Animal Oil Painting: Paint a Realistic Cat Step by Step

1. Introduction : Hello, and welcome to this course. I'm truly happy to have you here. Cats are wonderful subjects while developing your painting skills. Their soft th, expressive eyes, and elegant shapes make them both enjoyable to paint and full of valuable lessons. In this class, I will guide you step by step through the entire process from the first brushstrokes to the final details, showing you how to create realistic fur, convincing colors, and a lively expression. Let's get started right now. 2. Before getting started: This new tutorial, we will be painting one of the most loved animal cats, and we'll be doing that on a 40 by 40 centimeters canvas. This cat is an excellent subject for making some progress because we will be able to work on all the different the different nuances of grave, some dark ones, some lighter ones. So that will be great for working the fur. And also all the elements of the face are really visible, and we can work on all of them, the eyes, the muzzle, the whiskers, the ears. So that's really great. And for the materials, like I said, I will be working on a 40 by 40 centimeters canvas. You can work on something a little bigger or a little smaller. It's really up to you, and you can also do that on oil painting paper as well. As for the colors, I will use my traditional five color palette and my classic material, except for the swab brush that I didn't know at the time, and that will be very useful for painting the fur of this little cat. And finally, for the drawing, as usual, I will use the grid technique to make sure that I draw with the right proportions. Now, let's get started. 3. Organization of the painting: Let's see how to organize the painting of this cat. So for this cat, I'm going to start as I often do by painting the eyes. It's a habit I've developed over the years of practice, and then I will move on to the entire fur. This gray fur contains a lot of white, especially on the right where it's lighter. And that means that the drying time will be pretty long, and that's something to consider because when painting fur, all the areas of the head are more or less connected to one another. So it's best to paint the entire fur while the paint is still fresh, as it helps to create smoother transition between the different section. Of course, if your paint dries between session, for example, if you start a Monday and continue the following Monday, it will be still possible to achieve a consistent result, but that will be a little bit more difficult because that means you have to remix the exact same color. It's not impossible, but it's a little bit more difficult. So that's why I recommend trying to plan your session so that you can paint the fur all in one day, other two or three consecutive days. This way, will be working with wet paint on the canvas, which makes blending and connecting all the areas together much easier. Now it is time to 4. The drawing I've made before painting: So this is how my canvas looks before I start the painting. So I have drawn this cat with a pencil, a gray pencil like I always do. I have used a grid to draw accurately my cat. So the squares are always 2 centimeters because things to this size, it's big enough, so I can really distinguish the different squares and to be accurate enough. Sorry. And on this drawing, I have drawn the outlines of the cat, the different elements that seem important to me, like the eyes, the nose, the goat or goatee, sorry, I'm not sure of the word. And the main shadow areas and color areas of this cat. Also, you may notice that on my canvas, I have added some black by mixing some Alchmarn blue and burnt umber, and I created a lighter one. So that's it for the drawing. That's all I had to say. If you want to learn how to draw accurately, well, thanks, feel free to check the video I made to learn how to do this also properly. So now let's start the painting and the painting of the eyes. 5. Color mixing: So let's focus a little on these colors that we have on the cat. Of course, we won't be able to see each single color, but still we can see the main ones on the different areas. So we have quite a lot of grays, and let's start with seeing this. We have some that are very dark, like in the area under the left eye and some on the contrary that are very, very light and close to the white, very close, like in the area of the whiskers on the area above the nose. In between the two eyes. And in between, we have different grays, different value of gray. And this is important to work on this large amount of the gray color because this is what really helps us to create something realistic, to have a large palette of different values. And we also have some kind of a gray that tends to go a little bit towards the purple in the area of the here. So it seems a little unusual, but this is the color and also a little close to the orange in the area really near the eyes above and under. So these are the main color of the hair that we will be mixing. And we can also notice that we have a very large area of different colors, especially with the eye that we have many green, some very, very light, like, on the right eye and some much darker, especially on the top of this eye. And in between, we'll have different green. These green are actually pretty pale, not too intense, so that's why we will need some red color in our green. If we look at the eyes, we can also see that in the pupil, the pupil won't be totally black. There will be some adjustments, some areas, especially at the top, that will be with some gray, dark gray, but not black. So that will be something to take into account. And also, at the corner of this right eye, we can also see some brown color. So we will also be mixing this color. If we look, um at the nose, well, for the nose, these pink colours, they are pretty intense in general, so we will have to make it quite intense with some white and red. You will see that. And we'll also have some not too intense, especially in the shadow area. And finally, in the nostrils, we will have something very dark, not specially black, but maybe some very intense and dark red colors. So now let's start mixing these colors. So this is my five colors palette. And at first, I am mixing the very light gray of this cat. I will mix all the gray, but I start with the lightest one. So I am using a lot of white with, a little bit of burnt umber and Ultramarine Blue because I use these two colors to create my black. And so I lighten this black with a lot of white. Right now, I think that my gray isn't light enough even despite the great amount of white, and also it tends to go a little bit too much towards the blue. That's why I am adding more burnt umber to it. And we're going to mix some more gray. And well, as my gray gets darker, all I have to do is really to adjust the amount of burnt amber and ultramarine blue that I want in my mixture. So the more my gray will darken, the more the amount of these two color will increase. And so I mix my color, and I adjust the quantity that I want right here. I thought it was a little bit too dark, so I had it more white in it. And so the next one will be darker. And this is very important to create this great amount of gray, to have a great variety of values, some light, some dark because the work that you will be doing on the colors is something that will help you to have a very realistic results. So it's really important to take this time to create some great colors to create a great painting. And now we are creating some even darker gray. This will be especially very useful. Well, obviously for the dark areas, but it's near the left eye that we have an area that is very dark. So in this area, we will need a gray color that will be very close to the dark. Therefore, as we mix our colors, the proportion of white gets less and less important in our mixture. And here we are with our fifth gray. That begins to be quite a great variety, a great amount of gray to have something good. And this gray that I am mixing, I want them to be quite neutral. I don't want them to go too much towards the blue or the brown. Therefore, I am adding almost, yeah, the same quantity of burnt umber and ultramarine blue. And so with this last gray, we'll be good and we'll have all the necessary colors to paint the hair of this cat. Let's mix the greens of the eyes. So if you look at the eyes, like we said before, these green aren't very, very intense. So what I'm going to do is that at first, I'm going to mix some yellow and some blue and see how it goes and adjust if necessary. So I also had some white because the green aren't very dark in this area. And what I realized instantly is that it's way too blue. So I'm going to take a little bit of it and had some yellow to go more towards the green. The reason why I didn't create a green with this blue right there is because I would have needed way too much yellow to get something green, and I would have wasted some painting. Now I think that my color is too green, therefore I had the opposite color, which is the red. I have added way too red, and so it's not green anymore, but it's okay. What I'm going to do is add a little bit of burnt amber, and therefore, instead of being green, I will use this kind of brown green color to paint the corner of the eye. That will be very useful for this area. And what I also do is I create a lighter version of this color with some white. On the right eye, we can see that we have an area that is very, very light. So I am using a lot of white to have a very light color, some yellow, but more yellow in proportion than the blue, just a little blue and also a little bit of red to make my color less intense, more pale, and to make it more pale, I need some opposite color, which is the red. I add a little bit more blue because I thought that my color was a little bit too yellow and not green enough. Therefore, the blue will help me to have something more green. What I can also do is create a darker version of this color with a little bit of burnt amber for some areas of the eye, that might be useful as well. I'm going to create more blue green colors. So even though I want a blue green, I will use still a little bit more of yellow than blue because like I said, the blue is very powerful. And if I put the same amount of blue and yellow, my color will be way too blue. And we saw this way before. I'm also adding some white to lighten it and some red to lower the intensity, and then I'll see how it goes and adjust if necessary. This color is pretty good, even though that wasn't the real kind of color that I wanted with this mixture. So I'm going to keep it for an area under the left pupil. I think it will be useful in this area. And since I don't want a lot of this color, I'm going to take some of it to get something more blue like I initially wanted. So here it's getting better, but this time, it's too blue, so I'm going to add more yellow in it and also a little bit of red to lower lit the intensity of this color. I'm going to create a new one darker with more blue and yellow, and just these two color will help me to create something darker because it will lower the intensity of well, the lower the proportion, sorry, of the white in my mixture. Once again, a great color, but a little too blue, so I am adding some orange to it like I did before because also the orange is the opposite color of the blue, therefore, it lowers the intensity of the blue and makes my color less blue. On the right eye, we can see that in the corner, there is some kind of orange color. Therefore, this is the one that I am mixing. So I'm using red, yellow, and white to create my color. Also, on my brush, it's not perfectly clean. I have a little bit of green due to the mixtures I have just created before. And so when you think of green, you think of yellow and blue. So the blue is the opposite color of this orange color that I am mixing. Therefore, this little amount of blue will help me to lower intensity of this orange, which is actually pretty great because in this area, the orange isn't very intense, and I'm also creating a lighter version of this color. I'm going to take a little bit of this orange color, had some burnt umber to it, and also some white yellow and red to create this brown color that we can notice above the eye, we can see that there is this brown color. And so that's the one that I have created. The burnt umber has really helped me to have something more neutral with my color. The painting of this cat is going to be pretty