Sorry for the delay on this installment. I got a little distracted with the Art Play Date, finishing my book and going to The Tole Patch in Delaware!! They did an amazing job on their Little Foxies!
I use my Princeton Select Series 3750 1/8″ lunar blender to stipple the highlight. That way I get a texture and more variation in colour. Look closely at eyes. They have lots of flecks of colour in them. I stippled a highlight first and then I wiped my brush and stippled some darker brown flecks. And I even added some yellow to have a glow.
After the stippling, it’s time to float.
The floats are quite narrow for this guy. Narrow but not harsh. They still need to be blended. I did a brown float first – around the edge of the iris AND around the pupil. Then I repeated the floats with a well controlled black sideload.
Back to the lunar blender for a secondary highlight and a few sparkles.
After touching up and highlighting the membrane, float black again around the eye (on the fur this time) to set the eyes in.
The nose is also stippled and drybrushed with the 1/8″ lunar blender. Its always best to do things in layers rather than one bright step. That way you can control the values. Use your angle or flat to float the nostrils for a crisper edge. Again, look carefully at how a nostril is shaped. Dog noses will be similar to a fox.
I hope you have found a few bits of useful information to help you paint your animals.