Project 36: Raccoon
Raccoons are medium-sized animals and native to North America. They have a black mask, pointed nose, broad head and between 4 and 7 rings on their bushy tails.
Reference Photo
Materials
Paints
Burnt Sienna
Burnt Umber
Raw Sienna
Titanium White
Ultramarine Blue
Yellow Ochre
Brushes
no. 0, 1 and 3 rounds
no. 4 filbert
1 Establish the Main Lines and Paint the Darkest Value
Lightly sketch the raccoon in pencil. Use Burnt Umber thinned with turpentine and a no. 3 round to roughly paint the basic lines. For the black mask and tail rings, mix Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue. Paint the tail rings with a no. 4 filbert. Paint the mask, eyes and nose with a no. 1 round.
2 Paint the Darker Value of Coat
Mix the brownish shadow color for the raccoon’s coat with Burnt Umber and a smaller amount of Ultramarine Blue than you used to mix the black in Step 1, plus a very small amount of Titanium White. In areas of fur that are a confusing mixture of dark fur overlaid with very small, lighter colored hairs, such as the left foreleg, first paint the area dark. Later on you can paint the lighter hairs over the dark fur.
3 Paint the Middle Values
Mix the grayish brown middle value coat color with Titanium White, Burnt Umber and a smaller amount of Raw Sienna. Paint with a no. 3 round, using short, parallel brushstrokes following the fur pattern. With a separate no. 3 round and the dark value color you mixed in Step 2, begin to blend the edges where the two colors meet.
For the bluish shadow color on the lower part of the muzzle, around the edges of the ears and for the top of the lower part of the right leg, mix Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue and a small amount of Burnt Umber.
Tip
If you make a mistake when painting a detail, such as the eye, and you need to change the shape, use the tip of a craft knife to scrape the paint away. If you want to remove the paint completely, use a cotton swab dipped in turpentine to rub the paint carefully away. In this way, you can make corrections without disturbing the other parts you’ve already painted.
RACCOON
Oil on gesso-primed Masonite
8” × 10” (20cm × 25cm)
4 Add the Details
Continue blending the dark and middle values of the fur using separate no. 3 rounds. Wipe the brushes on a paper towel when they get too much of the opposite color on them, then redip them first in Liquin, then in the correct color. For the brownish color on either side of the dark band between the eyes and down the length of the muzzle, use a no. 1 round with a bit of the middle value color mixed with Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna. Use a no. 0 round with Titanium White and a small amount of Yellow Ochre for the white fur on the muzzle, above the eyes and outlining the ears. Use a no. 1 round with the brownish color to blend the edges. Get some of the bluish shadow color on your brush and blend where the white meets the bluish color.
When dry to the touch, mix a little of the dark value brownish color from Step 2 with a little of the middle value color from Step 3. Use a no. 1 round to paint fur detail over the light and dark parts of the coat. Paint clumps of fur rather than individual hairs; make them roughly triangular in shape. With separate no. 1 rounds for the dark and middle values, blend and add fur detail. Re-establish darks where needed. Paint a few brownish hairs over the black tail bands and the mask so they will integrate with the rest of the coat.
Mix the wheaten coat highlights with Titanium White and a touch of Yellow Ochre. With a no. 1 round, highlight the clumps of fur. Use separate brushes with the other fur colors to blend the edges where the colors meet. With a no. 0 round, take some of the bluish color mixture from Step 3 and mix with some Titanium White to paint the eye highlights. Paint the whiskers with a no. 0 round and the Titanium White–Yellow Ochre mixture. Add a few tufts of the wheaten color to the raccoon’s coat using a no. 1 round. Putting some of your background color into the coat will integrate the animal with its surroundings.