Project 28: Cottontail Rabbit (Front View)

This young cottontail was one of three orphans raised by an acquaintance who is a wildlife rehabilitator. To photograph them, I put them into an empty fish tank with a cover and placed it outside. This way I could get down to their level for a great view without fear they would escape. They would be released into the wild later when they grew old enough to fend for themselves.

Reference Photo

1 Establish the Form

With a pencil, lightly draw the rabbit, using a kneaded eraser for corrections or to lighten lines. Paint the main lines and shading with diluted Burnt Umber and a no. 10 round.

2 Paint the Dark Values

Mix dark brown with Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue. Paint strokes that follow the fur growth pattern using a no. 10 round. Switch to a no. 3 round for the eyes and mouth.

3 Paint the Middle Values

Mix a medium brown for the coat with Titanium White, Raw Sienna and Cadmium Orange. Paint strokes following the fur pattern with a no. 10 round.

Mix a grass green color for the upper part of the background with Hooker’s Green Permanent, Cadmium Orange, Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White. Paint dabbing strokes with a no. 10 bright and use a no. 10 round around the rabbit’s outline. When dry, add another layer of paint.

Mix a lighter grass green color for the lower part of the painting with Hooker’s Green Permanent, Cadmium Orange, Hansa Yellow Light and Titanium White. Paint with a no. 10 bright and use a no. 10 round around the rabbit’s outline.

Blend where the two greens meet using a separate brush for each color. Mix pink for inside the ears with Titanium White, Cadmium Red Medium, Raw Sienna and Cadmium Orange. Paint with a no. 10 round using smooth, vertical strokes. Mix a pink nose color with a portion of pink, plus Cadmium Red Medium, Burnt Umber and Raw Sienna.

4 Paint Light Values and Begin to Add Detail

Transfer portions of the dark brown and medium brown to a dry palette. Paint fur detail using a separate no. 10 round for each color, overlapping the medium brown areas with dark brown detail and the dark areas with medium brown detail. Use strokes that follow the fur pattern.

Mix a buff color for the lighter value areas of the coat with Titanium White, Naples Yellow, Cadmium Orange and Raw Sienna. Paint with a no. 10 round.

With a no. 10 round, paint a glaze of Burnt Sienna and water over the rabbit. Mix a fur detail color with a portion of medium brown, Burnt Sienna and Raw Sienna. With a no. 3 round, paint fur detail with small strokes using it to integrate the dark shadows in the fur with the medium brown areas. Also, use this color to blend where the dark areas meet the light value areas. Add more buff detail with a no. 3 round. Use the fur detail color and a no. 3 round to add more detail to the buff areas. With sweeping strokes, paint some blades of grass with the lighter grass green color and a no. 10 round.

BUNNY BUSINESS

Acrylic on Gessobord

10” × 8” (25cm × 20cm)

5 Paint the Finishing Details

Mix a brown eye color with Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna and Titanium White. Paint with a no. 3 round, blending with dark brown and a separate no. 3 round. Mix the eye highlight color with Titanium White and a touch of Ultramarine Blue. Paint the highlight with a no. 3 round, blending the edges with the brown eye color.

Blend the dark outline of the eye with the medium brown. Paint a small, vertical arc of the brown eye color in the right eye, then paint a small highlight in the upper part of the eye. Darken and soften the eyes by painting a glaze of Burnt Umber and water over the brown part of the eyes.

Add more detail to the fur using the brown eye color and a no. 3 round. Paint with small, thin strokes. Add more detail with the buff color. Mix a pink ear detail color with Titanium White, Cadmium Red Medium, Cadmium Orange and Burnt Umber, then paint veins in the left ear with light-pressured strokes using a no. 3 round. Paint shaded areas in the left ear with parallel strokes, blending with the pink. Create an ear shadow color with some of the fur detail color mixed with some of the brown eye color. Paint shadows inside the ears with a no. 10 round, using parallel strokes.

Mix a grass shadow color with a portion of the grass green color, Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue, then paint a shadow under the rabbit with a no. 10 round. Paint some strokes in the grass, then paint some slightly curved, horizontal strokes with the fur detail color. Add a few strokes of buff to the grass, blending with the fur detail color.

Paint the whiskers with a no. 3 round, using dark brown for the base of the whiskers and buff for the rest. Paint lightly, with long, thin, curving strokes. Tone down as needed with the adjacent color.