Step One Using an HB pencil, I sketch the basic shape of the body and then add the legs, long neck, and oval-shaped head. Next I place the eye and mouth, adding a modified oval for the tail. The body, legs, and tail are thick due to the fur, but they would be even thicker if this alpaca wasn’t shorn.
Step Two Now I refine the outline and features, and I add a few lines to indicate the changes in the fur.
Step Three I apply cool gray 90% to the mouth, nose, eye, ear, and feet, using firm pressure for the darkest areas. I am careful to leave a white highlight in the eye. I also add light shading under the tail.
Step Four Now I apply a light layer of cool gray 50% to the alpaca’s front right leg to make it recede and appear more distant. With light pressure, I add more shading under the tail and on the alpaca’s back left leg. Using cool gray 50% and medium pressure, I shade the face and ears. With varying pressure, I add small marks to indicate the dark areas between sections of fur. In some areas, including the tail, I draw soft lines around small sections of fur. Then I layer burnt ochre with firm to medium pressure over most of the existing fur. I also apply a small amount of burnt ochre to the nose and ears. With firm strokes, I draw grass around the feet with Prussian green. Then, using cool gray 90%, I create rocks on the ground.
Step Five I add several firm strokes of chartreuse to the clumps of grass in the foreground. Then I shade the ground with dark brown, varying the strokes with medium to light pressure. Using short strokes with firm pressure, I add kelp green to the area behind the legs. I use the same color and longer strokes for the grass under the feet. Now I use indigo blue and circular strokes to start the distant trees, leaving some white showing through in small spots at the top. I also add some dark brown to the backs of the feet.
Step Six I add short strokes of peacock blue to the grass behind the legs. Next I apply an even layer of Prussian green to the distant trees, leaving some of the white spots free from color. Using firm pressure and long, vertical strokes, I fill in the sky with light cerulean blue. I pull this color into the trees, filling in the white spots and blending the colors. This also pushes the trees back into the distance. Using horizontal strokes, I apply a light layer of cloud blue to the ground beneath the trees and over the center patch of grass. Returning to the alpaca, I define the edges of the face and fur with a very sharp sienna brown. Then I add a small amount of cool gray 30% to the face, ears, and face, leaving some areas white. Next I use firm pressure to apply burnt yellow ochre to most of the fur; I use some circular strokes and some short, straight strokes to portray the woolly appearance. To finish, I add some firm strokes of burnt ochre to the fur and a bit more grass around the feet with Prussian green.