small. Therefore, I won't need a lot of painting on my palette, a great big quantity of painting for each color. And also, it will be pretty quick to realize in one day it will be done. Therefore, I am mixing all my colors right now because I think that it's best for me. I really like when all my colors are ready, and so I can focus more deeply on what's on my canvas and what I have to paint. And right now I am creating another brown color for different areas of this painting, like in the ear, it will be useful. And this time, it's darker. Therefore, the amount of white is decreased, and on the contrary, the one of the burnt umber is increased. I am creating now the colors of the nose, and, well, this nose has some quite intense pink color like candy pink. So I am mixing just some white with some red and see how it's going. Like, right now, I think it's great, but still a bit too light. So I am adding more red in it, and I will create another pink like this one, but this time a little bit darker, so adding more red in it. I am creating a darker version of this color. So for this purpose, I am using a little bit of this first color that we mix because the area is so small that I won't need a lot of this color, so I don't want to waste it. Now I see two things. First, my color is too intense, so I am adding the opposite color of this red colour the red color, which is the green, so some yellow plus blue. And also it's too dark, so I am adding some white to my color. Under the nostril, we can see that there is some kind of red purple color. So I am adding more blue to my color and more burnt umber. And so I will have some color that seems pretty great for this shadow area. I think now that my color tends to go too much towards the purple, the blue, purple, so I am adding more red to it because, well, in general, this area tends to go more towards the red, the pink. So yes, it was short of red, and I needed to add some. And I'm creating one last color just above the nose, we can see that there is this kind of pale pink. So I am taking a little bit of my light pink color and adding the opposite color, and I'm going to adjust with it until I am satisfied and I have something pink that is not too intense and pretty pale. No. 6. Painting of the eye: So let's start this painting, and I start this painting with the painting of the eyes. And well, at first, we'll paint the pupil of this cat with the black color that I had just mixed before, beware that this pupil won't be with the same value of black. You will notice that on the upper part of the pupil, if you take really close look at your reference photograph, you can notice that it tends to go a little bit towards the gray and it's not as black as the rest of it. So that's why it will be important to adjust the value of it. Also, I will be painting the two eyes at the same time. The reason for that is just that I wanted to do such thing and wanted to share with you that this is totally something that you can do, especially since the colors of these different eyes are really similar. They are almost the same, with just a little different sometimes, but it's really the same, so that's totally possible. And on the over eye, we have the same thing. We also have a pupil that has not the same value on the entire area. So we also have to adjust the color at the top of the pupil. Also, with this animal, its particularity is that we have a pupil that is not a circle. It has a different shape, but it actually doesn't change much the difficulty of the painting. So it's just that we know that we have to do this little differently. All around the pupil, now I'm going to paint the green colors, and I start with this pretty dark green color that we have really next to the pupil. And so I'm going to apply my color and try not to touch the work that I have done with the pupil before. And this color that we have just used, we can also apply it on the overside of the pupil. It seems to be a great basis, even though, of course, we will have some other details with some different colors, but as a basis, I think it is a great one. What I can also do is to mix this color with a darker one to create a different value of this green to paint just right above the pupil. And I'm going to switch with different green, more brown green colors that we will see in the corner of the eye. So these phases, this moment is really important. The moment of identifying the main colors in the different small areas of the eye to make sure that you have a strong basis before starting to add details. And here I am adapting just a little bit my color to make sure I have a slightly lighter value in the area that I'm about to paint. I'm also going to slightly adjust my color and darken it a little bit for the upper part because we can notice that it tends to darken and to blend with them, yes, the black area. So that's why I am applying this color right here. Of course, we'll had some darker details afterwards, but at the moment, it's pretty good. In the area between these two areas that I have painted, we'll also notice this kind of pale green. So that's the one that I am about to apply. And just under this area, I'm going to apply a different green, a lighter one, a lighter version of this one. And you may notice that I am using a very thin brush, and it's very important because well, these areas that we are painting are very small and the eye will really have a great impact on your painting. And so that's why you really need to take your time and to be very accurate. And I am thanks to this brush. And under the pupil, we will also have something very, very light. So I'm going to change to something even lighter than what I applied. And we'll also have something that will be kind of yellow green. So that's the color that I will also be using and applying in this area. And step by step, we can see that our eye is really getting good. We are on the way great way. And well, I am applying also this light color next to the colors that we apply the pretty dark color that is near the pupil. And this dark color, I also think that I can apply it at the corner of the eye. It stands out a little bit, so that's why we need something a little bit darker right here as well. So right here, I am also using, well, these slightly dark green colors. And then underneath under this area, I will paint with something very, very light. And you can notice that in this area, there are some little individual hair that I will be painting afterwards because I want them to be over this light area. So at first, I have to paint this very light area. Now I'm going to paint over above the pupil. And well, above the pupil, we can notice it is some kind of a gray. So at first, I'm going to use this very light gray. It was meant for the painting of the hair, but it turns out that it is the right color. So don't hesitate to use a color that seems the right one, even though it was meant for another area. And then, well, you can notice I have adjusted my color to use something a little bit darker. And I'm using, again, a lighter gray for this tiny area. So it is really small area. And especially there will be the individual hair over it. So you might think, well, this is quite insignificant to paint this tiny area with different colors, but it's really the combination of all these small details that makes something very realistic, especially with an area like the eye that is very, very important. If you want to make cat or any living human being or animal. Well, the eye is really, really fundamental. So it's really the area where you must spend this extra time to have something very realistic. Before going into extra detail with this eye, what I can do is to paint the area that is black all around the eye. This will be very useful to compare the value of our color and make sure that we have the right one. And it's also an extra element that we are painting, and that will tell us if we are going in the right direction or not. So And thanks to this, the eye is also really standing out right now, so that's pretty cool. Even though there aren't any details in our eye, we can definitely tell that we are in the right direction, and this eye is really becoming realistic. And this is due to the right and great application of our colors. We have used the right one. We have made a great work with the different values, and all of this really helps to have a great basis and to have something that is already realistic. Going to try to blend these colors together, the black one and the colors of the eye. So for this purples, I'm still using this very thin brush, and I have removed the painting that was on my brush, and I'm going to apply some very gentle brush strokes to blend slightly these two areas together. And I'm going to work now on the second eye. And well, I will do the same thing, applying my colors in the best way possible. So I am using this green color that is a little bit dark, and I'm going to paint next to the pupil in the same manner I did before. And on the right side of this second pupil, well, we can notice it is slightly lighter, lighter, sorry. So I have adjusted a little bit my color for this. In this area, in this eye, there will be also quite a lot of light colors that will apply afterwards. Well, the eye, I have to say, these two eyes, they are a little bit particular because they are really wide open, so it changed the way we have to apply the different areas of colors. So that's why I think it is really important to adapt what you do to the eye that you are painting because every eye is kind of different with the colors, where the colors are, the details, et cetera. That's why I don't think there is one way of painting an eye. But really, you have to adapt to every eye that you are going to see in every time thinking, Okay, so how am I going to do this with this eye? What is the best way to do? The first colors I have to apply, et cetera, to ask yourself many questions to know exactly how to deal with this eye. And I I have mixed these colors together. You may know this on my palette, so I have an intermediate color that I can apply just right here. And finally, under this area that we have just painted, we're going to have something even lighter. So I have adjusted my color once again. And really, the aim with the second eye at the moment is the right application of my color to start building something realistic in the same manner that we did with the first eye. And on the other side of the pupil, there is something even lighter. So that's why you can see that I have adjusted the color on my brush. In this area, we can see that with the same color, we have a pretty thick line. And so that's what I am painting because on both sides of this line, we have something very, very light, and I want to paint it afterwards because at the moment I have this color that is on my brush, and so I want to stay focused with this one and paint the different areas where I see these colors. I try to be efficient. I'm taking a little bit of this orange color to paint the side of the eye. That may look a little bit weird, but if you look in details, where are these colors are here, so that's why we have to apply them. I'm going to lighten a little bit this color, yes, with this color. To paint in this lower area, we can see a little change of value. And as I apply my color, I also try to blend it a little bit with the different colors of the eye. And now I am creating a color darker value of this orange color. To paint the upper part of the eye, we can see that the color changes a little bit and tends to be a little bit darker. So that's why I have also this color on my palette. As I was mixing this color, I realized that I made a big mistake. Well, this orange area that I have painted is not at the right place in this where I have painted with the orange color, there will be the very dark color of the eye. So I have to modify and change this because the orange area is nearer the pupil, so I have to change this. But where I'm lucky is that I have to paint over a light color with a dark color, so it will be easier to fix it this way. I probably will have to paint several times over my color to make sure that I have the right color and the right value in this area. But I'm going to fix it, take my time to make sure my mistake is fixed. So I can definitely do it right now. And if necessary, I can also wait that my painting is dried to change a little bit what is wrong. So that's what is really great with oil painting, I think, is that you can definitely correct your mistakes as many times