Semi Leopard Appaloosa 2

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1 Pg. 1 Supplies Needed: Prismacolor Pencils > White Dark Brown Matching or close in color to the body color This project horse is dark sable champagne. Matching pencil is Light Umber. Black Small artists pencil sharpener Testors Dullcote Matte Spray Baby wipes Q-Tips Clean Small Make-up brush like this one > (NEED PHOTO) Layer 1 White: Mapping out the markings Because the spots on this Appaloosa are darker than the body color use a Dark Brown Prismacolor pencil to create the small spots. Keep your pencil tip sharp. The spots at this stage will help map out the white areas on the horse. If you need to remove a spot to redraw, use a damp Q-tip to gently rub off the spot. On the darker areas of the horse it is helpful to step ahead a bit and start coloring Flank Area: The edges of this type of Appaloosa marking are very sparse groups of white hairs but they are not completely random. When mapping in this type of sparse pattern you have to try an imagine very tiny small darker spots within the white. Around the flank randomly draw groups of tiny white lines, then work on the solid white behind the sparse white edge. Keep in mind that on this type of Appaloosa marking, there are no straight edges on the white markings.

2 Pg. 2 More white filled in around the flank. After getting the edges of the flank marking started, color in all of the solid areas of white. See reference photo below. Stop coloring before any sparse areas of white begin. Appaloosa Spots: Because I only had one photo of the main reference photo horse, I used a similar reference photo pattern and some imagination to help make the left side spots different from the right side. When creating a pattern of spots, keep in mind that that most Appaloosa spots are oval and they almost always follow the hair pattern direction. This is the main reference photo that the owner of the model horse chose for her commission. On this Appaloosa pattern, hair direction is very important. Before starting any detailing, it s helpful to have good hair direction reference photos.

3 Pg. 3 Here is a preview of the first layer goal. The right side of this horse, 1st layer of white, has already been mostly completed. The tricky part about this resin is that she has much different proportions than the main reference photo horse. The main goal is to map out the key areas of the blanket on the right parts of the horse. It s often helpful to jump around from one little place to the next while working in key areas of the blanket pattern. I often work in the pattern sparsely and then I ll go back to fill in more white as the pattern comes together. The following series of photos is how this side of the pattern came together. I m jumping around a little bit here. On the rib area, notice how the white hairs on the reference photo are more concentrated on a few ribs or so. Here I m starting to work that in and I m slowly working the edges of the blanket in.

4 Pg. 4 These photos show the progress build up of the white markings. Some of it looks a little rough at this stage. No worries for now about that.

5 Pg. 5

6 Pg. 6 After most of the rear barrel is filled in, it s a good time to step back to view the overall look of the pattern. Add more white where needed so that the pattern looks natural. Keep in mind that it s always easier to go brighter than getting back the body color. After the side of the barrel is looked over and finished up (drawing), it s okay to matte spray but that is optional. Make sure you are happy with all of the white so far before you matte spray. The only main reason I matte sprayed at this point is because, as I worked up to the shoulder, my hand kept rubbing off some of the white pencil on the rump. The shoulder markings are in progress here.

7 Pg. 7 After some white was worked into the shoulder I used a matching colored pencil to bring back tiny spots. Adding darker small spots can be done at any time although it is a lot easier when there is only 1-2 layers of white.

8 Pg. 8 Back on the rump, I m filling in more solid areas of white and creating the pattern of spots. More progress.

9 Pg. 9 This is the first layer of white after matte spraying. The white will dull down some and will look grey. Let the model horse dry thoroughly before continuing. Detailing Stage 1: This detailing stage is the 2nd layer of white. Using a white Prismacolor pencil color over all of the white markings again. This stage also has a second purpose on this type of Appaloosa pattern. On the first white layer much of the markings are fairly rough. If you look closely at the other larger chestnut Apppaloosa reference photos, notice how the pattern is governed by tiny spots. As you re coloring the 2nd layer of white, refine the pattern edges as if single and grouped interlaced spots were within the blanket.

