Illustrating A Dog-Gone Cute Christmas Card!

Ta-dah!...presenting "Shelby and Santa"! A dear friend asked me to create an illustration of her dog to include in her Christmas card design this year. I couldn't resist the opportunity.

It may seem an easy task to just put the pencil to paper and out comes the drawing. But, it takes some time to mull over the illustration, jumbling it around in your head for weeks, penciling rough sketches, contemplating it some more, re-sketching....until you finally feel like the illustration is working.

With that said, I thought it would be of interest to post a blog about how this fun illustration came to be.

First, about 20 photos of the adorable canine subject, Shelby, were sent to me as reference material. Here's a peek at two:





After looking at the photos and getting a feel for Shelby's gestures, colors, facial expressions and more, my next step was a bit of mulling over how to approach the illustration.

What should the dog be doing? Is Santa in the sketch? Is she under a Christmas tree? Is she unwrapping a present? sledding? hanging out with snowmen? under the mistletoe?

Then, rough sketches over a few weeks helped me work out a composition that flowed:

Santa holding Shelby in his lap didn't seem to work, but I wanted to portray a warm, friendly interaction between the two of them:

This one seemed too flat and stagnant, but I'm liking the paw/hand idea:



Shelby's face seemed too rigid and the position too stiff:



Hmmmm...now I'm sorta liking this approach. Shelby giving a sweet, backwards glance:



Ahhhh, and now it's got a good flow going. A doggie-pat on the head, and a pet down the back. Who knew that Santa was a dog lover?!



If you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy another one of my creative process posts:

* Mulling over Madison

Merry Christmas to all!
And, as my dear friend noted, be sure to leave a little doggie treat along with the milk and cookies on Christmas Eve....just in case Santa brings Shelby along for the sleigh ride! *woof*

Mulling Over Madison

It has taken me quite awhile to make this illustration. Not the actual drawing part - that ended up only taking a few days. It has been the "mulling over" part.

You see, this idea has been rolling around in my head since last July when my dear friend's Great Pyrenees, Madison, passed away. I KNEW I wanted to draw a picture of her. I KNEW I wanted the backdrop to be a amid blossoming rhodadendron. Madison's home is wooded acreage filled with masses of hybridized versions of them.

The idea was there....but it was stuck. I couldn't get it to come out. There is nothing more frustrating than staring at a blank sheet of paper. I'd mull over it for awhile. Nothing. So, I'd draw something else...thinking I'd come back to Madison later. Sure, I'd forget about it for awhile, but then, the idea would re-surface and I'd mull over it again. And, of course, the questions rolling around my mind: How do I create a white dog? Fluffy. A Great Pyrenees is F-L-U-F-F Y. How do I create that fluffiness? How can I bring out her loving soul? What should she be doing? How do I deal with her 'biggness'? Should I 'this', should I 'that'...and on....and on.

I'm not sure what the ultimate inspiration kicker has been this week, but it has finally started to come out. Maybe it's that the rhodadendron are in bloom. Or, the bluebirds are nesting in the bluebird house. Or, because it's Spring. Maybe the "mulling" is just done. Maybe it's a combination of all of the above. Who knows. I'm just glad that it has finally come out on paper.

I'm also happy to say that I dug out my pastels that I haven't used in over 20 years. After "mulling over" how to achieve the fluffiness, I decided on pastels. Now, as I step back and look at this first illustration, I'm already thinking of ways to tweak it. Let's hope that I don't mull over it too long!

NOTE: If you are a creative person, or every wondered about the creative process and you haven't seen Elizabeth Gilbert's video clip on nuturing creativity, be sure to take the time to view it. It may help you understand the creative craziness.