The Process of Tiger Eye: Final

Always good to remember that white fur is never solid white unless it is under direct lighting, even than some shading usually happens. Keep your strokes light and build it up slowly.

 During this point in the drawing I am going down into the white of the fur to bring out the shading along with the faint striping. This is a very tedious and light area. When dealing with white fur that has stripes, I put in a light layer of black to identify the black stripes. Over time, the black will thicken along with the rest of the animal. While doing this I go back to the top of the face for the oranges and browns to darken areas for more balance.

Even though the white area is shaded in lightly, I still go in with OMS to blend the colors together for a softer look. OMS is also a great way to darken colors up quicker without have to put on a lot of layers of color. Always use a light touch, and test the OMS with the colors first to see how they change.

 Skipping ahead a bit, you can see how much more work has gone into the white of the fur. The orange dips down further into in than most would think. This is way referring to your reference photo is so important. At this point the whiskers have also been pushed forward more. In some areas I have also thinned a few out and shade them close to the root a little, if you don’t, the whiskers look pasted on. At this point I am rounding the finish line, which is at times a scary place to be. This is when one tends to want to rush through the entire piece. Step away if need be, I did Several times during this process.

Tiger Eye; 11.5×9; colored pencil $160.00 *40% of the price goes to Safe Haven Rescue Zoo* www.taylorannfineart.com

 

To make the entire piece final I go through the dark areas around the entire face more and darken things slowly. I also take a piece of tape to lift out some of the lighter hairs and slight highlights. I go in with more blue areas around the eye and the white of the fur to bring in the blue background a little more with the tiger. Once I walk away for a little while, I call the piece done.

 

Here are the supplies I used for this piece! As you can see I have a variety of colored pencils. The brands are Prismacolors and Faber Castell Polychromos. Normally it is recommended to use a synthetic brush to blend the pencils with OMS, but since this piece was fairly small, Q-tips worked well for me. Just beware that the Q-tips soak of the colors quickly so if you need to blend another area, use a new Q-tip.

Thank you for tuning in! Next up will be an oil painting with a butterfly drawing to follow 🙂 I’m sure others will pop up too, maybe even in between those pieces as well. Be well everyone! Feel free to comment or email me about my art, inquiries, technique questions, or just to say hello! 

Visit Safe Haven Rescue Zoo’s website to find out more about their amazing life saving work. Donate what you can to help the residents, any amount is wonderful. Also visit my site as well for more Safe Haven pieces, 40% of the prices go directly to Safe Haven’s residents. Thank you for your support 🙂