10 Pg. 10 These photos show the 2nd layer of white completed before matte spraying. Notice how the pattern is more refined than the 1st layer of white. The lower right photo is the 1st layer of white (photo #24). The lower left photo is the 2nd layer of white (photo #32).

11 Pg. 11 After the 2nd layer of white is matte sprayed and dry, add the 2nd layer of white to the other side of the horse. When meeting a previous colored white area, try not to cross over the brighter white too much. Try to keep the layers of white even. Here is the 2nd layer of white completed on the other side of the horse. Matte spray the model horse before continuing. Leg markings: At this stage I skip drawing and completing any leg markings before the body markings are completed. I often find it best to wait, because the legs are the most often handled. If the leg markings are done too early, the handling may dull down the white markings.

12 Pg. 12 Begin the process of coloring again with the Prismacolor white pencil for the 3rd layer of white but on this layer you have the option to start creating halo spots around the larger spots. In these two photos layer 3 has been completed on both sides of the horse. I have also decided that because the belly on this horse is low and is visually making the flank marking look long, I ve lowered the white marking more over the flank. Layer 3 is a good time to step back and make sure everything looks good. Matte spray after each side of layer 3 is finished. Let the matte spry thoroughly fry before continuing.

13 Pg. 13 Belly progress. Detailing Stage 2: In this stage the mane and tail and leg markings are started. Continue to use a white Prismacolor pencil. Leg Markings: When drawing the leg markings, matte spray as needed and then color the markings 2 more times (matte spray between each layer) to build up to the 3rd layer of white. The markings should be as white as the body markings.

14 Pg. 14 Here are a couple progress photos. The body markings have 3 layers of white. The leg markings at this point is almost finished. I continued to brighten up the white on the legs until the white was as bright as the body markings.

15 Pg. 15 Detailing Stage 3: This is the final stage of detailing the white markings. Begin by using the Prismacolor pencil again (if needed) to add a 4th layer of white on the model horse. Darker horses usually need a 4th layer of white. Lighter colored horses may not need a 4th layer of white with the pencil. On the sparse markings, draw tiny short lines over the markings in the correct hair direction. Much of the work on this area should be to brighten up the markings. When finished, the sparse markings should not need any acrylic paint except in larger white areas. At this point, if you have chosen to have halo spots around the larger spots, there should be a darker ring around each large spot. With a sharp Prismacolor pencil, begin drawing tiny short lines (keeping in mind hair direction) on the halo spots and slightly over the edges of the dark spots to achieve a natural haired look. Press firmly when drawing the tiny lines but not hard pressure.

16 Pg. 16 READY for acrylic paint! Both sides of the horse should be ready for paint at this point. Troubleshooting: On this horse I ran into a little problem. Because the legs were handled quite a lot when working on the body markings, the hock and other areas of the hind legs became so smooth, my pencil wasn t applying that much on the horse and some of the markings remained dark. The only solution is to brush on a layer of thin acrylic paint carefully with a very small brush, matte spray the area and then see if the pencil will apply better if the pencil is still needed.

17 Pg. 17 Mixing Acrylic Paint: Supplies: Good Quality White Acrylic Paint I use Liquitex Heavy Body Titanium White or Lascaux Titanium White Americana Neutral Grey Golden Acrylic Glazing Mix the white acrylic paint with Americana Neutral Grey until it s close to the same shade of grey as the solid areas of the model horse or slightly lighter. If the paint closely matches the white on the model horse or even a touch darker or lighter, it will only take 2 to 4 layers of thinned white paint to make the solid white areas in the markings look solid white. After mixing the paint, add 3-5 drops of Golden Acrylic Glazing to the mix to thin the paint. This will also help keep the paint from drying too fast. Before picking up paint, dip the brush in water and then tap or wipe most of the water off. Pick up only a very tiny amount of paint. When applying the paint on the horse, treat the paint as if it were makeup. Keep brushing the paint until it s dry. This will keep the white areas very smooth. This photo shows the last layer of Prismacolor applied before the acrylic paint layers were started.

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