Composition is everything

"Turner & Jake" ( as proofed )

"Turner & Jake" ( updated )

This last month I have been discussing the elements and principles of design. When starting on a portrait I find that "composition" is all important. How we crop an image, what is going on with the negative space, and overall movement has to be considered. Some images are easier than others and sometimes our clients give us input that really helps. I usually do not like to do pets in hard profile because I like to see both eyes. The other issue with pets in profile is that our eyes are going to go in the direction ( hard left or hard right) that they are facing. In this portrait for Turner & Jake the original position of the pups did not work as well as the client's request to flip them to face in the other direction. Our eyes read from left to right, and in the 1st image proof we start reading the image ... we see the dogs and our eyes just keep on going in the direction they are staring, right off the canvas. In the 2nd composition our eyes stop at the right edge of the print and come back into the piece to gaze on the pups again. This is a great example of a client providing really important design input that improved their portrait 100%.

Turner & Jake ( original photo)

Interlining

...there is enough machine within our eyes
to fill a thousand junkyards full
to make the stone break into plastic clouds
of colored dust
and happy play

...there are enough straight lines that bound a shape
to make us speak right to the point
to get us thinking we are right or wrong
beneath the clouds

See more of Jan Vormann's Dispatchwork here.

Sick as dog

Down with a summer cold today. Checking messages and e-mails, I will be back in full swing tomorrow.

Adobe Illustrator Keyboard Shortcuts : Layers

Another list of keyboard shortcuts for advanced Adobe Illustrator users.
1) Open/close Layers panel - F7

2) New Layer at the top of the list - Ctrl+L or Cmd+L (Mac)
3) New Layer and open layer options panel - Alt+Ctrl+L or Option+Cmd+L (Mac)
4) New Layer below selected layer - Alt+Ctrl+Click (Option+Cmd+Click) on the new layer button in the layer panel
5) View layer in outline viewing mode - Alt+Click (Option+Click) in View Column
6) View ALL layers in outline mode - Alt+Ctrl+Click (Option+Command+Click) in View Column

Free Vector Girls Stock

A free vector stock from abstrasctik. The pack contains an Adobe Illustrator file with illustrations of the girls you see below plus its psd version. Download

Spotted Tongues ... oh my!

"Buddy & Tank"

Here at Art Paw we love to celebrate and embrace the quirky unique markings some pets have. When selecting the best photo to use for this portrait project I was sold on the one that really showed off Buddy's spotted tongue. I love these 2 happy dogs.

Flickr Fans

"Man's Best Friend"

Posted at Flickr by doublewinky's

I love flickr ... have not had much time to play over there lately. I just fell in love with this happy dog trinket. All of the photos in this person's stream are shot in a playful manner with groovy retro backdrops that include table cloths, books, even playing cards. If you are a thrift store fanatic and need a fix without leaving the house ... this gal's photo stream may be the ticket.

"Purple Elephant"

Posted at Flickr by doublewinky's