting in my garden, getting a new kitty settled in the house, interviewing for NORMAL jobs, and waiting to see if I have to do jury duty. Soooo….here is about an hour of work on the three dog portrait. Not much done yet, but I’m blocking in some areas and the eyes are almost done. C & C is welcome, and could someone please change the title of this thread to Three Dog Portrait WIP? Thanks everyone!

"Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising." - Acts 17:29

[SparowHawk7 Moderator Drawing and Sketching]

When doing fur, be careful to always shade in the direction of fur growth (ie- not across the middle of the head). As surprising as it may seem, graphite has a certain translucent property so that underlying layers tend to show through subsequent ones.

Ken

http://www.heritageartstudios.com/

[the old garage]

I knew someone would bring that up As this is just first-layer blocking in, I tend to go every which way with my strokes which probably gives other artists strokes! It’s part of my method but I’m glad y’all are paying attention!

"Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising." - Acts 17:29

[the old garage]

Well, I haven’t disappeared but work OT has been running me ragged. I have gotten some work done on this but not as much as I would have liked.
Also, I realize my previous replies to comments seem somewhat dismissive and I really don’t mean to come across like that. Please please c & c if you see something glaringly off! That said, I do know the middle dog has a human grin right now, but she needs a lot more work anyway, and that should help take care it. Terrible pic as always, but thanks for looking!

"Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising." - Acts 17:29

[the old garage]

Closeup of the top dog who is also nowhere near finished.

"Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising." - Acts 17:29

[Hugsy25]

Love it, can’t wait to see the end product.

Phyllis
http://hugsy25.deviantart.com/

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