Pet portrait painting - Royal Talens
Pet portrait painting - Royal Talens

Painting a dog

From the wag of their tail to the sparkle in their eyes, dogs are more than just animals; they are cherished members of our families. So, what better way to honor the companionship and affection they give us than by creating a beautiful artwork of your pet?

What you need View steps

What you need

In this step-by-step plan, Karen, from Paper Den will give you all the tips you need to turn a picture of your dog into a masterpiece using gouache paint!

  • Talens Art Creation acrylic paper
  • Talens Art Creation gouache
  • A selection of round brushes (at least one quite large and one nice and fine for details)
  • Talens Art Creation Oval Mixing Dish
  • Talens Art Creation coloured pencils
  • A photo of your pet (print of the photo is optional)
  • Lead pencil to make under drawing
  • Water and a cloth to wipe your brush on 

Step 1

This portrait will be made on an A4 sized piece of paper. Mix a background colour and paint an oval shape in the middle of the page. Make sure the paint is not too thick by adding enough water. It is ok if this layer is a little transparent. Don’t worry if the edges are not perfect or the paint is a little streaky. This adds character to your illustration! Cobalt blue mixed with white was used in the example to create a light blue background. Wait until the background has dried completely before going on to the next step.  

Step 2

If you are not so confident with drawing freehand, you can use a print of your pet to make an under drawing. Take a print of your pet and on the back use a pencil to cover the back of the image with graphite. Turn the print over and position it on your page with masking tape. It may help to cut the paper down a bit. Using a pencil draw over the image pressing hard enough to create a pencil line on your background colour. If you do not have a printer just use a photo on your phone as inspiration and make a simple line drawing with pencil. 

Step 3

Now the fun really starts! Start painting your pet by filling in the line drawing you made with gouache. You made need to mix colours to suit the fur of your pet. Work from light to dark. Leave the eyes unpainted for now. Let it dry completely before moving on to the next step.

Step 4

Paint your favourite seasonal flowers as a border around your pet. The example was made in the spring, so the border has been decorated with tulips, daffodils and magnolia flowers. Paint leaves and branches first and once these are dry, add the flowers on top.  

Step 5

Finish the illustration off by adding shading and small details with coloured pencil. In the example the black part of the coat is made to look shiny by adding white pencil on top. Add details to the leaves and flowers in the border too.  

This blog is made by Paper Den. You can find Paper Den on Instagram and Facebook!

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