as necessary when your painting is not dry or when it's dry, you can definitely correct it. So that's what I think is great with oil painting. And that's something that you don't have with all medium, for instance, with watercolor, you definitely can't do that. My painting is a little bit too thick at the moment. I may have used a little bit too much, so I'm removing the painting on my brush, and with some small brush strokes, I'm going to well, it will remove a little bit of the painting, the extra painting in this area. So it's almost back to normal. It seems to be pretty great now. I have to fix a little bit the green area on the side that is a little bit too big, so I am painting over it with something lighter, some lighter gray. And we'll also be doing this in the orange area in the upper part. Oh. I am remixing a little bit my black color by adding some ultramarine blue and burnt and it will darken a little bit more this black color because I'm going to paint over and over this black area that is at the top of the eye. I think it isn't dark enough, so that's why I'm going to paint maybe several times over it. We will see afterwards that this area won't be made of only pure black and there will be some details that will be lighter in the area, but at first with this black color, I can tell that I have a good and strong basis in this area. Oh I think we are almost good with this area. I just have to paint a little bit more on the area on the left of the pupil. I think it needs to be darken a little bit. And then, well, we'll be good to paint the details in this area. And for this purpose, I will need an extra brush, some brush that will be even thinner than the one that I am using right now. Last thing I can do is with some pure white, paint the very, very light areas that we can see in this eye, and then we'll be good and ready to start the painting of the details. 7. Finishing the painting of the eye: Start painting those details, and I start with a new brush. So that's my rigor brush. It's a very thin and long one, the best one for the details. And so I start with the painting of this kind of hair that we can see in the eye for the simple reason that they are easily easy to identify, and I wanted to start with this. So I decided to start. The most important thing is to begin, so begin and you will succeed. So I start with those details at the moment. I am also working a little bit with this black colored pupil because, well, even though there will be some lighter areas in this pupil, I think it wasn't dark enough, so I am adjusting it a little bit with this fin brush. And I also work with the lower area to make it a little bit more sharp. The tip of the pupil needed to be adjusted a little. I am modifying a little bit my green color to make it darker, so I'm adding some more green to it to lower the proportion of the white in it and some black to darken it. And with this color, I'm going to paint a little bit near the pupil to add some very thin details that are a little bit darker, and so they will be noticeable. I am also painting with this color on the side of the eye because I don't want something to be plain. I want a lot of detail, some texture to be created. And I will also use this green color to paint on the right side of the pupil. In this area, also, we are adding these micro details, all these small things that will help to create some texture. And with this fin brush, I can also work in this area. You can notice that I am applying some very small brush strokes to create more texture, more irregularities in the area. And with something even lighter, I can create a great contrast, some details that will be very noticeable in this area as well. And I also work the area right next to it, the lighter one, and in these light areas, I will have some dark details to also create more texture in this area. And one brush stroke at a time, we are creating something very good. And in this area on the left and under the pupil, that is very, very light. I will also add some darker values, but, of course, be careful because the darker values in this area won't be the same one that in the area on the right, that is actually very dark. In these very light areas, well, my dark details won't be as dark as the one on the right. That seems pretty obvious. And all these details that we are adding to this eye are enough to have something very, very realistic. We have added some details, but not so many, actually, because the canvas is actually pretty small, it's 30 centimeters by 30 centimeters. And so we don't have to add as many details as if we had painted on a bigger canvas on a very big canvas like 100 meter, 100 centimeters by 100. Well, we would have had it would have been necessary to a much more details than that. Now you can see that I have used a lighter gray because this area is a little bit too dark, so I have to adjust it a little bit. We also have to work in this gray area on the right because it won't be plain. We have to had some texture as well in it. And what I will also be doing is painting the edge of this very light area with something darker because we can see that it stands out a little bit thanks to these dark details that we are going to add. And the last detail that I can add is on the side of this eye that is a little bit darker and so I can paint it. But satisfied with the first eye, so I'm going to leave it that way. I think it is pretty good now, and I will start with the second eye. And on the second eye, well, I start with the side once again. I think that there is this kind of little intense green color that we have right here and that I can apply. So that's why I am painting it right now. And well, I think I have painted a little bit too much with this green, and there is some green on the pupil, so I have to readjust it, make sure that it has the right shape, so I'm repainting it with some black at the moment. On the left area, I can also work with this color, adding some fin line, some dots, et cetera, to create the texture right here. And the reason why I started with this area of details is just that I saw these details. This area, it seemed obvious, those details. So I was like, Okay, I saw them, and then I have to start with this you would like. It was like instinct, and I do this a lot of time. I see something, and then I'm like, Okay, so I see this. It's pretty obvious, so I have to start and paint this. I am loading my brush with something very, very light, close to the white color, and I'm going to work in this area as well with this color, adding some extra detail and the combination of this very light detail, the darker one that we had it before and the basis that is quite intermediate. All of these creates something very good in this area. And I can work now on the otherside of the pupil because I am satisfied with the left one. So I am adding some details with a darker color in this area as well, and I'm going to work in the same manner that I did with the left side. I am taking a little bit of my brown color because on the corner of the eye in the area that is brown, I think it isn't dark enough, so I am readjusting it. And this moment with the detailed moment, I think it is also really good to check your colors and make sure that you have applied the right one so you can correct and fix it if necessary. And in this very light area, I am adding some patterns, some some dark patterns to create the details, the texture that we have right here. And yes, that's pretty it. With somethin lines, I am creating this. This eye is becoming really satisfying, an extra detail, and that will be good. For instance, in this area, I can have some pure white with the tip of my brush for this area to stand out really well. I think it wasn't light enough, so I apply it with the tip of my brush because I don't want my colour to mix with the one that is underneath. And so, yes, I really try to apply it and make sure they don't mix together. Just with this one that I have applied right now, I'm going to slightly mix it and blend it with the colors all around too, yes, to make it feel a little bit more natural because it's not as light as the one that is on the lower area right next to the pupil. So that's why this one I blended it a little bit with the colors around. One last white line that I have to apply in the same manner that I did. I do it a little bit more on the right, right here. And then one last detail that I have to add on the left of this pupil, I think it isn't dark enough. So I'm going to make some yellow with some black to have a very dark green that I can apply just right here. And then that will be good. 8. Painting of the fur: Now we are about to paint the air. And so to start, I use a medium size brush, not too thin, and I'm taking a little bit of this orange brown color. And we are going to paint all around the eye with this color and to make sure that we don't touch, well, this black area with all brush. I have to stop painting this area because there's something I have just noticed on the black area of this eye, well, I think there is some details that I have forgotten to add these details all brown, so I have to add them right now, and it's always good to have some kind of a double check, even when you are in different areas, always trying to control if you haven't forgotten anything. And so back to the air now, and I use, again, this kind of orange color to paint under the eye, there is this color as well, and I make sure that no painting goes into the eye because I work so hard on it and I don't want to waste all my efforts. Under the eye, there will also be a line, a gray line that we will have to paint. I don't paint it right now because this line is so thin that I will have to paint it afterwards with my rigor brush. And also, this line is actually a little darker than the one that the color that we have applied just right now. So I think it won't be too difficult to paint it afterwards to paint over this color. I am mixing my color with the gray one to create an intermediate color and also adding a little bit more burnt umber to it to make it more brown, more neutral. And I will paint this area with this color. I'm thinking, Well, I have this color on my brush, so why not paint the different areas all around the eye where there is this color. So this way, I am being a little bit more efficient with my painting. And so I will paint all around the eye because on the right of this eye, you can notice that it is also this group of color, except that our color has to be lightened a little bit, so that's why I will add some white to it to lighten it. And I'm going to switch now to a different gray, a more normal gray, if I could say, to paint this small area that we have above the eye. I am making my gray a little bit more brown just a little. And I'm going to paint also the area of the hair. So yes, I'm going to focus on all this area around the eye, the ear, et cetera. And well, this area, I think there is this gray, so that's why I'm applying it. And so in the air now, I am painting some kind of thick lines that we can notice. And between each one of them, we will have something lighter that I am applying at the moment. And in this area of the hair, it seemed a little bit, like in the blur and so uh, we won't have much detail, since when it's in the blur, all the details, we don't see them much. So, so that's what I wanted to tell you. I am now working on the darker gray areas that we have right here, and I forgot to mention, but what we are doing right now is that we are not painting the air. What we are doing is creating a really good basis with the right color and the right values of these colors. The dark gray must be at where they should be, white, the light gray also. And it's only when we will have these great basis, the great color that we will start to have something realistic. Then we will be able to make it even more realistic and work on the texture of this cat and to work on the different individual hair that we will see in the areas. But right now this step, I think is really fundamental and we have to take your time to have the right colors at the right place. This gray color, I will also find it under the eye. And one thing I also have to mention is when I apply my color like this, I really try to spread and stretch my color to use as much as I can of this color for two reasons. First of all, it saves on painting. And also, well, when I will blend my colors, it will be much more easier to blend them together if I have spread and stretch my color as much as I could. Then