It is not unusual for a portrait commission to take around 20 hours to complete; caricature work takes less time by comparison.

For both versions of drawing, I start by studying the information that you have provided, particularly the chosen photograph that you wish to have drawn. 

I make a guidance drawing for my own reference that I annotate to point out key features and distinctions in the image.

Next, for portraits and caricatures, I construct a faint guidance frame on the paper to help shape the pencil layout drawing and locate the cornerstone features of eyes, nose, ears, head and shoulder outline, key break points or distinctions within the image.

The process divides here depending on whether the drawing is a portrait or caricature.

For portraits, I start with the key features and build them in a light outline layer of ink, sometimes defining them by locating the darker areas adjacent to them. This helps to establish a feeling for weight of tone and I will often seek to add the tonal areas elsewhere in the image that match these values so that I have a consistent reference to the relative balance of light and dark tones across the drawing. I see this as the ‘first layer’ of ink.

I then add more detail, by adding finer areas of tone and richening the areas that I have already defined as darker or distinctive.

This process repeats itself until the image is broadly achieved. After that, I return to the drawing to resolve any elements that need a finer eye to ensure that the drawing has the detail, depth, highlights and overall quality that it should exude.

I use Edding Pens and Profi Pens of varying line thickness to draw and apply these to art paper to make the drawing. I use a mixture of techniques including stippling, hatching and long and short sweeps of pen to create the weight and tone of the image and white highlights where needed to emphasise key areas.

Caricatures have a more instinctive drawing ‘feel’ applied to them with quick sweeps of pen, scribble and hatching to create a fluid drawing that emphasises key features and flow of fur - and above all expression - to highlight the individuality of the dog’s character.

I use the same drawing tools and weight of paper for caricatures as I do for portraits.