Astrid

I was commissioned to do an 8x10 ink stippling portrait of a fun feline, Astrid.

A lot of my clients have been through referrals, word of mouth, and the most recent push from an article shared through my day job's associate site. See my blog post about it here.

Stippling is the layering of ink dots. It is time consuming, unforgiving, and believe it or not extremely therapeutic. Out of the two mediums I use ink is the medium that gives the more realistic look to my illustrations.

Astrid is a grey kitty who has a bob tail and playful spirit. She is a dear and shows affection to her human Mom often. Her expression is described as "lovey." Did you know that when cats show certain emotions it affects the size of their pupils? Have you seen Dreamwork's "Puss in Boots" show series or the character from the Shrek movies? His eyes go all big and he look super cute when he is trying to get something he wants. Disarming his foes with cuteness. My task was to take photos provided and give her the lovey look.

 

My client wanted to see both of the cat's ears and a loving expression. I played around with referral images provided altering them and cropping them to get a feel for a composition.

My first round of notes and composition plans were of the cat in a C shape.

However, I ended up going back to the picture of her stretched on the patio table. The picture had the best clarity out of the bunch, the gaze was dynamic, and I could play with the surrounding textures.

I sketched out the piece and then started the first layers of the shadows. I usually define edges and outline facial features so I don't lose my place. 

(Comparison of two hours of work)

(Work in progress)

My "Action Shot" Hahahaha!

I often take pieces with me to work that are small enough to carry or easy enough to clean up in a hurry. I will work on pieces on breaks at the day job. My coworkers are quite used to it by now and maybe look forward to seeing my progress over a span of an order. My coworker, Jax (not to be confused with baby Jax) snapped a pic of me working and sent me a cute quote message. I am quite lucky to have such fantastic people cheering me on as I push towards my dreams and use my talent in this way. 

I would set the picture and the portrait next to each other, propped up on my keyboard when I entered into the stare and tweak stage of my artistic process. I make a fuss to get it right but at least it is entertaining to those around me sometimes. 

The finished portrait:

Detail shots:

My client's review on Etsy:

"The stippling ink that Jess did of my cat was beautiful. She really captured the way my cat looks and the expression in her eyes. I'm very happy with the portrait!"