Step One I begin by loosely sketching the rooster’s body, using a circle for the head and an oval for the tail. Then I add the remaining details, using my photo reference as a guide. Notice how the top tail feathers extend over the rest of the tail.
Step Two I refine and detail the face and head, keeping a guideline along the top of the comb to help line up the edges properly. I also draw a line from the wattle to the chest to line them up accurately; then I erase these guidelines. When drawing the feathers, I don’t draw individual feathers but instead show how they are grouped. Next I draw some rocks around the rooster’s feet.
Step Three I begin establishing the dark areas with cool gray 90%. I fill in the eye (leaving the highlight white), outline some feathers, and shade a few of the dark areas between the tail feathers. Then I fill in most of the chest and the top tail feather. I also shade some of the dark wing feathers, leaving some white stripes, and establish a few small, dark feathers and some dark spots on the ground, using medium to hard pressure.
Step Four Switching to dark purple, I lightly shade a few areas on the body and head, as shown. Using Tuscan red with light to medium pressure, I outline and darken some areas of the face, comb, and wattle. Then I use indigo blue to draw shafts (centerlines) in some of the feathers and shade up to the centerline with medium pressure. Using cool gray 90%, I shade the bottom halves of the three lowest tail feathers and darken some of the back tail feathers.
Step Five I add more cool gray 90% to the tail. Then I lightly add dark brown to the backs of the legs. Using medium to hard pressure with the same color, I fill in some of the feathers on the back and neck. Then I use cool gray 30% to shade the fluffy white feathers at the base of the tail. I blend the edges of these feathers into the surrounding areas using cool gray 90%, making them appear soft and fluffy. I also fill in the lower wing with sienna brown, using strokes that follow the direction of the feathers. Next I apply more Tuscan red to the face, leaving some areas white. Then, using small, circular strokes, I apply a layer of Thio violet to the comb.
Step Six I apply Thio violet to the face and wattle; then I shade around the pupil with a very sharp cool gray 90%. Using burnt ochre, I fill in most of the neck feathers, leaving the paper white for the lightest areas. With firm pressure, I add a layer of ultramarine to the chest, overlapping the cool gray 90% from step five. I lightly outline the beak with cool gray 90%, and then I fill it in with a light layer of burnt yellow, leaving the tip white. I apply black cherry to the top part of the wing, leaving several white spots. Next I fill in the stripes on the wing with yellow ochre. Then I use ultramarine to finish the wing and add color to the tips of some of the tail feathers.
Step Seven I add burnt ochre to the top of the rooster’s right leg and to some of the long feathers on the rooster’s back. Then I shade the spurs on the legs with French gray 50%. Using firm pressure and cool gray 90%, I draw the feather shapes on the chest. I add more Thio violet to the comb and face, deepening the color and leaving some white showing. I also add indigo blue to the middle tail feathers with firm pressure. Then I work on the top part of the wing: I add small touches of Thio violet to the spots that were previously white, applying small strokes of light cerulean blue to the left sides of the spots; then I lightly blend the colors with white. Next I apply some yellow ochre to the white areas on the neck; I also darken some lines on the neck with black cherry. I use a small amount of Tuscan red to darken the brown feathers on the back; then I use firm pressure and indigo blue to darken areas around these back feathers as well as some tail feathers. I also use peacock green to blend some of the blues in the tail feathers. To “ground” the rooster, I add spots of color around the feet with burnt ochre, dark brown, and raw sienna. Then I add some slate gray to indicate the rooster’s shadow. As a final touch, I use heavy pressure and white to add shine to some of the tail feathers.