Painting an animal can be a very difficult attempt especially for a beginner. It can be extremely fulfilling when you capture the animal’s characteristics. Knowledge of the animal’s form is the key factor that will help you make realistic pet paintings. The anatomy will make the painting come to life.
Eyes
The eyes are the heart of the painting, if they are not properly captured the entire painting will suffer. If you are painting cat eyes, they can be very difficult to paint because of the intricacies of the color and depth of the iris. You may want to use colorless blenders and paper stumps with ranging pressure to capture the intricate shading differences.
Furry Coat
There are many characteristics to think about when trying to recreate animal furs such as texture, length, pattern, markings, and color. This is where knowledge of the animal’s anatomy will come into play. Many animals can have an undercoat of smooth short fur below a top layer of long coarse hairs. Use hard pencils first to give the fur a light and fine texture. Next, use a soft lead to capture the top hairs that are usually thick and darker.
Nose
Dog noses are complicated to draw since they are soft and rubbery with delicate folds and textures. To successfully draw a dog nose shade in the darker areas first leaving the canvas white where the light reflects brightest.
Tips to Paint Pet Portraits
Before you begin painting use these tips especially if you are a new painter to help you practice.
Practice Drawing Straight Lines.
Use a piece of paper and draw irregularly spaced dots around the sides of the paper. Connect the dots by drawing straight lines between the dots. This will teach you how to fill in the proportions and the features of the animal’s head.
Practice color mixing.
Using an easy computer painting program and print out a leaf of random colored squares. Mix small parts precisely with your preferred opaque paint.
Even if you choose to work digitally, purchase a few inexpensive paints to help you practice color mixing. This will give you the ability to clearly distinguish the mixing elements of a color. This will also help you to match the color of your animal.
Individuals who are using opaque paints should practice coloring on the material you wish to paint your animal on. You will be able to see how the material absorbs the paint and how the paints diffuse which can help you produce different effects.
Choose a reference image.
Composing a painting that mimics a three-dimensional image is easier if you can correctly estimate the proportions of your animal. Good lighting will help you to accomplish this as well.
When choosing a reference select an image that has a single, clear, primary light source. YOu will be able to recognize the primary light source by searching for hard-edged cast shadows. A consistent background will make it easier to identify the outline of the animal.
