Working on 'Chipper'... a new Pet Portrait Commission!

Hello lovely people!!

How's the weather where you all are? It's been a bit hot and sticky here on my island... which is quite unusual. It's the first time I have experienced this kind of weather since we moved here over 18 months ago. I'm told it's not really normal... it gets hot but not so much humid. The humidity was the main reason I wanted to leave Rockhampton. It was the worst of the worst there but these things happen and if this is as humid as it's going to get and only from time to time, I really have nothing to complain about. :)

Anyway, enough of the weather. I wanted to share with you what I'm currently working on. I have a few projects on the go...  3 large watercolour paintings  (a tiger, a turtle and a pretty little bird), a large pet portrait commission of three dogs, a hummingbird commission and a pet portrait of the most adorable little Yorkie, Chipper! I am able to share some progress photos of Chipper at the moment, so I thought I'd put them up here for you. This commission has been very much a challenge... mainly because of the red blanket background. I don't normally do backgrounds for my pet portraits and this one is made a little harder being that he is kind of peeking out of the blanket. I had to make it look like he was inside the background rather than just have a background around him. It was touch and go there for a while... all watercolours... in fact most paintings period, go through an ugly duckling stage. This one took a lot longer to get through it and I wasn't sure I was getting anywhere good for a while. I persevered and I'm so glad I did. All of a sudden I could see it heading in the right direction!!  My takeaway from all this is .... hang in there, keep going and 9 times out of 10 it will work. I learned many more lessons from this painting but I'll try to talk on them at a later date.

Well I better go... heading away for 2 weeks and I have so much to pack because all my paintings are coming with me. I'll be back soon with more updates on Chipper as well as some progress shots of my other projects.
Hugs and blessings to you all!
Julie XXX

Starting out!

Chipper is starting to take form!

Reference Photo

Pre-made Business Cards... some of my new designs!!

Howdy Lovely People! Hoping you are all well and happy! I thought I'd pop in and share some of my latest pre-made business card designs. First off though, I'll explain what these are, how they work and who they benefit!  Read on.... 😀

Most entrepreneurs don't have a huge amount of money to invest at the beginning. Especially for things like branding! There are so many things needed just to run a new business without trying to come up with money for custom logos, business cards and so on. Getting a good graphic designer to create for you is absolutely wonderful but can be expensive. An alternative is to seek out pre-made collateral... business cards, logos and more! These are much less expensive and this is because the designs are purchased over and over. Pro's.... much less expensive and take very little time to create. The con's... well, really only one...someone else will probably have purchased that design also! For many new small business owners, that isn't really an issue, however, I have tried to address this by creating my own line of pre-made items.

I began a little side line shop on Etsy which I called 'TresChicGraphique'. I sell pre-made business cards at the moment but I'm also working on adding pre-made Etsy Banner Kits, FaceBook Kits and Logos. I mainly create with women in mind... feminine, beautiful, edgy and a little quirky sometimes! The great thing about my business cards is that they are designed using only my own art and illustration. You can't buy anything with these designs anywhere else! This gives them a bit of a unique edge. Many other designers have to purchase illustrations and clip art from artists to create their pre-made designs, which means these images are used over and over in many different ways. I want my designs to give the purchaser a bit of an edge... something a little more unique and something really beautiful and eyecatching!

Purchasing pre-made business cards is so easy. You make the purchase, provide your details, I edit the files and provide you with print ready files which you can take straight to your printer! So easy!
Here are a few of my designs and a link to my Etsy store where you can see lots more or to make a purchase. Any questions, don't hesitate to email me!!

Talk soon,
Julie xxx

TresChicGraphique Etsy Store

  

James Gurney and his amazing Dinotopia series!

I have been a huge fan of James Gurney and his Dinotopia series for many years. I love learning about the process that goes on behind the creation of these types of books. His paintings of creatures that no longer exist as well as lands and cities that never did exist... they are amazing. This video gives a brief account of his childhood interests, his career and the inspiration for Dinotopia. He explains how he created maquettes for the dinosaurs in the books and how neighbors, friends and even himself dressed up in costumes to inspire the many characters in his books. This video from his youtube channel is really worth watching. Enjoy!!

3 Point Perspective.... the only perspective you need!!

3 Point Perspective....I have to be honest in saying that in the early days I tried to avoid it as much as possible but after sitting and learning how it works, I found that it was actually a very easy concept! It was actually a lot of fun and made certain scenes so much easier to draw and much more realistic!


There are lots of videos on this subject but I really love this one from Mark Crilley. He explains the concept really well while actually drawing a scene. And I love the subject matter he uses in the scene...an Indiana Jones type character walking into a cool looking old Temple. I love adventure movies about treasure hunters and have always loved archeology from a little girl. So this was the best of both worlds!! Mark is always a pleasure to watch, always informative and lots of fun! If you don't already, make sure you head to his YouTube Channel and subscribe!


Let me know what experiences you have had with 3 point perspective... do you have any difficulty with it or maybe you have some helpful tips and tricks. Leave me a comment below!!