Dog seasons

A series of dog illustrations set during the different seasons.

Season themed illustrations like this is always fun to create, as it’s such an easy way to create a series of images and focus on things that way. In 2021 I created a series of bears with this theme. And the topic was again revisited with cats in 2023. Though, like with the bears, this one feature different dog breeds per season. The process behind these four images are also up on my YouTube channel.

A happy Australian shepherd sitting among the spring scenery, which includes both cherry blossoms and budding greenery.

Australian shepherd - spring

Media: Digital.

This is ultimately the dog that set off the entire series, and kind of helped set the mood for the entire series. In part it helped with deciding the kind of colour palette to be used, especially when it came to some of the browns and greens.

A cute Brittany spaniel standing happily among the summer greenery, including a rose bush in the background.

Brittany spaniel - summer

Media: Digital.

This entire series was not just created to represent the seasons, but an aim was to work out what the different dog breeds would look like in this simplified style. Therefore I opted to paint several dogs that had somewhat similar features, such as the floppy ears, in order make sure it was possible to differentiate between them.

A happy Borzoi sitting among yellow leaves with leaves falling all around.

Borzoi - autumn

Media: Digital.

This was actually a dog I had never worked with until this illustration, though I had heard about the breed. The breed still hold some similarities with the Brittany spaniel and Australian shepherd, but it’s build is quite different. This meant I could focus on slightly different shapes, all the while keeping the same shape language the style remained consistent.

A happy Shiba inu sitting under a leafless tree with snow falling down around it.

Shiba inu - winter

Media: Digital.

My main reason for picking the Shiba inu for winter might have been seeing videos of happy little Shiba inus walking in the snow, unbothered by the cold. While there are a ton of other dogs that would also work for this season. Another reason for the choice was to ensure that there was some warmer colours in the image as well to balance out those cool winter colours.