Painting a pet portrait can be a rewarding way to capture the unique personality of a beloved animal. In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to paint a pet [dog] using the acrylic glazing technique, which adds depth and realism through thin layers of color. By the end, you’ll be able to apply this technique to create a lifelike portrait of your pet or any other animal subject.
Before diving into the painting process, it’s crucial to start with a solid foundation. In this case, I’m using a 5×7-inch hardboard panel as the canvas. To ensure accurate proportions, I utilized the grid method, which helps maintain the right structure without the need for extensive freehand drawing.
At this stage, I applied white paint to bring out the highlights in the sketch, which allows me to set up three different values—dark (from the pencil), medium (from the tinted surface), and light (from the white paint). This helps establish an excellent base before moving into the glazing process.
The first step in the glazing technique is preparing a palette with the colors you’ll need. For this pet portrait, I’m working with natural tones like raw umber, burnt sienna, and a mixture of blues for areas like the background or any clothing.
To create a glaze, mix a small amount of paint with clear acrylic medium, such as matte medium. This dilutes the paint, allowing for translucent layers that build up color gradually. Glazing helps retain the underlying details while adding a soft glow and depth.
Tip: Make sure to keep your glaze mixture fluid but not too watery, as overly diluted glazes can become streaky and hard to control.
For the first layer, I mixed a sepia tone using raw umber and matte medium. Then apply this mixture lightly with a flat brush (around half an inch in width). Because you begin by covering the broader areas of the dog’s fur, creating a soft wash that introduces subtle shadows and color shifts.
As the painting progresses, increase the intensity of your colors. Then for areas like the dog’s ears and snout, I used burnt sienna mixed with a small amount of white to cover the sketch lines and establish the mid-tones.
Although the dog in this portrait is predominantly white, it’s essential to add subtle shifts in color to avoid a flat appearance. For areas like the highlights on the fur, I used a light mixture of white and raw umber. The glazing method ensures that the layers remain translucent, which gives the fur a soft, glowing effect.
The type of brush you use plays a significant role in the outcome of the painting. So, for this portrait, I relied on a combination of:
When applying glazes, a flat brush works best because it helps you spread the paint evenly. And of course for fine details like the dog’s fur texture around the eyes or nose, switch to a smaller detail brush.
While working on the dog’s portrait, I also glazed the background. When the mixture of ultramarine blue and phthalo blue created a cool, subdued backdrop that complements the warm tones of the dog. And then the background was applied using the same glazing technique light, transparent layers that gradually deepen in tone.
After completing the main details of the dog, it’s time to step back and assess the overall painting. Basically, you will apply the final, a very thin glaze of burnt sienna or raw umber where needed to tie the painting together and unify the colors. Because this softens the transitions between the light and dark areas, giving the portrait a more cohesive look.
Painting a pet portrait using the acrylic glazing technique is a satisfying way to capture the intricate details and personality of a beloved animal. By layering thin glazes of color, you can achieve both depth and luminosity that bring the painting to life. Whether you’re working on a commissioned piece or a personal project, these steps will help guide you toward creating a beautiful, realistic acrylic pet portrait.
Read more about my additional resources, tutorials, to learn more and check out my free courses here. . Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist, there’s always something new to learn and apply to your paintings. Happy painting!
I’ll show you how he gives his acrylic pet portrait depth as adds shading, nuances and differentiates the dog from the background by using the correct values in shadows.
Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me. I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.
Yours for Better Portraits,
P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!
Sketching is the foundational step for creating a compelling painting, whether it’s a portrait or a landscape. Because ensuring that your initial drawing is accurate will set the stage for a successful painting. So, let’s explore how you can refine your sketching techniques to produce a detailed, realistic sketch every time and learn how to sketch your painting accurately.
One of the most critical aspects of a painting is the accuracy of the sketch. A well-executed sketch serves as a blueprint for your painting. If the proportions or features are off, it can affect the entire piece, making it harder to fix issues later on. Focusing on precision at the sketching stage will save time, reduce frustration, and elevate the final artwork.
In this tutorial, we’ll look at several key points to improve sketch accuracy, using examples from a portrait critique.
Accurate sketching requires the right tools and techniques. Below are some methods that will help ensure that your initial drawing is precise.
Some specific areas of a portrait or subject can be particularly tricky to sketch accurately. Here are some tips to help:
Once the basic sketch is in place, the next step is to refine it. This includes erasing unnecessary lines and sharpening the ones that define key features.
Tip: Build up shadows gradually by layering light strokes rather than making heavy marks.
Avoid heavy erasing, as it can damage the surface of your paper or canvas. Use a kneaded eraser, which is softer, to remove lines without leaving smudges.
Tip: Rather than rubbing, dab the eraser to lift the pencil marks gently.
Even after you’ve completed your sketch, don’t be afraid to adjust proportions if something seems off. It’s much easier to make these corrections before you start painting.
Technique: Stand back from your sketch and look at it from a distance to check if the proportions still look accurate.
Instead of using solid lines, use light, sketchy strokes to define areas of shadow. This helps to give the drawing a more natural and softer look, which will enhance the realism when you start painting.
Watch my tutorial to learn more about sketching your painting accurately.
Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.
If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.
Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me. I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.
Yours for Better Portraits,
P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!
One of the biggest struggles portrait artists have is getting an accurate likeness. In this lesson, I will show you how to grid your canvas, so that you will be able to not only make a sketch with good proportions but also get a good likeness too.
I’ll show you exactly how to do it in this video…
Gridding Your Portrait for an Accurate Sketch
Would like to paint this portrait with me and hundreds of other artists?
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REGISTER TODAY. The challenge is ongoing, something you can do at your own pace. It’s not too late to enter!
Let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to teaching you more!
—Matt
You can.
