If you are lucky enough to be someone who likes to paint and a “Pet lover”, you are in luck.  Painting your pet is not only easy to do, it could be fun for the whole family.

Here are my tips, first keep yourself hydrated.  If you are like me you might want to “paint and sip”, in which case you should prepare yourself a tall and refreshing beverage.

I recommend you use a reference photo and do a preliminary sketch.   Next, consider your pet’s contours. For example, my “Boston Terrier” Sophie’s face is box shaped, whereas  my “Siamese”  Bentli’s face is triangular.  Observe where the top of the head meets the ears. In both cases, and more often than not,  the ears are triangular in shape.  Outline the contour of the body and pay close attention to where all the front and rear legs meet their body.

You want your sketch to be true to form, which is “very important” if you want to capture their personality.   Once you are happy with the overall composition you can add their face.  Start with the eyes, as their placement is super important.  Next add the nose.  Once again, you will find that most of the times that noses tend to be triangular with the bottom point leading to the mouth.  Add the mouth and chin, and don’t forget the whiskers.

“Work with one color at a time”,  for example, wherever there is white I apply white, do the same working from light to dark. This will save you from having to constantly rinse off your brush.  “It’s all about patience and layering.”  When you come to the end you will need your pointiest round brush to add the details like the sparkle in their eyes, the shiny spot on their nose and of course the whiskers.  When you think you are finished, it is time to “step back and access.”  Do you need to add texture?  One trick that I often use is a dry old brush with very little paint.  Remember, less is more.  Think contrast.  On black, white creates a sheen, on brown, raw umber creates softness.

Happy Painting!!