Project 46: Zebra Foal

This beautiful zebra foal was born at the Cincinnati Zoo. As I sketched and photographed the foal, I was struck by the interesting design its stripes created.

Reference Photo

1 Establish the Form

Lightly draw the zebra foal onto your panel in pencil, using a kneaded eraser to make corrections or lighten lines. With a no. 10 round and diluted Burnt Umber, paint the stripes and other dark areas.

2 Paint the Dark Values

Mix warm black with Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue. Paint the stripes with a no. 10 round, making sure they follow the foal’s contours. For good, dark coverage, add a second coat when dry. For the narrower stripes and smaller details, use a no. 3 round. Paint the stripes with smooth strokes. Use small, chopping strokes to paint the fuzzy hair on the foal’s back and rump. Paint the dark parts of the ears, mane, muzzle, tail and lower legs.

Mix red-brown with Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna and a touch of Red Oxide. Paint the eye with a no. 3 round. Paint the shadows on the ground with a no. 10 round using choppy strokes.

3 Paint the Middle Values

Mix a warm cream for the shadowed areas of the coat with Titanium White, Raw Sienna, Burnt Sienna and Cadmium Orange. Paint in between the black stripes with a no. 10 round.

Mix a wheaten color for the ground with Titanium White, Raw Sienna and Hansa Yellow Light. Paint dabbing strokes with a no. 8 bright.

Mix a blue sky color with Ultramarine Blue, Titanium White and a touch of Naples Yellow. Mix a lighter blue by adding more Titanium White to a portion of the blue sky color. Paint the blue sky color with dabbing strokes using a no. 12 bright; start at the top of the painting. With a separate no. 12 bright and the lighter blue, paint from the horizon upwards, blending with the blue sky color. Use a no. 10 round to paint around the foal’s outline. Blend where the horizon meets the sky with separate brushes for light blue and wheaten.

Mix the grayish hoof color with Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber. Paint with a no. 10 round, blending where it meets the shadowed parts of the hooves with a no. 3 round and warm black. Mix a hoof highlight color with a small portion of the gray hoof color and Titanium White. Paint with a no. 3 round.

LITTLE STRIPED ONE

Acrylic on Gessobord

12” × 9” (30cm × 23cm)

4 Paint the Light Values and the Finishing Details

Mix a lighter cream with a portion of warm cream and Titanium White. Paint the lighter areas of the zebra with a no. 10 round, blending into the warm cream.

Paint highlights around the nostril with a no. 3 round and warm cream, blending with the warm black. With warm black and a no. 10 round, re-establish and refine the stripes. Use a no. 3 round for the narrower stripes.

Using a no. 3 round, paint a highlight in the eye with a small arc of Titanium White. With a no. 3 round, paint the eyelashes and the lower eyelid with a bit of blue sky color, using small, parallel strokes. Paint the bar-shaped pupil with warm black.

Mix a blue shadow color for the ground with Titanium White, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber and a touch of Cadmium Orange. Paint with a no. 8 bright, forming parallel, dabbing strokes. Use a no. 10 round to paint between the legs.

Mix a darker red-brown for the foal’s shadow on the ground with red-brown and warm black. Paint with the dry-brush technique and a no. 10 round. Use a no. 8 bright to blend into the blue shadow color. Add detail to the wheaten ground with a no. 10 round and a small amount of dark red-brown, blending with the wheaten.

Mix a tree branch color with Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White. Paint the branches thinly with a no. 10 round. Mix a green tree color with Hooker’s Green Permanent, Burnt Umber, Titanium White and a bit of Cadmium Orange. Use a no. 6 bright to paint the foliage with dabbing strokes.

Paint a very thin glaze of diluted Burnt Umber over the shaded parts of the foal with a no. 6 bright, using a very small amount of the glaze. Re-establish the highlights as needed with the lighter cream and a no. 10 round.

Add small stripes to the lower left hind leg with a no. 3 round and warm cream. When dry, glaze with diluted Burnt Umber. Paint a few light strokes of the blue shadow color on the tail with a no. 3 round, blending with warm black.

Add highlights to the head and chest with Titanium White and a no. 3 round. Re-establish and darken the black stripes as needed.

Mix a light green highlight color for the tree with a portion of the green tree color, Titanium White and Hansa Yellow Light. Paint with a no. 6 bright, using a small amount of paint and light, dabbing strokes.