Commission and further development

This piece was first commissioned by a Taylor who made Dog’s Coats.

Dachshunds vary in height, length and width. The only thing I had to worry about was the length and width.

Follow the process below

A version of this was shown in the “Dog House” at the Brighton Arts Festival August 2018

Talking through ideas with the client.

Firstly I had to find the shape of the torso.

Then the head. So I started with the shape of the muzzle

Next was build it in 3D

Here I place the head on the adjustable chest. Insert the legs into the back of the torso ensuring that they move in and out freely.

At this point I adjusted the angle of the head and shaped the ears

The first maquette is made and I am now happy with the look and the mechanics of the adjustments. The back legs can pull for longer dogs and the chest can expand for larger chested ones. The legs and head are really only there for aesthetic reasons.

Each pattern piece is traced and marked with where the adjustments will be. These are then transferred to the final building material.

Having cut out the traced down pieces onto 35gsm watercolour paper, I can now assemble the piece. Here it is on the cutting mat waiting for the client to pick-up.

Further development of the model into a colour version

I later developed this model into a solid backed dachshund. Then coloured using watercolour on 350gsm Watercolour paper.

The plain version was shown in the Brighton Art Festival in the “Dog House” 2018

Follow that process below

Traced pieces ready for painting

I begin with washes to make sure I’ve got the patternation in the correct place

Now I apply the darker areas

All the pieces are now complete. At this point I will scan the sheets to make sure they all work together

Detail. Left, right and top of head pieces

This shows the development process. From source photo, blank model, painted flats and built model

I’m happy with how it all fits together