Hi guys, I have a photo of my friends dog, i recently did a very quick sketch/drawing of as kind of a warm up, i would like to draw from this photo, cause i only have two, and this is actually the clearer of the two..My friend had to put his down last week just shy of her 13th birthday..poor thing. He goes in to have major spinal surgery on the 28th, and I should like to present to him a drawing of his long time friend, when he recovers. My problem is I CANT SEE THE EYES.. see they are like big white dots, how do i correctly handle that, i dont plan on doing the whole dog, just like the head and front area, portrait type.
advice most welcomed

again i forget the photo

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Kay that is unfortunate that the reference photo is not that great in Quality .. What I would do is look for a dog online with similar features and go with that .. Example .. Not the same dog but the color of the eye is good..

uh, never thought of that, how simple, thank you carol

Your Welcome !! keep us posted on updates of your drawing .. !!

I have made a mess of my drawing, I shall try again later, Airscapes tried to clean up my photo and sent me a much clearer one to try..thank you so very much for that..I got really discouraged trying to work from this one

No problem, hope it is helpful but there just isn't much detail data in the photo. If you scanned it, you may want to do it again and choose 300dpi then send the photo to me to try and tweak it again.

Kay the PSP we sent you should clear that up as well I know it is a big program but it will do so much .

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Oops! Just saw your previous post about airscapes doing this!

Also adding in another version here - taking Steve's eye adjustments, and manipulating the tan and black areas of the fur separately to try to bring out the maximum amount of form.

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Like Airscapes, I'd also be happy to work on a bigger version, if you've got it.

(Can I say, as a general principle, this is precisely the sort of portrait job - do a deceased animal or person, from only a poor photo, and under time-pressure - that would have most professional portraitists running for the hills.)

I agree that all that can be done is enlarge the image you have, look at images of the same breed and work detail from there.

I've rejected poor quality images from potential buyers simply because I know it would take more time and trouble to recreate the animal to the owners vision than it would be worth. You can turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, no matter how much money you're paid for it!

Kim, sadly it wont run on my computer, the error tells me i am running the wrong OS..but i so appreciate the effort,
thanks to all you guys, I can at least give it a better go..

and dave, you are always invaluable to me..he doesn't know of my attempt, this photo is one i took years ago, if it wasnt for these few that I and others took here and there over the years, i dont think he would have any..So If I can not come up with something a little better this p.m. after all of you taking your time to help me I shall scrap the idea and buy him a card..

I have had the same experience so many times and its frustrating. I cant tell you how many times someone would come up to me and ask me to draw whether its a person or an animal and the picture is just absolutely horrible. Or its someone way in the background and you just cant make out the detail. I agree with the advice below, just try to find a reference picture thats pretty similar to that dog and go for there - I tried to sharpen the image up for you a little, hope this helps.

Kay, look for a soppy Rotty online - the only way to get the eyes - just remember that as long as the markings are in the right place and the eyes look quite soulful the owner will love it. It could be the most savage beast on earth to everyone else but that soulful "I l'd die for you" look is the one that they save for their owner.

It seems hard with the eyes being a bit hard to see, but if I make the eyes a little bigger than the would be in reality they give that soft impression that the owners love. Good luck with this one. I did a triple portrait (I still shudder at the thought of that one) for a widow whose husband committed suicide.........her sister wanted a pic with both parents and the new baby because they hadn't taken many pictures with the baby as he had been ill in his first months of life. I am so glad that they liked it because I had to have it done in 3 weeks (I am a sucker!).

Good luck and don't give yourself a deadline - if its not ready as soon as he gets out so be it - have it the way you want and don't rush yourself.

I save that look for my Wife.

And does she smack you on the nose with a rolled up newspaper Steve?

No. I get a biscuit.

i want to thank you guys for the help, my 3 and 4 try came out no better than the 1 and 2, but i still want to thank you for the help.. I am going to buy him a card..lol..

A chocolate digestive is OK, but I'd be a bit disappointed if it was a dog-biscuit.

I don't mind, she takes me for a walk after!

Does she let you off your leash or are you a naughty boy when you're out ?