the blending will be better once if I have done this before. Also, this gray, we can find it on the area of the here on the edges. I am applying this color, but I will also have to work on the different values that I will see in the area. There will be some darker and lighter one, but I will apply it with a thinner brush to readjust it. Now, I am really trying to apply the basis color, the main color that I can see in these areas. Just one last area with this dark gray, and then that will be good with this one. Also, now I'm going to mix this color with the lighter one that I used before to have something intermediate that I will be able to use to paint between those dark areas. And well, so I can apply it right here, but I won't be applying only this intermediate color. I will have to adjust it because it won't be the same in all the different areas. That's something that you will learn with experience. You eye will become more and more trained to see the little difference of values and of colors in the areas. And these little changes, they will help you to have something more realistic. Like right here, for instance, it's not the same intermediate gray. I had to lighten it a little bit to paint it in this area. And already, all these elements that we have painted around the eyes, they really help, I think, to recognize the face of the cat, and I think that we are on the right path at the moment. And right here in this area, I think I have to adjust a little bit more my color and goes with something a little bit lighter. Also, you may notice that when I paint these areas I really don't mind. I really don't think about the direction of the individual hair that there will be afterwards. Now, what I really focus on at the moment is the color, having gray, the best areas of colors possible, and that's it. Right here, in the middle, I have some intermediate color, gray that is between the very light gray that I had applied before, and on the edge, some gray that is much darker. So really, that's a transition between these two colors right here. And all around the air, we can finish the work right there with some kind of orange gray a little bit. That's weird color that we have right there, and we can apply it. As we go down on the air, we can see that the color tends to darken a little bit. And finally, at the corner of this air, I will use this kind of brown orange color that you saw me mixing right here, oil, taking on my palette, and I can paint it there. Now I'm good with the application of my colors, and I'm going to start to blend these colors, this gray together. The aim when I blend my colors is to well, to blend these colors, to have some transition between them to yes, so they be one part there, so they will be all together. And also to have a smooth surface of painting so I can detail well afterwards. So how do I blend? Well, I have this brush, and I'm going to apply some small brush trucks here and there to blend all these colors together. And here and then I'm going to remove all that painting that accumulates on my brush so I can blend well after. And I remove this painting on a tissue or on a cloth. Well, I do it on my own cloth so I can not waste some time. And yes, when I blend, also the aim is that my areas remain where they were. That is to say, when I have painted these dark areas, and when I blend them, I still want to be able to recognize where are the dark areas, where are the light ones. And so that's why I apply just some small brush strokes so I can blend and make sure that my areas stay where they should stay. And now our cat is really starting to become alive. It's becoming very realistic because we have created some depth with these different colors and value. What it is lacking is the details and the texture, and that's what we are going to create afterwards. 9. Finishing the fur: This is my final blending. I have finished it. I have done this several minutes afterwards, doing the same thing to have my areas well blended. And now we are going to work a little bit more in details, but we are not going to work on the single hair that we can see. Now, what we are going to do is that we are going to create more areas just like we did before. But this time we thinner brush that will help us to paint smaller areas, smaller darker areas, smaller lighter ones. And so that's what I'm focusing on at the moment to create these different areas. For instance, all along the hair, I can see that there is this a little bit darker area, and so I am painting it. And as I am painting it, I am also trying to blend it a little bit instantly. That is to say, I apply my color, and as I have applied it, I try to blend it a little bit with the colors that are underneath. And I blend them when I think about it because sometimes I completely forget to do it. And so I do it at the end. Right here, I apply a little bit of this brown orange color. And the problem is that when I blended my colors before, when I blend my color, the darker value, they tend to lighten a little bit because they blend with the lighter colors that are all around. And so now what I am doing when I am applying these small areas, what I actually do as well is that I give my colors their initial value. The one that they had before, I blended them before. Well, after, sorry. I am going to work a little bit more on the air. And this air, like I said before, well, it is a little bit blurred, and so since it's blurred, I won't have to add too much detail. So what I'm doing right now, painting the small areas with this fin brush would probably be enough with this air. I probably won't have to use my rigor to add some very thin details. Just what I'm doing right now, painting some small areas that are actually some group of hair in this cat will probably be enough. I'll see afterwards, once it's finished if it's necessary. But I think just doing this will be enough to have a good ear. I am adding a little bit more of this brown orange color on the side of the ear right here. And as I am applying it, I am also trying to blend it slightly with the gray color that is next to it. And with my hair, I think I am almost done. I'm going to add a little bit more line and extra details that I think are worth adding like right here, a little bit of an extra dark gray. And in the middle, also, I think, more very light group of hair are needed. So I'm going to apply directly some pure white and just here and there a little bit more extra darker hair, and that will be good with the painting of the hair. What I can also do now is work a little bit more on the lower area under the eye. I think the color aren't dark enough, so I'm going to add a little extra dark gray in this area. We work the area having some small group of hair a little bit. And I think that once this will be done, we will be able to work a little bit more on the very thin hair. I almost forgot I also have to paint this very small area just right next to the eye so I am adding it right now. And now I can start to apply my very thin hair, the very thin details. So I'm going to use my rigor brush to apply it to be as accurate as possible. And I start with the dark gray because my brush is already a little bit dirty, so I don't have to clean it now since I am using a dark gray, I will only have to clean it once afterwards. So I apply this very thin detail and I try to apply them with the tip of my brush. Therefore, it doesn't mix, it doesn't blend too much with the colors underneath. And so on my canvas, there will be the color that I have picked on my palette and not a lighter value of this color that has blended with the color underneath. Under the eye, there is also some dark hair that I am applying. These hair are really short. So make sure that you are applying a lot of small brush strokes and so that they are pretty short. And also pay attention to the direction of the hair. It is very important to apply the same direction to create the movement of the hair on the face of this cat. And finally, another advice, reload your brush a lot with your painting because as you apply your brush strokes, obviously there is a little bit of the colors that is underneath that will accumulate on your brush, and so your color won't be exactly the same. So that's why it is important to reload your color. Uh, reload your color often on your brush, obviously. Under the eye, I can also apply this very small individual hair that we have. I'm still using this quite dark gray color. Like I said before, I really try to well, it helps me to maximize the way I paint to save some time. And doing this all year with every step of your painting with each painting, at the end of the year, you will have saved a lot of time, and therefore you can paint much more paintings. And so, yeah, I think it is great to maximize your time by doing so, like I said, I'm applying all these gray dark details. They're all at the corner left of this eye. Also on the right of this eye, there are some gray hair that I am applying right now. There will be also some brown ones, but I will paint them afterwards. And so, yes, we're progressing and this texture of the cat is getting more and more realistic. Now I am done with the dark details, and I am going to work with some lighter gray. So the gray that I am using is, yes, intermediate gray, not too dark, not too light. Like, I am applying it in this area. Well, this area was a little bit light, and so the difference of value is noticeable, and that's perfect to create some more texture in this area. Also one great point about this brush, the rigor one, is that it can hold a lot of painting. Therefore, I can apply a lot of brush strokes for the individual hair. And so that's also a very good point for this brush, because, well, of course, it's really great for heading details, but its ergonomy makes it also very good to use. So that's good with this color, this value of gray. And now we're going to work with something a little lighter with the area all around the eye. So at first above the eye and then underneath under the eye, we will also have this color, this individual hair that we can have in this area. I am done with this color, and I can now use a very light one to apply in the area. And this very light color, well, it will help to create some contrast and also some depth because it's really the combination of all these individual hair and the different values of them, the very dark gray, the very light one, the intermediate one. The combination of all of them will help create some depth and make this hair this cat looks really alive, almost like it is in three dimensions, and that is going out of the canvas. I am exaggerating, of course, but you know the idea. You know what I mean? We really are creating these three dimensions things with this combination of different values of gray. And finally, what is left for me is to add a little extra dark details in the area under the eye end of the hair, and that will be good with this area, this global area. 10. Painting of the nose: Let's start painting this big area of the nose. Well, all this area of hair and the nose of the cat. And for this purpose, I have mixed a very, very light color on my palette with a lot of white, and I'm using a flat brush because it's really good to cover a large area, and I will be accurate enough with this one to paint this large area. You may have noticed that on my canvas in this area, there were a little bit of some little spots of dirty painting of gray painting. Also, there are the lines of my grid, all of this, it's no big deal at all, because with the white painting, well, it will disappear completely. It won't be noticeable at all. With this color. Also, I am painting with my color, and I really try to spread it to stretch my color as best as I can. And also, I am painting this entire area with this color. It's a great color. It will be a great basis, and I will totally be able to work a little bit more with some extra darker color over it and to add more details, smaller, more small areas with a fin brush later on. On this left side, right here, you're going to see that I will apply a darker gray because it's really this change of value that will help to create some volume and make us think that this area is a little bit lifted, a little bit more up. I hope this is clear. I don't know exactly how to say it in English, but yes, we are creating the volume thanks to this change of value right here. I am now using this kind of orange gray color to paint above the nose of this cat, the real nose, not the area of the nose. Sorry, I