FAQ: What materials do you use?

I quite often get asked about the materials I use to create my portraits. It's a question that pops up frequently on my Facebook page and Instagram so rather than go through the lengthy process of replying to each query individually, I thought I'd write a post on the subject, so that I can provide a little more detail. (I am by no means saying it isn't worth my time to reply individually!)

Pencils: I use Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. When I first started pet portraits, I was using watercolour pencils, but this is mostly because that's all I happened to have at the time. I've since progressed to the Polychromos and I really love them. They have a high pigmentation and a wonderful range of shades to choose from which really helps me build up base layers to make fur look really rich, particularly black fur which, believe it or not, is far from black!

I would like to try out some other types of pencils in the near future, such as Prismacolour, so that I can make some comparisons and maybe discover something that works even better for me!

Image credit here

Paper: The paper I currently use, and have used for a while now, is Daler Rowney Murano pastel paper, in the colour stone. I stumbled across this paper when I was trying out various textures and colours and after doing a few portraits on it, I found that it suited my techniques very well. Being a pastel paper, it has a slight raised texture to it which is brilliant for holding the pigmentation of the Polychromos. I love the shade and I think that it complements pretty much every type of colouring of the animals I draw; it provides a really nice base colour that makes the drawing pop out. It also means that I can apply white pencil to bring the highlights to life even more than I would be able to on white paper.

Finish: On the subject of highlights, the final material I use is Daler Rowney FW Acrylic Ink in white. I use this to sharpen and brighten the important highlights where the white pencil isn't quite enough, for instance, for the shine in the eyes or for whiskers. I am very sparing with the use of acrylic ink but it does help to finish the piece off and give it that final burst of life.

 

Digital: For the actual piece of art work, I do not use any digital tools; it is all done by my hands using the materials I've discussed in this post. However, I use Photoshop to create the mock-up that I will work from for the piece, which allows me to try out different compositions and see how they work before physically drawing them out. I also use guidelines on PS, much like the "squaring up" grid technique, to draw the outline so that I get the important features in the right place and in proportion. Finally, I use a Canon scanner or my Epson A3 printer/scanner to scan in the finished portrait ready to share with you!

And that's it! Nothing special really, just good, old-fashioned pencil and paper. If you have any other burning questions about my process, I would be happy to answer them so feel free to leave a comment here or email me at contact@missmagpiedesigns.co.uk.

Take Two

Yesterday, I shared my first completed portrait of 2015 on my Facebook page. It is of my aunt's cat Twinkle and was quite a challenge as her fur is flecked with orange and white so it took some real concentration. At the forefront of my mind while I was working on it was the fact that I've drawn her before, when I very first started doing pet portraits in 2012. In fact, I was working from the same photograph that I referenced for the portrait the first time around, so I was keen to compare the two pieces once I was finished, to get a sense of how I have progressed in two years. 

On the left is the most recent version and on the right, the 2012 piece. It makes me cringe to look at the older piece, because I'm so self-critical. My style was very different; much looser and certainly less detailed. It's a good exercise, though, to see how much I have developed my skills since then, however difficult I find it to look back. 

Of course, I still have plenty of space for improvement and I'm hoping that in another two years time, I will have honed my technique even more. 

Featured in Etc. Magazine

If you follow my Facebook page or are one of the few who read this blog, you will know I recently did an interview for Etc. Magazine. Well, the issue I am featured in is now live on their website and the hard copy of the magazine is out soon, and yesterday I got to see the finished piece.

You can read the full interview at this link, just look for pages 109-111. Apart from the rather unflattering photo on the first page (I've never liked my arms!) I'm really pleased with it! The journalist asked for some examples of my work and I sent a large selection over but I never imagined they would include so many pieces. That is a bonus really as it shows a good variety and proves I don't just draw dogs!

I can't wait to get my hands on a hard copy at some point next week (hopefully) then it will feel real. Let me know if you have read the article and what you thought about it!

When unique becomes imitated...

I'm really happy to have found a niche market and an area of art I can specialise in while enjoying it immensely at the same time. I am fully aware that I'm not the only portrait artist out there but what is great is that each artist has a different style, whether that's through the media they use or their physical drawing/painting style.

