Project 33: Red Fox
Red foxes have a reddish coat, white-tipped tail, white neck and chest, and black legs and feet. Female foxes are called vixens.
Reference Photo
Materials
Paints
Burnt Sienna
Burnt Umber
Cadmium Yellow Deep
Spectrum Yellow
Ultramarine Blue
Yellow Ochre
Zinc White
Brushes
no. 1, 3 and 5 rounds
1 Establish the Form and Begin Painting the Dark Values
Lightly sketch the fox in pencil. Using a small amount of Burnt Umber thinned with water, sketch out the main lines of the fox with a no. 5 round. Mix the color for the black parts of the fox’s coat with Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue. Paint with a no. 3 round. (From now on, use a small to moderate amount of water as you paint.) Mix the darkest value of the reddish coat color with Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna and Zinc White. With a no. 3 round, paint these areas using fairly short, parallel brushstrokes that follow the contours of the fox’s form, keeping in mind the way the hair grows.
2 Continue Painting the Basic Coat Color
Continue painting the basic reddish coat color using a no. 5 round for the broader areas. Use brushstrokes going in the direction of hair growth.
3 Paint the Lighter-Values
Mix the lighter-value fur color with Zinc White, Cadmium Yellow Deep and Yellow Ochre. Paint with a no. 5 round, overlapping the edges where the lighter and darker fur meet with short, parallel strokes.
Tip
Soften and smooth out any areas of fur that seem to need it using a no. 3 round and water. Carefully stroke in the same direction as the existing brushstrokes. You can still wet and blend gouache even after it is dry.
RED FOX
Gouache on illustration board
8” × 10” (20cm × 25xcm)
4 Add the Finishing Details
Paint hair detail in the areas of darker reddish fur using a no. 3 round and some of the lighter fur color you. Use short, thin brushstrokes that follow the hair pattern. With a separate no. 3 round and the dark reddish fur color, add some hair detail on top of the lighter fur color. Hold both brushes in your hand at the same time so you can work back and forth on these areas. Soften and integrate the lighter fur detail using a no. 3 round and a small amount of the dark reddish fur color mixed with enough water to make a glaze. Paint over the lighter fur detail so that it shows through the glaze, using quick, light brushstrokes.
Mix a little Spectrum Yellow with Zinc White and use a no. 1 round to warm and intensify some of the highlighted areas on the fox’s coat. Add small details such as the eyes, nose, whiskers and fine fur detail with a no. 1 round.