don't know much the anatomy of the cat, especially in English, so I try to make sure that you understand me. But this area, I just paint these two big spots with this orange gray color. Because most of the area is actually a very, very light area with some gray white color. But afterwards, once we will have finished this step, we will add more details that will be painted with this orange color. This orange kind of color is not big. It's just a few spots very small here and there. So that's why I didn't paint much with this color. I have also added this darker line with the gray that help us to create some volume. And now I can also paint this area at the top of the head with some darker gray. I paint it right now because I want also to work on the transition between this area that I am painting and the lighter one under that I painted before. The transition has to when I will work on the transition, I have noticed that there are some hair that are on both areas, so that's why it is important to paint those two areas beforehand. Also, right here, I have painted the area all around the eye, and I have switched my brush because I really want to be accurate and not waste all the hard work that I put on when I painted this eye. So your thinner brush was more appropriate, I think. And finally, the last area that I am painting is the one just under the left eye because this area will also be important to create the volume of this nose to make it free dimensionals. So that's why I'm painting it as well. I can blend these colors together with some small movement, little movement of my brush because the area is pretty small and I don't want to well to paint on the eye or to make a mistake. So I do some small movements, and I will also correct a little bit the eye. I made a small mistakes before, so I want to correct it before moving further. Now I'm going to work on the next step. So with this finer brush, I'm going to work a little bit more accurately on the different areas. We worked on our areas with this flat brush. Now we are doing it with this finer brush, so we can work more accurately on these areas. We can work on the smaller ones, just like we did before with the right eye. We are doing exactly the same thing. So I start with the dark ones, and this gray that is, yes, actually pretty dark in this area. And just with this application, well, I think the area is already a little bit better. I also forgot to blend them instantly, like I said, I did sometime. I forgot, it's no big deal. I can definitely do it now, and that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to do it with a brush that is completely clean. That is also very good to do it this way because the blending is a little bit faster, but if you do this, that means that you have quite a lot of brushes. And if you are a beginner, well, it's a little investment. Brushes can be a little bit expensive. So yes, so that's a good solution, but it is expensive. So I am working with this brush on the transition between this gray area and a very light one under, and I will be also working on this area, this kind of line that we have right here that is darker, and it is a very important one because this one will help us to create some volume in the area to create the three dimensions that we have right here. I can also work on the area above the nose with the pink orange color, kind of salmon. So I can apply some small brush strokes, some kind of dots that we have right here just a little bit will be enough at first to create some texture and make it more realistic. We'll had more details afterwards. But for now, I think it is pretty great the way we've done it. And I'm adding also a few details near the eye with this brush. That is enough for these details. I don't need my very extra fine thin brush. I will use it afterwards for the details. I am working now with my very thin brush to work on the details, and I'm going to start with this area. The reason why I start with this area is because I was dying to do it. I was very excited to paint it because it is a key element, and I love to paint key element. What I mean by key element is that once it's done, it really changes, and this one, it changes the painting, and this one was really important because it really helps to create the volume. Right next to it, we also have this hair that are very important. Pay attention to the direction. It is in a circular line, and that is important to remake to work this direction of the hair. Like, right here, also, we have important directions to give to the hair because it goes in multiple directions in the left on the right. And we also want to create this confusion in the same manner that it is there is this confusion with the hair on the photograph. I'm also going to add some details in this very light area. We also have some individual hair that are a little bit darker, so that's important to add them. They are short, and there are a lot of them. So I am giving some multiple short brushstrokes. And also in this very, very light area, I can add some individual hair to create more texture and more of the hair and to make it better. And this area is starting to look very good. I am also adding a few individual hair right here at the right of the nose. These are very important as well because they are sort of closing the area of the nose to really make the distinction between this area of the nose and the one of the cheek, of the eye, et cetera. So that's why it's important not to forget this individual hair. I am adding more individual hair in the middle to create a better texture. What I have also realized is that the transition between this central area and the one on the right that we painted before, there is no real transition. I didn't blend these colors together, so that's what I'm doing. And once it is done, I will take the rigor again to add some individual hair that are on both area and in this manner, well, the transition between those two areas will be best and will look very natural. I have reloaded my brush with some darker gray to work more on this area that creates the volume. There are just a few individual hair that are darker, and so I am painting them. I am adding some extra detail in this upper area to work a little bit more on the transition between the very light area and the darker gray one that is above. And now, while I'm really in this kind of detailed hunt, that is to say, I look at my reference photograph and I'm going to check and compare what I have done on my painting and what is on my reference photograph, and I will try to see and look if there are some details that are missing, if some areas should have more details, if some area are maybe too dark or too light, need some extra fin light hair. Et cetera. And this way, I'm going to try to improve and I will do this until I am satisfied with my area until I think that it is perfect and needs no more details. So like right here, I thought it wasn't dark enough, so I had it a little bit of extra dark gray in this area. Above this gray dark hair, there are also some details that I think I can have. If I look at my reference photograph, I can see that this individual's hair that I need to add are very small. It looks like it is some kind of a dot. So that's what I'm doing. With the tip of my brush, I am adding this small dot to improve the area. I have noticed that in this area that I have worked on, well, there aren't enough white hair, very light ones that will help to create some depth and volume, just like we did in the area of the right eye. So I am working on this. You may notice also that in this area, there are some long and white hair. I don't paint them right now for two reasons. First of all, this hair goes on the background, so I have to paint the background first. And also this hair is very thin and very long, and to make sure that I paint it in the best manner, I think it is best to paint it once everything is dry with a special medium that I will share with you later on. So I will paint it well afterwards. What I can paint and work on is also the corner of the eye. I think I can add an extra some extra detail on it. I don't work more much around the eye because, well, most of the area around the eye isn't painted, so I will detail and work more on it once I will have painted it. And in the corner of this eye, we can also notice a few brown hairs, so sorry, mix of French and English. So this individual brown hair, I can add them right now. I can also work on the area above the nose. So I'm mixing a little bit of this color with the gray, and I'm going to apply some small details here and there to work more on the texture and have something great, something realistic. So I don't need much, just a little bit. We'll do to have something great. So a few more extra details. It goes sometimes in multiple directions. Sometimes it is the direction of the gray white hair, so just an extra details, and then that will be good. We can now paint all around the second eyes on the entire area of the hair. So I start with mixing a new color, this kind of brown, orange, gray color, just like I did with the first eye. I'm going to paint all around with this color. Of course, there will be some small changes of color of values, et cetera, some details, but at first, once again, I am creating a good basis with this color. I am switching with different color, more traditional gray color. And I'm going to work on the light areas of this side of the face with the hair, with the area of the hair all around the eye. So I'm working now with this light gray, and I really try, of course, stretch my color to use as much as possible for better blending afterwards. And in this area, there won't be much light gray like the one that I am applying. This area is naturally pretty dark, so we will have to adjust it and to use the right colors to also have the right values to create something very good, very realistic. And now my color is a little bit more orange orange brown to paint this edge of the here, just like I did with the one on the other side. As you may have noticed, I have changed a little bit my gray. It is a little bit darker than the one I applied before. So I'm going to paint two small areas with this gray, and then I will move to another gray, much darker one this time to paint the rest of this area. I have changed my brush to something a little bit bigger, flat brush because the areas I have to paint are actually bigger, so you can see the one I'm using. And so I'm painting this area of the here. And well, while I was starting to paint, I realized that my color wasn't the right one because if you look deeper to the color of this here, you can see that well, it tends to go a little bit towards the purple, so that's why I had it a little of ultramarine blue and red. I don't know if it's about the color or the anatomy of this area, but the color is a little bit unusual, and we have to it as well, well, to make our area realistic. Now we are going to work with the dark gray in the area, so I am adjusting the color on my palette because I think it isn't dark enough and also not blue enough. So here we go, and let's start painting with this gray. And right now, I feel like my gray is too dark, and that's something that can happen. The color that you see on the palette may turns out you may see it differently once it's on your canvas, so I need a few adjustments. So now I have this color that seems to be better for this area. So I am applying with my flat brush because these areas like I have to paint are a little big. So I think this brush suit me pretty well for doing this. I can also paint in this area of the here between those white lines that I painted before. Also, I make sure I stretch very well my color because otherwise, well, it will be a little more complex if I don't do it. And well, I progress, I try to find the big areas with this color. Of course, we will have some smaller one group of color. We will adjust it with more accuracy afterwards. But at the moment, it's pretty good. So one less area I have to paint with this color, and then I will switch to something darker, something a little bit like the gray that I applied before. And well, still with this flat brush, I'm going to paint these dark areas. And these dark areas, I can use them as a landmark. And what I mean by that is that this area, these very dark areas, I think they are pretty easy to identify. And so once I have painted them because I have located them, I know exactly where to paint them since they are quite easy to identify. Well, then thanks to this, the painting of all the elements around is easier to me because I have these landmarks and I can tell, okay, right next to these very dark areas, I know that there is this element, this color that I have to apply. And therefore, it's become much easier to know exactly where to apply one color when you compare to the colors that are all around. Now that I have painted these very dark areas, I can paint the gray colors that are between and that are a little bit lighter. And that's what I meant with the landmarks. Now that I have painted these very dark areas, it becomes easier for me to paint this gray right now. So that's what I meant when I talked about landmarks with these dark areas. And now I can move to the second step of my process, that is to say the blending between the colors. So I am still using this flat brush because it will help me to blend these large areas. It's really good for blending the flat brush, but there is a lot of painting that accumulates on your brush. So don't forget to remove all these painting that you are collecting while you are blending, and you will remove quite a lot of painting, actually, when I do this, when I blend my colors, there is a lot of painting that I have to remove on a tissue. Every time now and then. And well, of course, it is some wasted painting, but it's okay. It is helping you to do this, to make sure that you have a very strong basis, well, to create the texture, to add the details afterwards. So this step is really fundamental. So take your time and make sure that you blend the areas together and that you have a great basis. And so this I'll do it on the entire area, and we'll see each other right after. 