What's the Difference Between Custom and Semi-Custom Work?...

... In a word, it's the BACKGROUND. Most of my semi-custom work features one dog on a plain, colored background and a little text. My custom work usually means there's a specific theme, more than one dog, a more elaborate background, and/or possibly a more complicated pose for the dog(s) in the poster. The caricature marathon post is an example of semi-custom work.

So today, even though I'm taking a short break from custom orders, I'm showing an example of the process of starting and completing a custom poster (using Wally as an example). Wally's owners have a love of Disneyland and wanted to base a poster around it. Once I knew this, I set out to find a picture of the most recognizable Disney landmark I know(the Cinderella Castle). I pulled the first decent picture I found into Illustrator and simply worked over top of it using black shapes and white shadows. Once the building is finished I can simply use it as a background prop, and the poster starts to take shape.

The two versions of the constructed poster are shown here for me to explain that it is common for me to start from scratch. The first version of my finished poster is very different from the one the client selected (where they chose Wally seated and the Hollywood Tower as a prop). I have a few rules with custom work:

1) The client is always right. They always have the last say when it comes to poses, backgrounds, colors, text, etc.

2) The client is always encouraged to make changes until they are happy with the final product. I never want customers to feel badly when they request changes. Even though "Tinkerbell" Wally was not selected, I can almost always use some element of the original dog (in this case, his face is identical both versions). It is NEVER any trouble so, if you are a future customer, don't hesitate to be proactive with your poster. It is YOUR poster, and I always have a blast with these!

When I'm ready to take new custom orders (i.e. when I've adjusted to the hectic schedule of being a working new mom), I'll post here!