DEMONSTRATIONSTEP THREE
After painting out the offending
bush and dry brushing in more
mist, I made a start on Sandy. When
painting animals (particularly pets),
I always start with the eyes. The
eyes are the most important part
of any pet portrait. If you don’t
get the eyes right it doesn’t matter
how good the rest of the painting
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of a cat or dog, not the client’s
beloved pet. (Check out my hints
on how to render realistic eyes.)
STEP FOUR
When I was happy with the eyes,
I began blocking in Sandy’s face
and neck. When blocking in,
always use a darker colour than
the intended final fur colour.
I also painted in her nose using
Payne’s Grey, Titanium White and
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noses are not smooth, they are
pitted, so it is important to add the
pitting with tiny, random dots of
lighter and darker nose colour.STEP FIVE
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rendering the hair around Sandy’s
muzzle. Starting with the dark hairs and
working up to the lights, I employ light,
swift strokes, making sure they follow
the correct direction of Sandy’s real hair.
No matter what colour the animal
is (white, black, brown, or, as in
Sandy’s case, brindle), their overall
coat colour will be made up of lots
of differently coloured hairs.STEPS SIX & SEVEN
With her face almost completed, I
started blocking in Sandy’s neck
and collar. The hair on Sandy’s
neck and body is longer and
coarser than that on her face, so
my brush strokes became longer
and thicker. Again, I was careful to
follow the direction of her hair.FINAL STEP
To finish the painting, I went back
to Sandy’s face and added some
hairs above her left eye and on
the tips of her ears that were
tinted with a little Dioxazine
Purple. This helped to tie the
whole painting together.
The final touch was to add
some water droplets to Sandy’s
fur for added interest.