Step By Step Acrylic Painting Lessons & Techniques

"Stanley"

By Leslie Pease
www.lesliepease.com

Step 5

Here, I am still blocking in the fur. I am working darker than the final coat will look, because this represents the bottom-most layer of the Stanley's fur and isn't effected by the lighting.

At this point, I am not trying to cover the entire canvas surface. Just portions, with thinned paint, reserving or adding white, when necessary to maintain a nice glow.

STEP SIX

This shows Stanley, after a few layers. Notice that the fur looks a bit softer and not as blotchy. That is accomplished after many thin layers are applied, and not a couple of thickly applied layers.

I decided to eliminate from the painting, the chain and tags. Normally, I included such things, but this time, I thought it distracted too much; compositionally, it competed with the bottom right corner.

Heres the final painting, after a few more layers and a bit more highlighting.

An advantage of the layer painting is the way the other layers shine through. By mixing the color on the canvas and painting in with thinned paint, you are preventing the colors from becoming muddy and allowing the glow from beneath to come through.

Here's a closeup, of Stanley. Notice how I didn't try to draw each and every hair. I just let the layers show through one and other, implying the furriness.

Thank you, for reading this article. I truly hope it was helpful and you can see how it is, I achieve the likeness of fur.

Please feel free to send me a private message, email me, or post comments on this article. I would love to hear from you.
-Leslie Anne Pease

Visit Leslie's Site: http://www.lesliepease.com

1 | 2 | 3