I do the majority of my work updates and posting of content through my Facebook page and I try hard to keep everything I post unique and true to myself and my work. What's been frustrating, even more so in recent weeks, is that I've noticed that my content is being imitated elsewhere. I'm not going to give details because I'm not interested in targeting, naming names, etc. etc. but I've been keeping an eye on it ever since I noticed it a couple of months ago and I'm now feeling so frustrated by it that I just had to voice it to let off steam!

It seems to be more obvious to me now, probably because I've noticed it and am aware of it much more than before and it's frequent too. It's not my work that's being imitated, it's the content and my style of posting. I know that probably sounds a bit woolly but if I was to give a list of specific examples it would be much clearer, I just don't want to do that. It's things like the wording in a status update or the photos being posted being far too similar to my own previously, to sit comfortably with me.

What bothers me with this is that I wrack my brains each and every day to come up with interesting and unique ways of sharing my work and progress with my wonderfully loyal followers and I just wish my ideas weren't being taken and recycled! The reality is, FB isn't making it easy on us small businesses so we have to put in a lot of hours of brainpower and physical networking to keep ourselves on the map. It's really, really difficult but worth it when you get amazing feedback from grateful customers. What takes value out of that worth is when you see that someone else is just making use of the hours you've put in and putting them to their advantage.

I'm aware that, because I've given no in-depth details or examples, this all seems a bit of an overreaction on my part but I simply needed to get my frustrations down on paper (so to speak!) in the hope that it would make me feel a little easier. At the end of the day, there are hundreds of supremely talented artists out there, each and every one with their own style and that something that makes them unique. What's important is FINDING that unique element and working it to it's fullest. Find a style that works for you and your work that is your own, and you are guaranteed to be remembered for it.

**Just to clarify: I have absolutely no problem with the artwork-there are hundreds of amazing artists on FB and many portrait artists all of which have their own styles and that is fantastic! I was just bothered by the style of content on this page.**

Cyber Support Network

**Apologies if the end of this post turns a little gushy!**

The reality of our era is that we all spend A LOT of time online. I'm certainly guilty of using several different social media outlets frequently but in my defence, the majority of time I spend on them is for business purposes. I promise that isn't an excuse; it is genuinely the case. I would say maybe 20% of my time on Facebook is personal and the rest is all spent replying to enquiries and comments on my business page or sharing progress photos. All useful and important stuff, in my eyes.

As for Twitter and Instagram, they are purely business and have been invaluable sources to me in that respect. I always swore I would NEVER join either of them, but I have discovered that I would simply have been shooting myself in the foot if I had continued to be stubborn, as all three of these sites combined have provided an incredible source of support for me. I have spent a lot of time networking and creating a small following of loyal fans, several of whom I have become good friends with. It seems strange saying that about people you have never met in the flesh, but it's the truth; at least, I feel comfortable enough to say that about them, they might not feel the same!

Working from home has it's pros and cons (a post on that coming soon), one of the cons being that it can get quite lonely working by yourself and when you hit a low point with your work, as I often do, that's the moment when you wish you worked in a bustling office where you can simply turn to your neighbour, vent your frustrations and receive some kind words and helpful advice in return. I have discovered that having a small network of fellow artists/designers/crafters just a few clicks away has really helped to fill that gap.

I find I am chatting to the same people everyday which is just lovely and the more I have been chatting, the more I have felt able to call them friends! They understand exactly where I'm coming from when I say that something hasn't gone to plan or I've spent the day procrastinating and got nothing done. I suddenly remember that there are hundreds of others out there going through exactly the same thing every day and I don't feel quite so isolated. Being able to chat about things that aren't related to work too, now that's the best part and what really makes you feel you're talking to friends.

It would be lovely to one day meet up with some, if not all of these lovely cyber friends in the future. There are often creative events organised designed for this very idea but so far, I've been unable to make any of them! Still, it's truly warming to know there's a friendly bunch of people willing to put up with me and my ramblings-you all know who you are ;-)