LEVEL: BEGINNER
Silhouette Owls
Let’s try using high-contrast paints to create a simple silhouette of owls on a tree branch. The nice thing about a silhouette is you only have to focus on the outline, rather than small details like eyes, feathers, and beaks.
STEP ONE
Add a wash of transparent brown iron oxide paint to the canvas and let dry. Use alizarin crimson or transparent brown iron oxide to mark where you want to place the owls on your canvas.
Next sketch out the owls as soft, rounded rectangles with a tapered bottom. Sketch out the tree and a few branches and leaves as desired.
STEP TWO
Adjust the owls’ shape and add a few details like leaves on branches and ear feathers on the larger owls.
STEP THREE
Mix a darker paint using black, brown, and blue to cover your tree and owls. This is just the first layer. We will add a second layer of dark paint later in the process.
STEP FOUR
Now mix a light color for the background. I use a soft blue leaning toward violet by mixing blue, red, a touch of yellow, and white. It should be quite light compared to the dark owls and tree. This is a high-contrast color to make the silhouette pop.
STEP FIVE
Now that the entire canvas has been painted, it’s time to go over the silhouette with another coat of dark paints.
Make sure to finish the details of your silhouette. The tree trunk should be thicker at the bottom than the top, and the branches should taper out like real trees. And make sure the owls are touching the branch and not floating above it!
