How to Paint a Black Labrador Dog Portrait in Watercolor

Hey guys! For today's video I'm going to show you step by step how I painted this black lab portrait in watercolor without using any black paint. Start with a sketch and set up your supplies. Important things to include in the sketch are details like the eyes and nostrils, shadow shapes, areas that are in light, and the overall head shape. Remember you only need enough information so that you can get started confidently with paint. Make sure you have paper towel for blotting, two round brushes, I'm using a silver Atelier quill brush and a silver black velvet size 8 round brush, and a smaller detail brush, water jars, and your paint's ready to go. The colors I'm using for this project are Daniel Smith Burnt Sienna, Indigo, and Ultramarine, and a little bit of Yellow Ochre to use at the end for the background. Notice there is no black on my palette. You do not need black paint to make black. Number two, paint the light values. Start by painting the light shapes in the face first. We do this wet and wet. Using your larger round brush, take clean water and paint it all over the face, even extending the water beyond the area we're focusing on. The reason for this is that we want to create a soft disappearing edge with the paint we put down in this layer. Just avoid the eyes for now. Mix up some Indigo with water to create a cool gray. Switching to your smaller round brush, start to paint in the light gray shapes in the dog's face. Paint around the brightest highlight on the top of the nose, and if you accidentally lose that highlight, you can always lift the paint back out while it's still wet. You can extend the gray paint into the ears and neck. Sometimes just getting a little color down like this can really boost your confidence and just get you excited to keep going. Number three, paint the mid-tones. Mix up some more Indigo again, this time slightly darker. You can use this mid-tone value to paint a first layer on areas that are dark in value, but not as dark as the deepest shadows. I use this to paint the left ear and the mouth and the muscle areas. By now the first layer should be dry, so you can start adding mid-tones in more detail to the face. I still want this layer to look soft and diffused, so I re-wet the area and work wet and wet again. With this layer, I can also begin defining the shadow shapes between the eyes. I also use this tone to color in the dark areas of the eyes, just so I don't lose my drawing and get a better sense of what the eyes look like. Now before we go on, if you feel like maybe this video is moving a little bit too fast, I wanted to let you know that this tutorial is available in real time. Just head over to emilyolsonart.com where you can join my Watercolor Mastery Membership Program. For just a small amount per month, you will have access to all of my real-time full-length tutorials, which include downloadable reference photos and traceable line drawings, a complete list of materials used with each project, and thoroughly narrated explanations with closed captions, so you can paint right along with me. As a member, you can also access all of my real-time YouTube tutorials all in one place, learn how to paint different kinds of fur and whiskers, create your own color mixing chart, and share all of your amazing artwork with other artists like you through our private Facebook group. I'll leave a link in the description below so you can check out all the tutorials that are currently available. All right, let's get back to the video. Number four, paint your darkest darks. Okay, this step takes courage. To create black, I mix up a large amount of dark paint, combining mostly indigo, but adding in some burnt sienna to make the color more neutral and a little less blue. I'm going to set that brush aside, still loaded with paint, so it's ready to go. Then with my clean quill brush, I paint water all over the areas that will be in shadow. I'm still careful to avoid detailed areas like the eyes and mouth, painting with the water right up to those edges, but wetting the paper more freely everywhere else. Next, I quickly grab my loaded brush with the black paint and start painting those dark shadow areas. It's so much fun watching the paint bloom and explode on the wet paper. In areas that are lighter or shiny, I paint right up to those spots, then switch quickly to my clean damp quill brush and swipe that broadly through the area. This actually allows the dark paint on either side to blend perfectly into the shiny area without darkening it too much. Bonus tip, switching back and forth between two brushes is so helpful for something like a shiny black animal because it allows you to quickly lay down dark paint, then blend it right away with your clean damp brush. I use this method all throughout this painting to create convincing shadows with soft edges that turn in space smoothly from shadow to light. Number five, start painting details. As you work on the dog's face, you will need to work more slowly and carefully using more wet and dry techniques. For the nose, I paint the black nostrils first, leaving little rims around them catching the light. To create that moist bumpy effect of a dog's nose, I use subtle cross hatching with the splayed bristles of my round brush, gently feathering the brush sideways, and then up and down. I add a light wash of ultramarine to the areas in light for a nice hint of color. To paint the left ear and side of the face, I again use the wet and wet technique to ensure soft edges and an even distribution of the black paint. I add subtle fur details, moving my brush in a quick gentle feathering motion in the direction I see the fur growing. For more about painting realistic fur in watercolor, check out this video. Adding this subtle texture also deepens the values, which still need to go darker. Just keep adding layers of fur texture and value until it matches what you see in the reference photo. Bonus tip number two, when in doubt squint at your photo and look for the shapes that stand out even when blurry. Those are the values, colors, and details that matter the most. For the area along the neck, use wet and wet again and be sure to extend your water beyond the area where you're applying paint so that it softens naturally. Paint the eyes using burnt sienna for the brown color and indigo for the dark black pupils, being careful to avoid the highlights. It's tempting to want to make the highlights really bright, but squint at those as well and make sure that they're dark enough. Number six, add the background. The background can be painted quickly and loosely but it is still a very important element of the painting. To ensure color harmony, I stick with my main colors, indigo and burnt sienna, but I also add in a hint of yellow ochre to create a greenish outdoor look in the background. Push and pull the paint around until you're happy with the shapes and sit or stand back from your painting to get a better perspective on your design while working on this area. As a final detail, add the whiskers. I used white gouache and my detail brush to add just a few wispy little whiskers. I was also a little unhappy with the dog's neck, the area in the light just felt too detailed and distracting. Now you can actually make corrections when something is too detailed by wiping it out. To do this, just re-wet the area and gently scrub with a damp brush until some of the detail is lost and blend it out. I liked how that looked much better. Anything that distracts the viewer from the focal point without serving the overall composition is worth taking the time to change. So there is the finished painting. If you found this video helpful, it would be amazing if you leave me a like and a comment below. This really helps me out as a creator just to keep bringing you new and free watercolor instruction like this. Check out these other videos about painting pets and watercolor and I'll see you there!