I had fun splashing paint here and there but I couldn't get my black paint to be dark enough to make eyes and noses etc.  Maybe my brush was too big... maybe I never gained control of the brush.  In the end I used a fine liner and then got carried away adding more lines to define features in the foreground or background, fur,  etc.  I didn't get the hang of using gouache either but my dogs look happy.

I didn't have any models for cute critters so I ended up pulling out Eric Carle's children's book and based my critters on his pages...  John is my fat doxie...  

John again.

All my doggies look like they are in Doggie Daycare.

My critters page.