MN

Charcoal Artist · Glassboro, NJ

Charcoal portraits of the
animals you love.

Hand-drawn from a single photograph, one piece at a time. Self-taught, ten years in, mostly dogs — occasionally whoever else you love.

Commission a portrait See the work

Selected work

The gallery

Mostly dogs and cats, occasionally other animals — each drawn in charcoal, sometimes with a touch of colored pencil or chalk.

Lionel and Frankie — Two French bulldogs
Lionel & Frankie2024
Charcoal & colored pencil
Violet — Cat surrounded by hanging plants
Violet2025
Charcoal & pastel
A Girl and Her Dog — Back view with blonde hair
A Girl & Her Dog2022
Charcoal on grey, colored chalk · commission
Jake — Boxer dog portrait
Jake2018
Charcoal
Oscar — Curly-haired black dog with bow tie
Oscar2023
Charcoal & colored pencil
Old Friend — Chocolate lab on tan paper
Old Friend2017
Charcoal on tan
Boxer portrait
Monkcito2019
Charcoal & pencil
Cooper
Untitled—
Charcoal
Dog portrait
Untitled—
Charcoal & colored pencil

Sketchbook

Other work

Occasional experiments in pen, landscape, and letting the weird in.

Lake scene landscape with colored pencil
Lake Scene2024
Charcoal & colored pencil
Bonfire pen sketch
Bonfire2023
Pen
Fall scene pen drawing
Fall2023
Pen
High Priestess tarot card charcoal drawing
The High Priestess2021
Charcoal on grey
Abstract charcoal sketch
Untitled2022
Charcoal

About

Draw what you see

My father could do almost anything — paintings, carvings, things built by hand. Clearly the creative gene was in there somewhere, lying low.

I didn't pick one up myself until about fifteen years ago. I was home during a rough patch with a lot of time on my hands when I came across a photo of a Labrador and thought, I'd love to be able to draw that. I had no business thinking that. I tried anyway.

Here's what flipped it for me: a drawing is really just a pile of shapes, and regardless of the color in front of you, it's all a play of light and dark tones. Once I started seeing that, the whole thing went from something I didn't know I could do to a mystery I was certain I could solve. That became my mantra — draw what you see — and I still mutter it whenever I get lost halfway through someone's fur.

I've never trained formally. I pick up the odd technique here and there, but mostly I just dive in. I rarely know how I'll pull off the hair or some tricky texture; I only know that I will, eventually, probably. That same stubborn instinct now has me teaching myself software.

See what I'm building on the data side →

Oscar — Charcoal portrait of a curly-haired black dog

How it works

Your photo is everything

The way I work

I draw from a single source photo, exactly as it's captured. I don't combine photos, swap backgrounds, or quietly delete the ugly couch behind your dog. Each piece comes out the way it comes out.

The background in your photo is the background I'll draw — so your photo is the single biggest factor in how the portrait turns out.

I work in 9×12. Charcoal has its own resolution: I can push real detail into the eyes and fur, but it's an interpretation in one medium — not a photocopy with extra steps. A sharp, well-lit photo lets me take that detail much further.

Choosing a great reference photo

  • 1Shoot at eye level. Get down to your pet's height — looking down gives them a giant head and a tiny body, which they will not thank you for.
  • 2Natural light, no flash. Outdoors or by a big window. Side-light gives the contrast charcoal lives for.
  • 3Eyes in sharp focus. They're the soul of the portrait — blurry eyes, blurry drawing.
  • 4Fill the frame. Step back and zoom rather than getting close, so detail stays crisp.
  • 5Catch their real expression. The look that's unmistakably them — that's what I'm drawing.
  • 6Send the original file. Email it at full size — never a screenshot or social send, which crush the detail I need.

Since I draw what's there, a clean background keeps the spotlight on your animal.

Commissions

Have one made

Open · limited availability

I take one commission at a time, with at least a 45-day window from when we agree to when I start. Not a fast turnaround — a careful one. Think slow food, but for art, and with more eraser smudges.

If that fits how you'd like your animal immortalized, I'd love to hear about them. Send your best photo and a little about your pet, and I'll reply with a quote and where you land in the queue.

I also take the occasional commission of nature, landscapes, or still life. People are where I draw the line — pun fully intended.

From $300 / 9×12
  • MediumCharcoal, sometimes with a touch of colored pencil or chalk
  • Size9×12 standard; larger by quote
  • SubjectsOne animal; additional subjects quoted per piece
  • TimelineOne at a time · 45-day minimum to start
  • QuoteConfirmed per piece after I see your photo
Start an inquiry

Kind words

From people who have one

"I look at this every single day and love it more and more."

— @lucifurrbean

"This is awesome!"

— @chrissybelle951

"Bravo!"

— @aesse_art

Get in touch

Let's draw your animal.

Tell me a little about your pet and attach your best photo. I read every message and reply personally — no bots, no auto-replies, just me.

Email an inquiry Browse the work

or write directly to hello.michaelnocito@gmail.com