Pet Portraits and Family Portraits Online Courses

Written & Tutored by Melanie Phillips (The London Art College)

If you are looking to paint Pet Portraits for commission, for friends or family or just for fun and you need a little help, then this is the course for you.

The course opens with a guide on the different materials available to artists, concentrating on the mediums that are covered in the course - pencil, coloured pencil, pastel, oils and acrylic. I then help you brush up on your basic drawing skills, teaching you the fundamentals of how to draw, which is imperative for any artist to be proficient in their craft. This is extremely helpful for those who have had no professional training or much experience in art.

We look at light and shade which is very important in creating portraits of pets, look at how to paint fur, eyes, noses, other objects in a scene, composition, adding more than one dog in a scene, creating backgrounds and a variety of step by steps showing students how to tackle drawings and paintings from start to finish. I even show a full live commission in oils from the concept, the composites, the step by steps and the final portrait.

We have guest artists Nick Beall and Nicky Jones who have given me permission to use their work as examples to illustrate specific points in their chosen mediums. We even have two step by steps of Nick Beall's pastel on velour as this is becoming an increasingly popular medium and support to use.

We look at many tricky subjects like white animals, black animals, wet fur and also touch on composition within a portrait. We look at how to add more than one animal in the scene and how to add backgrounds in your portraits successfully.

One of the most important aspects of the course is dedicated to those who wish to start a business in pet portraiture. Many artists struggle to get work. I am emailed constantly from artists - how do I get work, what shall I do, how do I promote myself. This is all addressed in the course to hopefully set you on the path to success. I also talk about starting your own business, making a website and general information you need to know before taking on commissions on a professional level.

The course is a distance-learning course written, illustrated and tutored exclusively by myself, in association with the London Art College. Distance learning is very flexible and anyone can enroll worldwide at any time. If you are working full time or part time, the course can be worked around your everyday schedule - there are no deadlines or time limits.

A snippet of a students audio / visual crit

On enrolment the student will receive a a fully illustrated printed course folder with assignments at the end of each section. Students can work through the course until they reach the exercises and they can either send work electronically or in the Mail. Students who send work electronically via the London Art College Website will receive an Audio/Video critique showing amendments on the artwork digitally. Each student is able to login to their own personal secure area in the 'Artwork Submission Area', and their critique will be uploaded for the student to access at any time. They can then download and listen/watch the video in Windows Media Player. An example of an audio and visual critique can be played below.

Students who send work through the postal system will receive an audio critique on cd playable on any cd based audio system - ie a stereo system, DVD player or personal computer.

My Students.....
I am currently collecting photos of my students with their artwork. If you are one of my students and would love to have your photo on both my website and the london art colleges, just email your photos! For further information about the course and full information about enrollment please visit the London Art College

	The photo above is of my student Emily Griffith presenting a portrait of Mimi LaRue (Pug) to Tori Spelling (US Actress) and her husband Dean McDermott (Canadian Actor).  They taped this for their reality show "Tori and Dean Home Sweet Hollywood". The portrait was part of Emily's work for the Pet Portrait Diploma which I assessed before Emily handed it over to Tori Spelling. For more info about the course and enrollment please visit the London Art College

Happy Student Testimonials ....
I receive so many wonderful letters from my students I have added just a minute selection here from a few that have completed the course and one lady who had just started