11. Painting the left area: So now we can move to the second step of the process. Now with this finer brush, I'm going to work on my areas once again but this time more accurately. So one could think, well, why wouldn't you do the entire area with just this fin brush? That could totally be doable, but I think it will be much more longer to do it that way. And I really like to do it. So in two step, first I do it with a big brush, then we go further into details with these areas with this finer brush, and I like to do it this way. So I have just done this for years. But if you feel like you would like to try to do the entire area with a finer brush, well, feel free to do it. Experiencing new stuffs is always really good. And for this area, also, the ear will be in the blur just like the other one, so there won't be much details, even though it seems to be a little less in the blur than the other ear, still, we won't have too many details to in this area. Now I'm good with this dark gray. I'm going to switch to a lighter gray, but you will see that the difference of value between this gray and the one before isn't big. These colors are pretty close to each other. But the soil change really is important, and this is the kind of thing, this kind of detail, those subtle changes that help you to build something very realistic. Also, while I am applying my color, I try to blend it with the other ones directly when I think about doing it. But otherwise, I will do it in the end. But still, I try to blend my colors once I apply them right now. So it's really taking shape thanks to the difference of value, these small areas that we have painted. So we're on the right track. We have to keep going. I can also add a few dark and small areas above the eye that really help us to define the area. And the painting of this area is basically the same thing that on the side, but the difference is really the value. You really have to adapt and work with some darker gray. So yes, it may requires a little bit of adaptation to really look closely to the different values of your gray. And if we take a look at this area, it's been only 5 minutes that we are working on this small area, the small details that we are adding right now. And I think that there's a big difference with our painting right now and how it was 5 minutes ago. This small painting of areas really make a difference. So that's a good thing. And also, if we wanted to stop right here, we could, and our painting would look great, would look quite realistic because we have some areas that are well defined. We have our colors that look great. But personally, I like to push it forward to work more on it, to have something more realistic. So at this point, it's really up to you to know what you want. Do you really want to go further into details to have more details to work more and to work more on your texture, or do you want to stop right here with something that looks pretty cool. That looks a little bit realistic. So it's really up to you to know what you really want with your painting and how far you want to go into realism and into details. And I can paint the side of the ear with this dark gray. I'm sorry, I apologize for uh, for the shooting because we don't see the tip of the here. I didn't recall well. So I'm sorry about this, but it's pretty much the same thing at the tip of the here than what I'm doing now. In this line that I have painted, I'm going to work a little bit on it to create a small blending on both sides of this fick line. And right here, I am adding a little bit of red orange to my gray because at the corner of the eye, you can see this small touch of red orange color. More. I am now going to work a little bit more on the lighter areas of this ear. So at the corner of this ear, we have this area that is pretty light, and we'll work also in the middle with it. So with this painting, I have worked more from dark to light, but actually, you can totally do it on the contrary, working from light to dark. I have done it many times with different canvas, and it wasn't an issue at all. In this painting, the main reason why I worked from dark to light was that I didn't have a lot of brushes available. I have to rebuy some because a lot have gone to the trash because they were damaged. And so most of my brushes were actually pretty dirty. Every time that I had details, I painted, et cetera. And so to say sometime and not to have to clean my brush many times, I decided to go from dark to light. That was the main reason with this painting. But I repeat it if you feel like with one painting, it's best for you to go from light to dark. Well, then feel free to do it. What is great with working from light to dark is that when you have to had some darker details, it is much easier. That way to add some details. When you have a light painting, a light layer underneath, then it's easier, obviously, to add some darker details already. That's why it's also pretty cool to work from light to dark. So I am working now on the details. I talked a lot, and for ya to mention that now I have switched with my rigger brush to work more on the details. And well, like I said, you can start with the light areas. And that's what I'm doing now. I'm working with the light details that are in this area because my brush, my rigger brush, had a light color on it already. So I thought, Okay, then since it has some light gray on my brush, so I should start with this. And now I painted this hair that are pretty long, and I switch to this area where the hair are actually pretty short. So that's something you must really pay attention to is the length of the hair and direction. It's really, really important to create the texture. What's really important is the color of the hair that you are painting, the length and the direction. So really pay attention to these pfings. And with my brush, I'm going to paint all those details that has this value of the gray that is on my brush. I'm going to look for all these small and long hair that will have this gray. So I am also working with this color. I'm going to work on the top, while above the eye, there is some kind of corridor. In French, that will definitely make sense to say this. Yes. This corridor of hair that is right here, a few hair that goes in the same direction. In this area, there will also be some hair brown hair that we will be able to add, but not now, I really want to focus with this gray, this very light gray color. And the texture now is getting better and better. I am switching my color to a gray that is slightly darker. And therefore, this color will stand out a little bit less in this dark gray area. But still, these details that I am adding are pretty noticeable. And so I am adding more details in this area to make my texture even better. I try to make this goes into two areas. That is to say, it goes in one small areas and then finishes in another one next to it. I work also a little bit more this big area. Make sure that you don't have too much details because that won't looks really great. You will feel like something is not normal, so don't make this mistake to have too much single hair. In this last area that you saw me painting, I don't have too much details right now because afterwards, we will paint the white area that is next to it, well, this very light gray area, sorry. And will be some hair that will go from this area to this very dark area. So that's why I don't have too much details in it. And I said that this Ear is in the blur, but we can notice a few single hair, a few thin details. So I am adding them, but I won't work in this area of the ear as much as I did with the other areas of this cat. And one last thing with the ear, we can see that there is this pretty thick line that we painted before. Well, I'm adding a few details in it, a few very thin and short lines to create more texture also in this ear. And in these areas, I can also work a little bit with something dark with dark gray. Of course, it won't be as noticeable as the details we had it before, but still we can see them, and it had something more to our texture. I think it's improving it. I can also add some dark details right here with the here. And well, we can see that this area is also very uneven with the air, so that's what I'm trying to create. And one thing I wanted to mention also with the work on the texture. It's something that I repeat a lot while painting animals with hair is that if you don't paint one hair or two hair or ten individual hair exactly at the right place, at 1 millimeter, exactly. Well, it's not the end of the world. I mean, what is really important is that you have created a strong basis of with your colors that you have the right values at the right place, and then you can work on the texture. And if and if a couple of hair are not exactly where they should be, well, don't worry. It won't be noticeable, and it won't be the end of the world. Try to be accurate, but don't get crazy about the hair if you don't paint them exactly where they should be. And I am also adding these very dark details, the very dark individual hair, and it's almost the end of this area. We have done something very satisfying, so just a few more details, and then we'll be good. That my brush is clean. Well, I have cleaned it, remove the painting. I can work with this brown color and add a few details all around the eye. So it's not the most obvious details, but still we can definitely notice this brown hair, so I need to add them to make my work even better. And I am switching again to something very, very light because in this area around the eye, we have some individual hair that goes from this area under the eye towards next toward the one that is really next to it, the dark one. And so it's really good to have those details to create an even better transition between these two areas. Just one last thing, small area right next to the ear that I forgot to paint before. So I just have to create it now, and then that will be good, and we will be able to paint some other stuff. 