Bernese Mountain Dog in Progress
I've been working on my portrait of Copper, Logan and Kensy. I began with Copper and then painted Logan. Here's Copper and Logan together:
I've left off the bottoms of their legs and bodies to leave room for a long grass background.
I began Logan's portrait by transferring my sketch to the canvas with graphite paper, and then painting in the areas of highest contrast on his body with a thin wash of dark paint. I've taped a printout of my reference photo to the canvas with masking tape.
Next, I began to add the rich colors in Logan's coat. I used cool hues in the underpainting to balance the orange reds in his markings. Up to this point, I used only my big flat angle shader brush, so I wouldn't get caught up in painting detail. I like to map out the colors and shapes first.
Next, I switched to my smaller round brush and started in on the detail in Logan's coat.
I used a tiny brush to bring in the sparkle in his eyes and his delicate whiskers. I like the way he's looking off into the distance, away from the camera. Here's a closeup of his face so far:
His face still needs a few adjustments to bring out his personality, but for now I'm ready to start on the third member of the family - Kensy.