Preparing to draw 51 dogs in a scene! (Pt.1)

The most dog cartoon portraits that I’ve ever drawn in a single scene before is 6. ...So imagine my excitement that my current commission will have a whopping 51 dogs in it!

My lovely client has 44 dogs, a concept that will make most dog lovers both envious and apprehensive! To be fair, I think one dog is enough of a handful for me, but the idea of living with 44 does seem like a wonderful dream. My client also has 7 dogs over rainbow bridge, hence the 51 to make up the full scene.

 As many of you know, my pet cartoon portraits focus as much on each dog’s character and personality, as on their appearance. I soon discovered as I began this commission, that this means that my usual methods of preparation weren’t going to cut it this time!

Step 1: Collating photos and details

Thankfully, my client is a genius, and she suggested a fantastic way to send me all of the photos and information about each dog whilst keeping them clearly labelled so there was no confusion: She set up a private Facebook group, with her and I as the only members. This means that she could post several photographs of one dog at once, clearly labelled with their name, along with a description of their personality.

Step 2: Organising the information

Because of my client’s suggestion, it was then a breeze for me to save the photographs into separate folders on my computer, adding in a word document with each one with details of their personality.

Step 3: Navigating changes to my usual spreadsheet method.

At this point, for multiple dogs my usual method is to draw up a spreadsheet that details each dog, breed, colouring, and various personality traits into separate sections. (See my blog post here for my usual method). I soon discovered that with 51 dogs, the spreadsheet was going to be too chaotic so I condensed the personality sections into a single column of vital information. (I've blanked out some of the columns as I don't want to spoil the surprise for the final cartoon!)

Step 4: Further revised spreadsheet.

Once the spreadsheet was complete, I then did a second spreadsheet which just contained the most vital information, plus notes on my suggestions of what activity each dog would be doing in the scene.

Step 5: New tools needed!

By this point, I realised I needed more tools. An A1 sized wipe board arrived on the doorstep the following day, and suddenly things became a little easier to plan! It was also the arrival of the realisation that our planned sized finished picture wasn’t going to be big enough, so a quick chat with the client and we were back on track with a new planned size of A1.

Step 6: Research for a suitable printing company

Usually, when a print is required, I print it myself with my high quality printer that can cope with sizes up to A3, so my next task on the list was to contact local printers and compare qualities and prices.

Step 7: Dog spaghetti

With the sizing and print sorted, I was back to the wipe board. My initial drafts involved writing the names of all the dogs and then linking up who had to be close to eachother (with 43 dogs, inevitably some will make close bonds and are inseparable so they needed to be planned in close proximity for the illustration). It looked a bit like dog spaghetti by the time I finished this one!

Step 8: Considerations.

Other things that now had to be considered were that I didn’t want to end up with ‘clusters’ by breed, colouring or the expression that I was planning for them to have. This was possibly the most complicated part of the process so far, but was all the more satisfying when everything was arranged suitably.

Step 9: Further drafts

Each time I got some clarity with the wipe board, I took a photo before wiping it for the next draft, so that I didn’t lose my notes.

 Step 10: Social media planning, preparation, and study!

The next part was to start on some social media plans so that once I begin, I’m not stopping and starting drawing to keep that updated. The plus side of doing so preparation, is that in the process it’s enabled me to get to ‘know’ each dog, and recognise them by their photo and name. This bonus will be invaluable when I’m actually drawing, to ensure that I don’t muddle any of the dogs up and also gives me a feel of their personality while I draw them, which helps me to capture their character even better.

That’s us up to date! I’m about a fortnight into the commission now, and am finally about to start drawing! I’ve loved the challenges that it’s brought so far, and am looking forward to finally sketching out proper plans. Part 2 to follow…!