Take the Fall Acrylic Portrait Painting Challenge.
Last Spring, over 700 artists took the challenge and many painted an amazing portrait, their very first time. This jump-started some of the artists into doing commissioned portraits or painting beautiful pictures of their children and grandchildren.
In the challenge, we’ll all paint the same image together and I’ll teach you how to do it, step-by-step with demonstration videos.
The Acrylic Portrait Painting Challenge is free to join and participate.
Register below to get the Welcome Kit, which includes the Supplies List, the Full Resolution Reference Image with a Grid, Palette Layout Guide, and the Masterclass Video Lesson Schedule.
I look forward to seeing you paint a portrait you can be proud of!
And now, here are the Masterclass Lessons:
This was something I’ve always wanted to do: create art while camping. And for all the years I’ve gone camping, I’ve never been able to successfully do it.
But finally, at the end of June, my brother and I decided to go camping at a rustic yurt up in Cable, WI. Where is that? Let’s just say, it’s “way up north.” 🙂 And what is a yurt? It’s a round tent-like house, a permanent structure made of lattice wood, bound together with steel cable, and covered with fabric. We rented it through Airbnb for two days.
We parked at the bottom of the hill and carried our gear up about a mile. We realized how out of shape we were! I also had my painting supplies: easel, palette, and brushes with me. In the middle of hiking and cooking, we decided to both do a little work: my brother wrote (he’s an author) and I painted.
I know. You’re probably thinking I should have painted the scenery up there, and yes, it was beautiful. But I had a commissioned portrait from a photo to get done: a painting of a veteran that served in the gulf war. And I love painting people, so it hardly seemed like work.
After bacon, eggs, and oatmeal for breakfast, it was time for painting.
Here is a video showing the beginning part of the process. In this video, I am basically blocking in the values with just raw umber dark and ultramarine blue. Of course, it’s all thinned out and made translucent with matte medium.
And then, here’s the next video in the process. Here I’m adding some color with burnt sienna, alizarine crimson and a few other colors. We’re starting to build up some skin tones. Also working on the flannel shirt. It takes a lot of layers to get it dark enough to look realistic!
After lunch, we hiked, and then came back and did more work: refining the shadows and making sure the likeness is accurate.
Sometimes your sketch just won’t cut it. It will get you about 80% of the way there, and you do the remaining 20% with paint. As you apply the paint, you can change the shape of the nose, the distance between the eyelids, lengthen the smile, etc., to adjust whatever might have been off during your sketch.
Of course, there is more to go on the painting. I’ll share the rest with you soon. I wasn’t able to finish it at the yurt, but I put in several hours. So, not only did I get to spend some great quality time with my brother, but I got to do some enjoyable work as well. After the big move, I finally feel like I’m getting into a regular groove of painting and posting tutorials. Thanks so much for your patience.
UPDATE: Here is the final video of this portrait, painted at my regular studio…
And a photo of it…
I really enjoyed painting this for the client, putting all the elements–the map of Iraq, the capitol building, and the people together into one cohesive portrait that I hope will be a cherished keepsake for the family for years to come.
I hope this painting has encouraged you and given you some ideas to use in your own portrait painting. I would love to help you learn to paint portraits your very best. Let me know if I can be of more help to you in any way.
Yours for better portraits,
P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!
You try to paint the background smoothly, with gestural strokes that flow off the edge of the painting but are inhibited by the easel itself. Let me show you a quick tip to overcome that problem.
How do YOU keep your paintings in place on your easel, and yet make it possible to paint all edges easily? Let me know. Always on the lookout for good ideas. 🙂
P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!
I use the glazing technique to slowly bring the portrait from a white canvas to completion. The glazing technique is achieved by mixing your paint with clear acrylic medium (usually matte medium) to disperse the pigment, thus allowing light to pass through.
Although you could use water, it’s not recommended, because it breaks down the acrylic resin binder, causing a rough visual texture and possible poor adhesion. For a smoother look, you want to use clear acrylic medium.
I hope these questions and answers were helpful to you as well. I know some of this stuff seems pretty basic, but it’s good for all of us to pause and think about why we do what we do. It then makes the doing that much more significant.
Let me know if you have any questions of your own about acrylic portrait painting and I’ll do my best to help!
P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!
I don’t take it lightly.
Recently, I just finished up a commissioned portrait for a friend, whose pastor has recently passed away. This is an 11″ x 14″ acrylic on canvas. I want to show you the entire process, but I’m going to start in this post with just the sketch and first couple layers. Then, we’ll just add on with more steps to this same post.
Many of my blog readers prefer more video content rather than written, so that’s how I’m going to do it here.
Would you like to know when I post another video lesson on this portrait? Click the button below to get my art tips and keep learning!
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Hope you enjoyed this acrylic portrait painting tutorial. As always, let me know how I can help you with your portraits or if you have a question. Leave me a comment below!
Be blessed in your painting,
P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!
Creating a beautiful acrylic portrait involves several steps, and one of the most crucial is blocking in colors and values. This stage establishes the foundation for your painting, allowing you to build layers of detail and depth. In this blog post, we will delve into the process of blocking in colors and values, drawing insights from me.
Do you just begin with a white canvas, and fully paint everything from left to right, as you would in a drawing?
That’s how I used to paint, until I learned the glazing technique. I would painstakingly render every detail, and move across the surface of the canvas. But I always had a lot of white canvas staring me in the face.
After learning the glazing technique, instead, I could begin to slowly develop the portrait, like an Polaroid photograph.
Psychologically, it felt less intimidating. And it was fun to watch the process of the painting methodically taking shape.
In this video tutorial today, I’m going to show you how I begin my painting–what colors I use, where I put them and why, using this 16″ x 20″ commissioned portrait of three children…
Let me know how this tutorial helps!
P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!