The art
Not AI, 100% human made illustrations.
Research and Moodboarding
Every creative journey starts with a spark—inspiration, references, and the tiny details that matter. It’s never about just finding a photo and copying it. True creativity is about capturing relevant details from here and there; in this case, studying poses, color palettes, and a wide variety of references. This allows me to distill the very best of each pet into a unique, soulful illustration.
The Sketch
Sketching is the most critical stage because it’s where I merge all those references to build the foundation. This is where proportions, posture, and expression have to click.
To be honest, the hardest part—especially with dogs—is the facial expression and the eyes. I usually leave the body 'empty' to fill it with floral patterns later, which saves me some headaches, but I make sure to keep the face as clean as possible. I want to ensure that the gaze and the true character of the pet don’t get lost behind the art.
Ink and color
This is my favorite part because the heavy lifting is done, once I know the posture, expression, and composition are locked in, it’s time to 'decorate.' I’ve spent years creating floral and Ukiyo-e style illustrations, so designing these Japanese patterns comes naturally to me now. Still, every animal is a new canvas; I have to carefully flow and adjust the patterns to fit the unique shape of their body.
