![]() This will vary depending on what angle your subject is positioned, but generally if you are doing a straight-on portrait the shape of a dog’s eye will look fairly round, with a gentle slope towards the duct.įor the whole process of painting an eye I will use round brushes of various sizes. The first thing to make sure you have right is the shape of the eye. No matter how good the rest of the painting is, if the eyes are not accurate it will always look ‘not quite right’. When painting a dog portrait I usually start with the eyes and will not move on until I am happy with them. They are what the viewer sees first and are responsible for conveying a sense of expression and character. It is frequently said that the eyes are the most important part of any portrait. For this reason, I usually start with titanium white and add small amounts of buff titanium and yellow ochre to the mix until I have mixed the ideal shade. Generally speaking, I only ever need to add a small amount of yellow ochre to the mix, as too much will give an overly saturated and artificial looking result. The ratio of each of paint can be varied and mixed according to the specific shade of colour that you are aiming for. Yellow/Cream dogs:įor dogs such as yellow Labradors and Golden Retrievers, I find that a mixture of yellow ochre, titanium white and buff titanium gives a good foundation for a base colour. ![]() Colours such as burnt sienna and even small amounts of red may also come in handy if there are some copper tones to the fur. My go-to paint colour for brown dogs is burnt umber, mixed with varying amount of carbon black and titanium white to achieve darker or lighter tones. In this painting blue-grey shadows were used within the white fur to create a sense of depth Brown/Chocolate dogs: For finer details such as loose strands of hair, that you would find on almost any breed, I would use a round detail brush or a sword liner depending on the scale of the painting. I would use a round brush for a species such as a labrador, where the short fur lengths means that more strokes are needed to render the texture of the fur. The rounded shape of the filbert brush means that you can paint curved strokes with a softer edge than you would achieve with a flat brush. I find that filbert brushes, for example, are perfect for painting species such as poodles, where the curly texture of the fur means that you are painting sections of hair rather than the individual strands. There are so many shapes of brushes to choose from when painting fur, such as round, angle and filbert, which I might use in different situations depending on the species of dog that I am painting. The answers to these questions will have a bearing on the selection of brushes that I use. What fur length does the subject have? And what about the texture? If you’d like any more help on how to choose a reference photo, we have more tips in our guide here. But if this is a paid project it is always best to be honest about what your expectations of the finished painting may be based on the quality of reference material. ![]() If the dog has sadly passed away, it might not be possible to have the perfect references, and in this case I try to work with what I have. In this respect the camera can lie, so make sure that the reference gives an accurate representation of the subject! One thing I often see is the camera being positioned too close to the dog’s face, making features such as the nose and muzzle area appear much larger than they would in reality. The angle of the photo is also important, some angles can be much more flattering to your subject than others! Whilst I do not feel that professional quality photos are necessary to produce a high quality painting, it does improve your chances of success if the images show good lighting and detail. How can I capture the dog’s distinctive features, such as the eyes and nose?īy thinking about these key points, you can put together a plan of action as to how to paint the best dog portrait you can! Are the reference photos suitable?. ![]() What length of coat does the subject have? And what texture?.Are the reference photos good enough to work from?.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |