As the holiday season approaches and I start to get requests for portraits, I thought I’d share a little bit about what goes into making a portrait. Partly because I thought it would be an interesting subject, but also as a reminder that if you’re looking for a portrait as a gift, especially if youContinueContinue reading “Creating a Portrait”
Tag Archives: wildlife artist
Quick Tip: Overlay
When I’m working on a portrait and I can tell something isn’t quite right, but I’m not sure how to fix it, one of my best strategies is using Photoshop. I’ll scan or take a picture of my art, import it into Photoshop, and then overlay it on top of the original reference photo. ByContinueContinue reading “Quick Tip: Overlay”
Drafting Film
For the last few months I’ve been experimenting with a new type of paper called drafting film. Specifically I’ve been using Dura-Lar Grafix paper, which is a little different from true drafting film (from what I understand), but for simplicity’s sake I’ll just refer to it as drafting film. I wanted to write a postContinueContinue reading “Drafting Film”
Trying New Things
Mastering a skill tends to involve years of practice and effort. So it’s no surprise that many artists find a favourite medium, and specialize in it. I’m certainly one of those — now that I’m very comfortable with coloured pencils, that’s my go-to medium, and I rarely work in anything else. And there’s nothing wrongContinueContinue reading “Trying New Things”
Looking Back
One of the really challenging things about being an artist is self-doubt. It plagues us all, and often times that nagging voice that tells us we aren’t good enough is hard to silence. I’ve written posts that touch on this before (Am I Good Enough?, Staying Motivated), but today I wanted to focus on oneContinueContinue reading “Looking Back”
Adlaya’s Art: Origins
Looking through the blog posts I’ve done on this page, I realized I’ve said very little about how I got started with art. So I thought I’d share a little bit of how I’ve developed as an artist, as well as how my business came to be. I’ve always loved to draw, and I haveContinueContinue reading “Adlaya’s Art: Origins”
Coloured Pencil, Pastel, or Ink?
Did you know I offer pet and wildlife portraits in three distinct media? Each option showcases your pet a little differently, so I thought I’d share some details about each one, so you can pick the perfect style for your pet! Coloured Pencil This is my most popular style, and is a great way toContinueContinue reading “Coloured Pencil, Pastel, or Ink?”
Is It Done?
I find that no matter how much time I’ve spent on a piece, or how meticulous I’ve been, there’s always a part of it I feel I can still work on. When I look at one of my portraits, I always see something I could refine, something I could do better. So how do IContinueContinue reading “Is It Done?”
Picking References: Part Two
Last week I wrote a post about where to find reference photos to draw from. This week we’re going to continue that topic, but we’re going to focus on what to look for in a good reference photo. This is a drawing from one of those reference photos that I saw and just knew IContinueContinue reading “Picking References: Part Two”
Picking References: Part One
One of the most important things for any artist is finding good reference photos to work from. Although I’ve gotten much better at drawing things from my head, for any detailed work I have to have a picture to base my drawing on. When I’m drawing someone’s pet, the client sends me the photo theyContinueContinue reading “Picking References: Part One”
Adlaya's Art 