DIY: Simple Sharpie Silhouette of Your Pet

Here is a simple art project that you can make in a matter of minutes once you’ve gathered your supplies. There are many ways to make silhouette line art drawings, and this one is easy and fun! It will look great on a wall near your pet’s sleeping or eating area, also mixed in with a collage of family photos, or on a table near an entry door. I was inspired to draw this rendering of our Toby when I saw these custom pieces of art here. When I like a piece of art in a magazine, I like to see if I can make it myself and save money, too!

You will need a good photo of your pet showing off his personality and unique features. This is my favorite of Toby — floppy ears, quirky profile, chunky paws. Love that boy! Use a similar photo of your pet showing his or her best pose. I also purchased a square black frame with white matting on sale at Pottery Barn.

Modern Hen Home

Supplies:

1 photo – (preferably available on your computer monitor, IPad, or a printed copy)

1 sheet of copy or sketch paper

1 pencil

1 black Sharpie Fine Point pen (not dried out)

tape

scissors

copier (if needed)

black frame

glue (optional)

How-to: When you bring up the photo on your computer’s monitor screen, measure the image or hold your matte to the screenshot and view for sizing. Adjust the image size to fit. If you are not able to do this on your computer you will need a copier once you have finished tracing it with a pencil to edit the image size to fit.

Tape your sheet of paper to the top of your monitor, or to the actual glossy photo, and lightly trace around your pet’s image with a pencil. Remove the paper and lay it behind your matte border to double check the fit and opening. Resize on a copier if you need to.

Put the sheet of paper with the pencil image on your desk and tape to hold it in place. Re-trace the pencil outline with your black Sharpie pen. Allow the ink to dry for a moment, then softly erase any extra pencil marks. You can leave the image as is, similar to my photo, or you can fill it in with the marker for a solid silhouette.

You can personalize the print with your pet’s name by typing his name in a font you like in several sizes on one sheet. Print the sheet out and hold it to the finished image, cut out the best size and glue in place where you like.

Frame it: Lay your matte over the drawing and adjust the drawn image inside the frame (I slightly tilted my drawing). Trace around the outside of the matting with your pencil and cut out, then frame it and it’s ready for display.