When an Artist Friend Says, “The Dog Looks Plastic…”

 Thank you for being a friend.

— Andrew Gold, 1978 (made famous by The Golden Girls)

Illustration of a small sleeping black and brown rottie, curled up with its tongue sticking out.
What I had to start


Illustration of a small sleeping black and brown rottie, curled up with its tongue sticking out. The dog's shading and fur texture appear soft and plush, with visible pencil-like strokes, giving it a hand-drawn, warm feel.




I’m so glad she did.

This little sleeping pup appears on multiple pages in my book and I almost uploaded the final files with the original version. I thought he looked fine. Cute, even.

But then Natasha, a talented artist and my friend, gently pointed out that the dog looked a bit plastic. Her gorgeous pen & ink image is on my parent page of my book and you can read about that and see for yourself on my other thank you post to her, here.

At first, I winced. Then I looked closer.

She was right.

I had drawn and coloured her with care but without much experience in digital tools like Krita, I had missed the subtleties that make illustrations feel soft, textured, and alive. I’ve never studied art formally, and Krita has a steep learning curve when you’re diving in with a full children’s book to finish. So I’m learning on the job constantly.

Thanks to her feedback, I went back, added more shading, softened the edges, introduced texture and now, finally, she looks more like the snuggly, plush pup I imagined. I’m so grateful I hadn’t uploaded the book yet to order the proof copies as I was just thinking I was done based on other people's comments!

What I’m Learning About Feedback

  • You can’t always see what’s off in your own work.

  • Kind honesty is a gift not a criticism.

  • One small tweak can lift a whole book.

This was a reminder that feedback from someone you trust, especially someone with a practiced eye, can change everything. I’ve redone the dog on every page now, and I feel so much more confident about how it fits into the book’s tone and texture.

So thank you, Natasha. 💛

And to any other creators out there: share your work with people who will be honest and kind. They’ll help you grow and sometimes, they’ll save your dog from looking like plastic.

Update: Just as I published this blog post this morning, my sister called and mentioned a few other things that needed correcting that, again, I had seen so many times they were only noticeable when pointed out.


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