Pet portraits - brutally honest opinions needed

[Brokkoli]

I have little confidence and have been selling pet portraits for £35 each. Buyers always say they’re happy with them but my lack of confidence tells me they’re just being nice

Would love to do it as more of a business rather than a hobby.

im thick skinned, please be honest

You are undervaluing yourself. I started at £60 A3 size as student aged 16. I now charge £375.

They are beautiful! The first one in particular is just stunning! You are way undercharging at £35, I agree with a PP that £250 is much more like it. Your time is worth something as is your obvious skill level.

They are fantastic! Def worth more than £35

If these are hand drawn then they are amazing, I'd definitely buy one.

Amazing work OP.
Hope you manage to gain confidence in your lovely work.

I find it sad when people have such talent and can't see it.

If I could draw like you I'd be the biggest show off ever 🙂

I love them!

Honestly? I find them beautiful and quite classic. I think £35 is quite cheap for your talent. Compare what others are doing. There’s a lot on Instagram.

I’m attempting coloured drawings but I’m still in the beginning phases of learning :-)

@Brokkoli
It’s not you and it’s not the cats! honestly that is not a good photo of the cat so you did not have the benefit to start with, when I saw the dog photos you worked from im speechless you are so gifted ❤️

I know nothing about drawing but love how you have captured their characters and expressions! Worth more id say.

They’re totally amazing. They’d be a great gift to someone who loves their dog. I think £35 is not a good price for them though - hand made art of this standard is usually more expensive to account for the artist’s time and skill level.

These are brilliant! My one very small criticism is the feet on the sausage dog look a little off, I think you could have had it as just the head and chest.

But saying that, I can barely draw stick people!

you can defo ask for more than £35

Thank you everyone for the lovely comments, I didn’t expect to get so many! I’m just watching Dogs Behaving Badly then I’ll catch up with the thread properly :-)

Im not sure if we’re allowed to “take business” from mumsnet but anyone is welcome to PM me if they want to talk about having a drawing done. I’ve never done curly haired dogs before though so if you have a poodle I can’t promise anything 😂

They are gorgeous pictures I would happily have you draw my dog

I'm watching dogs behaving badly too 😂

Wow!

Be confident these are brilliant!

Is £35 enough to cover your time?

Also couldn't see if you signed them, but think you should x

I think they are wonderful OP x

A local shop sells these for the artist. People are always ordering them and getting them framed.

OP you might be.selling yourself short as the portraits go for £70 here.
.

Charge 10x the price. It’s easily worth that.

Actually it’s not that easy in that you need to see it as a business and have confidence in the value of your work (and insist on good photos to work from) - can I recommend joining professional artist communities who can advise on all that stuff rather than working it out all alone, it has really made a difference to artists that I know.

I love the cat - great mouser ears!

Those are terrific, but you're undercharging. Customers would pay a lot more than that. you could have a great little business there. Happy dog owners will disply your work to their friends and family and you'll get lots more commissions that way.

They are really nice and definitely saleable. I would say (also do pet portraits) don't be afraid to alter the photo to achieve a more symmetrical or more pleasing affect. The middle dogs eye is reproduced as in the photo, but I would've made it more in keeping with the other eye. I would also add more highlights. The eyes in particular can be made to pop more. You're the artist, don't be afraid to add highlights, colour and so on to make these really unique works of art. Charge more realistically. Etsy is a good platform to start. Then have your own webpage. I had a website and never had a sale from it (no idea why) but lots of sales from the same items on Etsy.

I love charcoal, I use it too. But I can already see this coloured one is going to be beautiful. You’re very good at eyes. And I think that is key.

And don't accept photos that are poor quality or off Facebook (they compress images). You need the highest quality available. Also look at the photo. You cat photo is a weird angle which doesn't look great in the finished drawing. I've learned the hard way to say no if I'm sent a rubbish photo or one with the animal looking up. They look like they have a head the size of a football.

That coloured drawing is going to be stunning!