Paintings of wildlife can be broken down into a base coat of paint, stripes and then highlights and shadows, all of which can be painted in layers.
Acrylic paint is a water-based paint. This means that acrylic paint may be thinned with water, and that it dries at the speed of water--in other words, very quickly. Acrylic paint takes only a few minutes to dry. Painting wildlife with acrylic paint can be a challenge because of the drying time, or you can use the drying time to your advantage. The fast drying time of acrylic paint allows you to tackle your subjects in easily rendered layers. As each layer dries, another new layer is applied on top of the previous layer.
Instructions
1. Find a good photo to work from. The photograph must be clear, detailed and large.
2. Draw one or multiple practice studies of your subject on a scrap piece of paper.
3. Draw the outline of your subject on your canvas.
4. Mix the paint for the base coat your subject. The base coat should be the predominant color of your animal. Most wildlife will require use of a lot of earthy colors--browns, creams and whites. Thin this color with water and paint the base coat on the canvas within the outline that you drew. Allow the base coat to dry. Acrylic paint dries so quickly, this may take only a few minutes. Use a medium- sized paintbrush.
5. Mix the paint for any patterns on the animal like spots and stripes. Thin the paint with water and paint the pattern in the appropriate place over the base coat of paint. Use a smaller paintbrush. Allow the patterns to dry--this should only take a few minutes.
6. Mix the paint for highlights and shadows. Avoid using black paint for shadows--instead, use colors like brown, blue, red and green. Mix the paint for the highlights and shadows with the base paint and thin the paint with drops of water. Paint the highlights and shadows where necessary--use a separate brush for highlights and a separate brush for shadows.
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