12. Painting of the muzzle: Let's start now the painting of the nose. So the nose, I'm going to paint it with this kind of pink color. And also, I will be using this very thin brush only, almost, yeah, only this very thin brush because the area is also very, very small. Of course, when I am applying this color, I have perfectly cleaned my brush, not necessarily with some gamsol or turpentine, because I only use it when my brush is really dirty and that I'm going to use a totally different color. For instance, I use some burn timber and I need to use some yellow, pure yellow right after. I don't want to dirty my yellow color, so I will clean it with turpentine or gamsil. But in this case, I use some gray, and now it is some pink. The two colors aren't that far from one another. Therefore, I rub it many times on my clothes. You can do it with a tissue. And then that's enough to start painting the nose. I feel my color is too pink too intense and that's why I think that adding a little bit of Burnt Umber to it is useful because Burnt Umber is also very good make your color a little bit more neutral. Therefore, I was right to a just a little bit of for now, it's quite difficult to really identify the nose of this cat, except by the color. But when we will work on the depth on the volume, thanks to the different values that we'll be applying and also the quite specific texture of the nose, well, this time, it will be great, but let's be patient and work more on it. And now it's time to give some volume to this nose. And for that purpose, I'm going to paint the nose trail. So I think this color might be the right one. I am mixing it a little bit with the run next to it, and I'm going to apply it. So be very careful. It's a very, very tiny area. And once I have applied it, I'm going to slightly blend it with all the different colors around. And that's the same thing on the other side. We also have this color that we can have and that will be great in this area. Now I'm going to mix these two colors together to paint the kind of shadow areas that we have on the lower part of this nose. Well, these color seems to be the right one to create the basis of this shadow. And I'm using something lighter to paint the very tiny, small area that we have on the side. Nose isn't the most complicated part of this painting, but what you really have to do is to take your time to be very accurate because this area is very, very small, especially if you're working on a big canvas like me, that means that you can only using a very thin brush to work accurately. And right next to this dark area that we painted before, I am applying a lighter pink because that's what we see and that what this is what helps us to create the free dimensionality, free dimension thing in this area. And for this lower area, just right here, we have something that tends to be a little bit more purple just slightly, so make sure that you two are applying the right color. I'm using, again, dark pink to paint the edge of the nose, and then we will only have to paint what's inside the nostril, but we will be using some black, something very dark, but not black. I'm saying not black because if you look deeper to your reference photograph, you can notice that in the area, it lighten a little bit and tends to go more towards the red purple color. So I am creating this new color by mixing Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber, and red, and I will also lighten slightly color with some white. So don't make the mistake to think that it's industrial, so it's black because it's not the case. Every situation is different and so you must adapt your painting to what you see. And then once I have applied this red purple color in all the areas that seems to be necessary, there are also some areas that are very dark. And this time, I will use some black, but I really wanted to focus your attention on that point that you don't you must not paint the entire nostril with pure black. There are some slight adjustment to do with your color and value. And this is the case with every living being a human being or animal, especially with a human. It's never made of pure black. There are some adjustments, some different browns that you can use in the area. I have switched my brush with the rigor because in this area, well, the less details that I am adding with the nostrils are just so thin that I can do it without this brush. This brush is really from far, one of the best that I have to draw to paint the details. Well, I just can't do it without it. I discovered it quite lately, actually, but I'm so accurate with it, and that's really something that you must have. It's a great tool to progress. And now I can really work on the details of this area. So still using this brush, and since I have some dark color on it, I will work on the dark details of this area. So I have extended a little bit this line of the nostriel, and under the nostril, there are some details, some texture that I can work on, and so that's what I am doing right now. With this very thin brush, I can also work on the line that is in the middle. So I'm doing it right now because I couldn't do it before with the other brush. And this fin line that I have painting, I'm just blending it a little bit with the color all around. With this brush, I can also redefine, rework the left nostril. I think that the shape could improve a little bit, so I am doing it. So every time I see something that seems wrong or could be corrected, well, I do it instantly, so I don't forget it. And just under this line that I had painted, I'm going to apply something lighter, just a little bit later. There is this very thin different value in this area. And by the way, when you paint these details, make sure your end isn't shaking because it will be quite complicated. I am turning this color a little purple, darker to paint these shadow areas on the lower part of the nose. So I am still using this brush. That seems to be the right one for the application of these details. To paint this area, I am using, sorry, not the finos brush, but this one seems great. What I am also doing now is I am adding some darker values to my nose, especially on the upper part. So still with this brush, I am dropping some spots of darker color. And then I am slightly blending it with the rest. And therefore, I don't have a plain a plain texture. I really have something with some uneven areas that creates something better, something more realistic. Now the last things with this nose, I am adding some details with this very, very thin brush on the lower parts right here, just a few spots that need to be added. I can work also on the line in the middle with something a little bit darker at the top. And finally, in the upper part of this nose, I'm going to add some pure white to create something very, very light because, yes, there is this reflection. It's really shiny. Well, not sure of the word shiny, but this reflection is very light in here. 13. Painting of the whiskers area: Let's paint the area of the mustache of the whiskers. So this area is the extension of the area above the nose that we painted way before the extension of this very, very light area. So I am painting it with a very light color. It's not made of pure white. I don't like to say pure white because most of the time, it isn't pure white. It is right here, some pure white with a slight touch of gray which makes it not pure white. And so I am painting the entire area where this color is to maximize my process and to gain some time. So I am painting with this brush. It's quite a medium size brush. It's a great brush because I can cover some large areas and be accurate enough to paint it. I have updated a little bit my color to something a little bit darker to paint this lower area. It's not a big change, but there is quite it is significant to paint it to make this change of value in the area. And on the lower part of this area, I have a gray even darker. So I paint this edge, the border with the got. You may notice that I have painted a little bit over this area of the goat, but it's no big deal. I can definitely fix that mistake afterwards. And now I can blend these different colors together to have a great surface to work on and to create my texture. And I can paint in this blank space that I had left with a darker gray. And yeah, still applying some soft brush strokes to have a great surface to work on afterwards. And now with this finer brush, I can work more accurately and start to paint those smaller areas. And at first, I am painting the ones on the border on the edge of this large area that we painted. We can see that it is quite darker, so I am adjusting it and adding these darker areas. In this area, there are also a few lines that we can paint right now. My obrush was too big to paint them before, so I am adding them right now, and also I'm going to slightly blend them with the rest of the color that is underneath. On the area of the nostril, we have a darker gray right here, a darker line that we can add. And also, I will add afterwards some pink in the color to work on the transition between this nose and this hair area. And now I can take this good old iga brush to work on the details, and I start to take some white and mix it with this very light color. I want something extremely light to paint this hair that goes on the former area that we painted before, this gray one. So yes, this single hair, they cross both areas. And so I am adding them right now. I can also add this very light hair in the gray areas that we painted before. And in this lower area, we also have a lot of single hair that we can have right now. We also have a few individual hair that are actually pretty short and they go in multiple directions. And so I can also add them to my painting. I am switching to a darker gray, just a little darker to work on this very light area to add some more texture because it won't be plain, I have to add a little bit more of this darker gray. And also, in this area that are a little bit darker already, I can also add some even darker in single hair to create a better texture in this area as well. I can also work on the area under the lower part of this area to had some darker single hair as well. There are plenty of them that I can have. In this area, there will also be the whiskers, but just like I said, with the whiskers, this kind of long hair that we have near the eyes, I can't paint them right now. I have to wait that my painting is dry to paint them in the best way possible. Before I said that in this area, we had some short hair that went in multiple direction. And well, this is also the case with this value of my gray colors. I'm going to add them. And finally, we can also have some single hair that goes towards the nose of this cat. We're almost near the end of this area, this quite big area. And so what I do now is that I'm taking, again, a little bit of my very light color to add some a little bit in this dark area because it will help me to create more volume. And finally, I'm taking a little bit of this pink color to paint it in this blank space that I had left. So I'm going to slightly blend it with the grays, and then we'll be good with this area. 14. Painting of the goatee and the body: And here we are for the last part of this painting, you may notice that I have also painted the area of the whiskers on the left. I did it in the same manner that I did the first one. So it wasn't really complex. That's why I didn't record it. And it was really the same thing except that maybe it was a little bit darker. And so now we can paint this last part, the area under the head and the goatee. So I start with the painting of this area with some kind of a neutral brown. And so that's the first application of my color in here. Just under this area we have just painted, we have this color, but in a lighter way. And no, it isn't a big change of value, but it is important. So don't forget to add it. I'm reloading my brush with some more traditional gray this time to paint it to paint this upper part of this area and also to paint this blank space that I had left before right here with some pretty dark gray. I am now working more in details this area. So this time, I have decided to skip the thin brush and directly detail with this rigor. I felt like it was natural to do it that way because in this area, it's not that detail, but there are quite a few thin hair. So that's why I decided to go directly with this one. I felt it was the right thing to do, so I did it. And I start by adding those dark details that we have here and there. Then I will also some lighter individual hairs, lighter detail. And these details, they will cross this dark area, so I had them after. Don't be surprised if I spit up the video a little bit more in this area. We have painted quite a few area of hair that are very similar to this one and much more complex. So that's why I'm going to spit up a little bit the video from time to time in here. Right here, I am using this little bigger brush in this area. The reason for that is that this area is a little less detailed than the one we painted before. So that's why I thought this brush was appropriate. And one other important detail are these kind of whiskers, very small whiskers that are on both areas, and they are important as well to create a great transition between these two areas. And here