Illustrations by Chicago Artist Darin Knupp

Darin's illustration's are generally drawn with colored pencil, however there are times when pen and ink or graphite pencil will be used. Detail and realism are most noticeable when viewing the artist's drawings. Darin often uses photographs taken by his father, Robert Knupp. Robert is a fantastic wildlife photographer who travels extensively to photograph animals in their natural environment. Darin also uses his own photos, and is willing to come to your home to photograph your pet, home or any other subject matter that interests you. Then using these photos the artist is able to create these wonderful illustrations, spending up to 50 hours on one piece of artwork. (40+ hours on bobcat) The size of the illustrations vary, but are usually no larger than 15in. x 24in. illustrations are charged by the hour, but a flat rate will be quoted if necessary.

  • Black Sheppard illustration

    Black Sheppard illustration

    This pet portrait of a black german sheppard shows the bust of the dog, and him with his favorite toy. This composition allows the owner to have a portrait of their dog today as well as a memory of the dog as a puppy. The greenish background and white highlights work well with the black coat of the dog. Drawn with colored pencil and is approximately 9" x 12" (2008)

  • Sheppard mix illustration

    Sheppard mix illustration

    This is a portrait of a sheppard mix named Kilo. The artist captured Kilo's everyday look, ears flopping back and tounge slightly out. In the bottom corner Kilo has that, expecting a walk look the owner knows well. These are the expressions the artist will capture in order to give the client a desired memory. (2008)

  • Crede illustration

    Crede illustration

    Here is a colored pencil portrait of Crede, a yellow lab. If you look at the collar you can see the personalized touch requested by the client, his red collar with name clearly visible. The artist will often add a toy or collar to further enhance the portrait. 9" x 12" (2008).

  • Cats illustration

    Cats illustration

    These are two beautifullt fluffy "ragdoll" cats named Kipu and Lilikoi. Delicate pencil strokes allow you to feel the softness. Since it is difficult to have animals sit together, two seperate photographs were used in order to achieve the desired composition. 11" x 14". (2009)

  • Horse illustration

    Horse illustration

    Here is a beautiful thourghbred horse from a farm in Barrington, the first horse portrait drawn by the artist. Your attention is drawn to the eye of the horse and depicts the gentleness rather than the strength of this powerful animal. The artist again worked with colored pencil on this pet potrait 9" x 12". (2009)

  • Bobcat illustration

    Bobcat illustration

    This bobcat was photographed in Montana by Robert Knupp (artists father). So taken by the image Darin felt the need to recreate the photo using colored pencil and paper. This is a great example of how much detail can be put into an illustration to achieve the photo-realistic style, often used by the artist. 14"x 20" (2002)

  • Elk illustration

    Elk illustration

    Using colored pencil the artist draws this bugling elk in tall grass. Photograph taken in Yellowstone Park by Robert Knupp. 14"x 20" (2002)

  • Tundra illustration

    Tundra illustration

    Here is a dog portrait drawn with colored pencil. The dogs name is Tundra, a german Sheppard, and shows her bust as well as the dog walking on the beach. This is a nice way to show detail of the dog and gives you a look at the entire dog in motion. 8'x 11" (2008)

  • Yuki illustration

    Yuki illustration

    This portrait is of Yuki, the artists dog. We see the dog as a puppy and personalized it with a paw print. Colored pencil was used along with black background to create more dramatic portrait. 14"x 18". (2001).