we are back at normal speed to paint the goatee. And this area is some of the area I really appreciate to paint. So I start to paint the edges with this dark gray. It seemed pretty obvious to me, so I decided to paint it first. And well, in this area, I'm going to work most of the time, I think, with this very small brush because all the different areas of the gray are pretty small. And therefore, this brush seems more appropriate to work accurately in this area. On my palette, I am mixing some more purple color, but you will also see adding some yellow to this color because, well, I want a purple that is not too intense. Therefore, a little bit of yellow makes it less intense. And I paint this area that seems to be like the mouth, a little noticeable in the goatee and therefore the colors is subwly changing to something more purple, and so I felt it was important to mention it to you. I can extend a little bit this dark line of gray that I painted right here. We can see it's also with this value of the gray that we can apply. And still with this fin brush, I'm going to work on the different small areas of gray that are really noticeable. They stand out a little bit. They are pretty dark. And so I'm going to paint them all before moving to another color. The area of the goat, thanks to these small areas that we are painting, we can start to identify and to notice that it is the goat. Well, personally, I can't. Maybe I'm crazy and I see things too much in my head, but, yes, I can definitely tell that we're on the right way, and this is the goat. And we can paint this area that is under the got because for two reasons, well, first of all, we are using this slide, well, this dark gray, so I can keep using it in this area. And also, well, it helps me to have the border of this got, and we will have some individual hair of the got that will go over this area. So if we want to finish the got, we have to paint it before. Also, I have been asked many times, why do we see your phone a lot in your videos? And the reason for that is that I use my cell phone to see the reference photograph when I paint for several reasons. It is small and really and fits in my hand. I can zoom in, zoom out easily to see all the details. And, yes, I think it's very convenient to use the cellphone to look at your photograph. And since I have started to paint this area under the got, well, I should I'm going to finish this area, the different areas of the gray color under this got. And I can finish this area before ending the got. Well, this area last won't be long sorry to paint because it's also, it seems a little bit, like in the blur, as well. So just a few brush strokes with this fin brush should be enough to have something great. The only very light hair that we'll have to add will be the ones of the got that will go over this area that we are painting. And I am back at the got for good this time to finish it. So I am still using this flat brush, and I'm going to paint between these areas with this light gray. Well, these hair are very light. And also, this light gray will help me to create the volume with this got to make it look three dimensional in comparison with the area that we painted just before under this one. And I try to make sure that each area I have painted remains where it should be. I try not to make this darker gray disappear. So well, maybe I should have used a different brush, pheno one, but that will be okay. Maybe it's because of my experience, but pheno brush might have been better for this. And I'm trying to blend slightly all of these different grays that are in the area. I am coming back on my areas with this fin brush to rework a little bit the dark gray area. But basically, I won't have too many things to do because most of the things I have done, I have done them before. All I'm going to do right now is to work more on the different details of this area. I am going to work more on the details of this area right now. So I start with the dark details in this area all along this line in the border of this area. The reason why I start with these dark details right now is because when I look at my reference photographs, it seems to me that the lighter single hair will go over this dark area. So that's why it seems to me more appropriate to start with these dark details. In the middle of this area of the got, there will also be some darker smaller area. So I am painting them also with this brush. I am also mixing a little bit of my gray with this kind of purple color because in all the area of the got, we can see this kind of purple, gray hair. So I am adding them because I see them and it seems to be the right thing to do with this area of painting. True that this area of the goat, especially on the left, seems really dark at the moment, but when we had this very light single hair, I think it will be a game changer, and this contrast will really help to create more volume in this area, and it will also feel more natural, I think. At the beginning of the got in this gray purple area right in the middle, we don't have too many very dark hair, so I'm having much of them. I will have more light one afterwards. And also, one thing you can notice is that when you progress on the right, well, the value changes the value of the dark hair changes a little and tends to lighten a little bit. So make sure that you are also adjusting the color on your brush. With this dark single hair, and I'm going to work in this area with something much lighter that will help to create the volume that we want in this area and also a great contrast and something very realistic once again. And in the middle right here, I'm going to add some very short hair that have this kind of circular shape. Yes, it looks a little bit like a circle, but not an entire circle. It's just that I don't know exactly the geometrical words in English. And in the middle of this dark hair, we are going to add some multiple hair that goes in several direction to create some kind of a big mess in this area, but that's a mess that we want that we create. In the area, I am applying some pure white this time because, well, the area is actually pretty dark. And once I apply my hair, even though I apply with the tip of my brush, they will mix a little bit with the color underneath that is dark, and therefore my pure white won't be pure anymore, but some kind of a gray. And finally, what I'm doing with this light hair is that I am painting some individual hair that are that will cross the border and will be on the two different areas, and therefore my transition will be better. So right here, I have one that is a little too light and too thick, so I have to fix this afterwards. On the right of the got, I'm also going to add a little bit more of a darker gray to improve the texture that was too light in my mind. I'm also going to add some extra hair on the left and also a little bit on the middle, and then we'll be good with the got. The last area that we are about to paint, this one is very similar to the one on the right. It's quite simple, also in comparison with all the things that we've been through to paint this cat. So I will probably speed up the video also with this one. And then our final step will be to paint the background, and this will be a game changer. It really changed our painting, so I can wait to do it. One important thing in this area, even though this area is kind of blurred, there are some significant details that we can add those single hair that go on black on the very dark area on the left. Don't forget to add them. They are important. We have one last opportunity to use this very fin brush with this painting. That is to add this single, yes, this hair that we have on the area of the whiskers and they go down to the area of the goatee. So don't forget to add them. It makes your painting a little bit more realistic. So there is this line between the goatee and the nose that we can head. So I have dipped my brush with some kind of red color that was on my palette, and I'm going to add some very short and single hair on both side of these lines on the right and on the left to make it look even better. And there are also a few small details that I can add in the corner of the nose, and that will be good. So it's always important to double check what you've done before. Always keep an eye on the area that you consider finished. And then, well, that'll be good. And we're going to paint the background. So we are going to mix the color of the background. So for the background, I really don't like this color, this background. I don't like it, so I'm going to change it and create some kind of a pale blue, a blue that is not too intense. So that's why I'm adding some orange to it, which is the opposite color of the blue and also some white because I don't want to have a background that is too dark and that contrasts too much with the cat. I can now paint the background, and at first I paint all around this card because I feel like by doing this, I have a safety net. When I am painting the rest of the background, I am applying some large brush strokes. So this way, I feel it will be easier afterwards. And well, I am painting with this flat brush, usually I use something more small than this brush, but, yeah, I felt confident I love risk. So I decided to use this one, but a smaller one, a thinner one would have been more appropriate. And so I'm going to paint all around this cat, and then I will see you to finish this background once I have painted all around it. 15. Painting of the background: Now that I have painted all around the count, I can finish the background with this medium sized flat brush. I think it is big enough to be accurate and to paint properly without damaging the cat and being pretty fast. So that's the one I'm using. Make sure that you spread well your painting, that you are really stretching it to use the most of you can, first because I don't have much of it on my palette, and so I want to use as much as I can. Second of all, by doing this, you help to create a really even background with some areas that aren't too thick with painting or not enough. And when the painting accumulates, you can remove it on a tissue just like we do when we blend our colors or just like I did right now, you can put it on another area of the canvas, then you will spread it again to use it. So that's it. Now let's finish this background to end this painting. Okay, one last thing now that I can do while my painting is still wet is to add those short and single hair that are on the side and that blends slightly with the background. So that's why I choose to add them now. My background is wet, the cat is red. And therefore, when I apply this short hair all around, this cat on the sides, on the ears as well, those single hair they will blend with the background, which is really good. And finally, now we can let our painting dry and we'll had the last details the whiskers. 16. Painting of the whiskers: Here we are now for the painting of the whiskers. So these whiskers are all white, and that's why I only have some white on my palette. I have added a lot of liquid to it, so my painting is going to be very liquid, and that will be great work on these whiskers. And also, I have added some medium number two, few droplets so that my painting, the fat Olin rule is respected with this new layer. I can now paint the whiskers. So to paint them, I am using my sword brush. I could also have used a rigger brush. It's just that this one was available, and so I took it, and it's the right one also to apply those final details. To apply your whiskers, the best thing, what I recommend is really to draw one whiskers entirely when you are applying your brush truck. You don't stop in the middle because otherwise, if you have to paint several times over it, it might be as thin at the beginning and at the end. So that's not really what you want. You want your whisker to be with the same thickness from the beginning till almost the end because you can see that at the end, it's getting a little thinner, just a little. And so also don't forget to reload your brush very often as you apply your brush strokes because what you don't want is to apply your brush strokes when you are painting your whiskers. And in the middle of these whiskers, there is no long there is no paint anymore on your brush, and so your whiskers might not be that good. So don't forget to reload. So now I will add the last ones on the upper part of this face, and my painting will be finished. I will only have to sign in, and that will be good.